Utility-scale DG planning using location-specific hosting capacity analysis

Utility-scale generating plants are traditionally interconnected to the power transmission grid. However, with the adoption of incentives to promote the development of clean energy resources, the interconnection of utility-scale distributed generation (DG) is becoming more prevalent at the distribution system. These circumstances have challenged the utility's process to respond with the increasing demand for DG interconnections in a timely manner, at the same time, to accurately ensure the safe and reliable operation of the distribution network. For effective DG planning, especially for high penetration scenarios, utilities need to consider proactive solutions in an effort to estimate the maximum allowable capacity of DG considering the imposed technical limits such as power quality and protection standards. In this paper, an extensive search method to estimate location-specific DG hosting capacity of utility-scale DG applications was developed and applied. This work investigated the impact of increasing DG capacity, at various locations, on the feeder's voltage profile, loading, and short circuit levels. The effects of different DG technologies, such as inverter-based and rotating machine resources, on the hosting capacity of the distribution network were also considered. Furthermore, this work presented the development of Hosting Capacity (HC) heat maps to characterize the capability of the distribution network in accommodating potential DG facilities.