Optimal DG allocation and sizing in distribution systems with Thevenin based impedance stability index

Abstract

The applications of Distributed Generation (DG) play a significant role to provide the benefit to conventional distribution systems. However, the sizing and location of these DG units should be taken into consideration to get maximum gain and benefit. If DGs are not located and sized properly, the distribution system can be adversely affected. So, optimal allocation and sizing are needed to avoid instability problems and more costs to increase the efficiency and quality of energy in distribution systems. This paper addresses the optimal sizing and allocation of DGs for power losses, voltage profile and stability improvement, introducing a proposed stability index based on Thevenin impedance in a distribution network. The stability index is calculated by the proposed approach based on Thevenin. Thevenin is obtained based on a two-bus system by reduction of more than two bus systems. The optimal sizing and location of DGs are also obtained by operating DGs under different power factors. The reactive capability of DGs is also shown by simulations with DGs operated under different power factors. The problem of optimal sizing and location of DGs, which is a nonlinear optimization problem with discrete and continuous variables, is solved based on the mixed integer Genetic Algorithm (GA). Also, the proposed approach is verified by using Grey Wolf Optimization (GWO) method. The problem contains multi-objectives with three objective functions: system power losses, voltage deviation and the Thevenin based stability index. The proposed approach has been tested on the IEEE-69 and 118-bus test system to demonstrate its effectiveness. The comparison with some other methods shows that the proposed approach gives better results than other methods while reducing the power losses and improving voltage and system stability in all suggested scenarios by finding the optimal placement and sizing of DG units. It is also shown that the reduction in power loss, voltage and stability improvements are increased more by using the reactive power capability of DGs. The results show that optimum located and sized DGs not only decreases the power loss, but also improve the voltage profile and stability of the system.