A Plant Growth-Based Optimization Approach Applied to Capacitor Placement in Power Systems

This paper proposes a plant growth-based optimization approach for capacitor placement in power systems. The method characterizes the growth mechanism of a plant phototropism, where a larger morphactin concentration of a node indicates a higher probability of new branch growth. The growth of a plant phototropism is mimicked in a function optimization process that is useful for capacitor placement. Through this capacitor allocation, the line loss and carbon dioxide emissions of the grid can be both reduced. The proposed method is validated using example grids and a part of the Taipower Company system. Test results confirm the feasibility of the method.