Optimal reactive power dispatch and distributed generation placement based on a hybrid co‐evolution algorithm and bi‐level programming

Abstract

To improve the economy and stability of distribution networks with a high penetration of distributed generation (DG), active management strategies should be considered during the planning stages and operating stage. This article presents a bi-level model of DG placement and an optimal reactive power dispatch, where the total investment and operation cost are minimized through an optimal allocation of the DG at the upper planning level, and the active power loss and voltage deviation are optimized based on the optimal reactive power output of the DG, static var compensator (SVC), and shunt capacitor bank (SCB). In this study, a period division strategy based on the Grey relation analysis was determined to reduce the switching time of the SCB. The co-evolution algorithm based on the improved sparrow algorithm was used to solve the adopted bi-level model. The validation results for the IEEE-33 node system show that the adopted bi-level model and strategy applied in this study can reduce the comprehensive cost and effectively improve the voltage profile while reducing the active power loss of the distribution network. In addition, the results obtained by the algorithm adopted in this research are compared to those of other previously published studies. The proposed algorithm yields much better results in terms of the improvement in the voltage profile and active power loss minimization.