Optimal sizing of distributed generation using particle swarm optimization

Owing to the ever increasing demand in power sector and increased benefits of Deregulated system, a number of problems related to transmission line management effectively in the big electric network are quite frequent. The placement of Distributed Generation (DG) has been growing rapidly in power systems since it is a reliable solution to many of the distribution system issues such as voltage regulation, power loss reduction etc. The optimal placement of generating sources into the distribution system can significantly impact the operating state and dynamics of both the transmission and distribution system. Depending of the operating status, the effects of placing DG will be either positive or negative. Non suitable location of DG may results in negative impact in the efficiency of the system. An optimal location and sizing plays a very effective and important role in the improvement of system efficiency by reducing the active power loss and by improving the voltage profile at each and every bus in the system. This paper proposes a novel methodology using the population based heuristic approach namely Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and New Particle Swarm Optimization (NPSO) for determining the optimal sizing of Distributed Generator (DG) in the distribution systems. The work also focuses and investigates on the technical aspects of the distribution system such as active power losses and improvement in voltage profile. This proposed approach is implemented for IEEE 15 Bus and IEEE 33 Bus radial distribution systems. The results obtained show the effectiveness in performance of the NPSO optimized system over the PSO optimized and the non-optimized system for system loss reduction and voltage profile improvement.