Optimal Distributed Generation Allocation in Distribution Systems for Loss Minimization

Abstract

An efficient analytical (EA) method is proposed for optimally installing multiple distributed generation (DG) technologies to minimize power loss in distribution systems. Different DG types are considered, and their power factors are optimally calculated. The proposed EA method is also applied to the problem of allocating an optimal mix of different DG types with various generation capabilities. Furthermore, the EA method is integrated with the optimal power flow (OPF) algorithm to develop a new method, EA-OPF which effectively addresses overall system constraints. The proposed methods are tested using 33-bus and 69-bus distribution test systems. The calculated results are validated using the simulation results of the exact optimal solution obtained by an exhaustive OPF algorithm for both distribution test systems. The results show that the performances of the proposed methods are superior to existing methods in terms of computational speed and accuracy.