Planning and impact evaluation of distributed generators in Indian context using Multi-Objective Particle Swarm Optimization

The placement and sizing of Distributed Generators (DGs) can be formulated as a nonlinear optimization problem to maximize the benefits from its placement, while minimizing its size. This paper proposes a voltage stability index based method for the DG placement and a meta-heuristic technique based on Multi-Objective Particle Swarm Optimization (MOPSO) to provide Pareto optimal solutions. The MOPSO minimizes the DG size as well as the weighted sum of multiple system indices, reflecting the impact of DGs on the improvement of the system performance. The Pareto-optimal solutions present the possible trade-off between the multi-objective index and the DG size. The studies have been carried out on a 30-bus test system and a 41-bus Indian distribution system. The impacts of the DG placement on the system voltage profile, line loss, environment and cost of generation have also been investigated.