Pareto Local Search Function for Optimal Placement of DG and Capacitors Banks in Distribution Systems

Abstract

DGs and capacitor banks are installed to optimize the performance of many distribution networks. Typically, the problem of optimizing the overall performance of the distribution network is examined with multi-objective purposes. Network optimization purposes are usually varied and sometimes contradictory. Therefore, the problem search space is very large due to the variety of purposes. This paper presents a modified Pareto local search function for optimal placement of DGs and capacitor banks. To limit the search space and find Pareto points, a new combination method including Pareto chart and a weight function has been used. The optimal operation of the distribution network is performed by three single objective functions related to the voltage stability index, voltage profile of buses and power loss. In this method, a modified per-unit system is presented to align single objective functions and their weighting coefficients. The network is studied with three different loads. So that, the network is examined in the final stage by increasing the load and reaching bus voltage stability margins. The particle swarm optimization method is applied to solving placement problems. In addition, locating and sizing DG and capacitor banks, tap setting of on load tap changer transformer is adjusted by the proposed method. To show the effectiveness of the purposed method, simulations are applied to 69 bus radial system. The results indicated the favorable advantage of the proposed method to improve the overall performance of the distribution network.