A novel method to assess distribution system reliability considering smart solar cell

One of the most important issues in the smart grid is to quantitatively assess the impacts of distributed energy resources (DER) on the distribution system reliability. Solar cells (SCs) as developing DERs are normally placed close to the load centers. In this paper, a new algorithm is developed to evaluate distribution system reliability, considering SCs in the vicinity of the end-users. The probabilistic nature of the demand and SC power output are investigated to solve challenges of integrating these intermittent resources with the distribution system. In a smart home, to handle the variation of SC generation, solar load controller (SLC) is utilized to match load and generation of SCs during the islanding mode. Harmonizing load and generation by SLC may cause continual fluctuation in the on/off mode of appliances. In this paper, a structure is proposed to supply the critical load throughout periods in which SC cannot supply the entire associated demand. Simulation results reveal that the proposed method outperforms the conventional one, particularly from the accuracy points of view, while keeping the simplicity and elegance in a reasonable range. Numerical simulations are investigated to verify the miscellaneous aspects of the proposed approach.