Optimal synthesis of a fuzzy controller with PSO for local reactive power support

The necessity to develop proper voltage control techniques for Distribution Networks (DN) in presence of Distributed Generation (DG) is becoming a relevant issue in recent years. In fact, the increasing penetration of DG power plants from Renewable Energy Sources (RES) has highlighted the need to implement control strategies able to provide reactive power support to the grid for voltage regulation. This paper presents the optimal synthesis of a Fuzzy Logic Controller (FLC) for RES units that allows to maintain local voltage profiles within regulatory limits while minimizing total reactive power injected into the grid (or absorbed from it) and producing the maximum available active power. The Optimization Problem (OP) is solved by means of a Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm and the capability of RES units to manage reactive power control is taken into account, too. The proposed optimized controller has been validated by simulations conducted on a real Medium Voltage (MV) radial DN.