DISTRIBUTED GENERATION PLANNING IN AN UNBALANCED THREE-PHASE DISTRIBUTION NETWORK USING FIREFLY ALGORITHM AND VOLTAGE STABILITY INDEX METHODS

Abstract

This research presents the use of the Firefly Algorithm (FA) and the Voltage Stability Index (VSI) for optimizing Distributed Generation (DG) planning within an unbalanced three-phase distribution network. The VSI was employed to identify the optimal DG location, while the FA determined the appropriate sizing of the generators. The methodologies were applied to the standard IEEE 37-bus radial distribution network and a localized 19-bus Mahuta feeder.
The results show that, in the IEEE 37-bus network, the total power losses were 31.3543 kW for active power and 15.2829kVAr for reactive power without DG. After implementing the proposed method, the optimal DG location was identified at bus 34, with a size of 356 kW for active power and 170kVAr for reactive power, resulting in losses of 19.8329 kW and 10.0014kVAr, respectively. This reflects a loss reduction of 36.75% for active power and 34.56% for reactive power compared to the base case. The maximum loadability increased to 18% of initial loading with DG.
For the 19-bus Mahuta feeder, the optimal DG location was at bus 17, with sizes of 201.58 kW for active power and 115kVAr for reactive power. This setup achieved power loss reductions of 4.48% for active power and 5.62% for reactive power. The maximum loadability for both approaches were found to be 119% of initial loading. Compared to similar studies, the proposed method achieved loss reductions of 8.14% for active power and 30.42% for reactive power.