Coyote optimization algorithm-based approach for strategic planning of photovoltaic distributed generation

Abstract

The optimal planning for distributed generations (DGs) associated with photovoltaics (PVs) in the utility-owned distribution system is crucial for increasing high penetration of renewables while against practical system operation constraints. Such PV-DG planning is categorized as a complicated mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) problem and is extremely difficult to solve by using conventional methods. In recent years, several bio-inspired metaheuristic algorithms have been proposed to tackle various complicated real-parameter optimization problems. This paper proposes a two-stage approach including a new bio-inspired algorithm, Coyote Optimization Algorithm (COA), to solve the large-scale MINLP PV-DG sizing problem considering different load levels. The objective function terms under consideration include the total system power loss and voltage regulator tap changes at different load levels while against limits of rms bus voltages, tap changes, and PV-DG constraints at each candidate bus. The proposed method is tested using the IEEE 123-bus unbalanced benchmark system and an actual utility distribution network. Results obtained are then compared with those obtained by a classic MINLP solver-based and four other bio-inspired methods. Moreover, results also show that the proposed method leads to lower loss, a minimum number of regulator tap changes, and higher PV penetration capacity among the compared methods and is suitable for solving the large-scale PV-DG planning problem in distribution systems.