Optimal allocation and sizing of DGs in distribution networks

In this paper, the placement and sizing of Distributed Generators (DG) in distribution networks are determined using optimization. The objective is to minimize the loss and to improve the reliability at lowest cost. The constraints are the bus voltage, feeder current and the reactive power flowing back to the source side. The placement and size of DGs are optimized using a combination of Discrete Particle Swarm Optimization (DPSO) and Genetic Algorithm (GA). This increases the diversity of the optimizing variables in DPSO not to be trapped in a local minimum. To evaluate the proposed algorithm, the semi-urban 37-bus distribution system connected at bus 2 of the Roy Billinton Test System (RBTS), which is located at the secondary side of a 33/11 kV distribution substation, is used. The results illustrate the efficiency of the proposed method.