Integration of Solar Photovoltaic Distributed Generators in Distribution Networks Based on Site’s Condition

The significance of Distributed Generators (DGs) in the technical and economic operations of electric power distribution systems cannot be overemphasized in recent times. This is essential as a result of the incessant increase in electrical energy demand, which is becoming considerably difficult to meet with the conventional means of energy supply. Thus, DGs offer better alternatives for providing a quality supply of energy near the site of consumption. This type of energy supply is cleaner and cheaper most of the time due to the lessened transmission losses, which consequently reduced the cost of operation at the transmission and distribution levels of the power system. In this work, an approach for placement and sizing of solar PV DGs into radial distribution networks (RDN) based on the solar PV capacity factor of the site was analyzed using particle swarm optimization. The aim of this study is to analyze the effect of the approach on the real and reactive power losses within the network as well as the bus voltage profile. Constraints on credible system operation parameters, which includes bus voltage limits, power balance, and power flow limits, are considered in the formulation of the optimization problem. In order to verify the viability of the deployed approach, steady-state performance analyses were executed on IEEE 33-bus RDN; and the results obtained were compared with the results from other approaches reported in the literature.