Impact of DG Configuration on Maximum Use of Load Supply Capability in Distribution Power Systems

Abstract

Traditional distributed generators (DGs) planning methods take network loss minimization as the main objective to optimize DG sites in feeders. The use of load supply capability (LSC) in DG planning will precisely answer the questions how many DGs should be integrated, which transformer they should be connected to, and which type of DGs should be adopted. The main work of this paper is to analyze the impact of DGs on LSC so as to answer the three key questions. It resolves the planning problem through three steps: (i) two LSC models considering DGs’ access are developed, in which two different transfer strategies are considered: direct load transfer and indirect load transfer; (ii) the method of combined simple method and point estimate method is proposed. At last, based on a base case, when the configuration of DGs is changing, the impact of DGs on system LSC is studied. After the case study, the conclusion concerning the impact of load transfer strategy, DG capacities, and DG types on LSC is reached.