Hybrid Heuristic Technique for Optimal Distributed Generation Integration in Distribution Systems

Abstract

Integration of Distributed Generations (DGs) in distribution systems receives great attention nowadays due to its numerous benefits, the most important of which are reducing the overall power losses and improving voltage profile in distribution systems. In order to enhance the performance of the network, the DG units must be installed at optimal placement and sizing. Solution techniques for DG placement rely on various optimization methods. In this paper, a hybrid heuristic technique is proposed to solve the optimization problem for a single DG unit using two heuristic tests performed in two stages. In the first stage, a sensitivity test is used to determine the candidate location for DG placement. Then in the second stage, the optimal size is identified using a curve fitting test. A comprehensive analysis is performed in order to validate the results of the proposed technique. Both techniques have been tested on IEEE 33-bus and 69-bus radial distribution test systems. The obtained results show that although the comprehensive analysis can achieve slightly greater power loss reduction and voltage profile improvement, it requires a large number of tests that is proportional to the size of the distribution system. On the other hand, the proposed technique can achieve comparable results using a small fixed number of tests for any system, which means that this technique reduces the solution search space i.e., the computational demand and convergence time, while maintaining satisfactory results.