Coordinated voltage support in distribution networks with distributed generation and microgrids

Abstract

This paper proposes a new methodology for coordinated voltage support in distribution networks with large integration of distributed generation and microgrids. Given the characteristics of the LV networks, it is shown that traditional control strategies using only reactive power control may not be sufficient in order to perform efficient voltage control. Therefore, microgeneration shedding must also be employed, especially in scenarios with extreme microgeneration penetration. An optimisation tool based on a meta-heuristic approach was developed to address the voltage control problem. In addition, neural networks were employed in order to decrease computational time, thus enabling the use of the tool for online operation. The results obtained revealed good performance of this control approach.