Energy demand growth, energy crisis, restructuring of electrical market and improvement in the
technologies of energy production have paved the way for increasing applications of distributed
generation (DG) resources in the recent years. DG integration with conventional distribution networks
is considered a potential solution for the serious stability problems resulting from increase in power
consumption if there are no impending construction projects of new power plants or transmission
lines, if it is selected due to a prespecified plan [1].
The power injection from DG different resources, located close to the load centres, provides an
opportunity for system voltage support and losses reduction [2]. Siting and sizing of DGs, with the aim
of improving a single parameter, may enhance the considered parameter significantly but may have
negative impact on other parameters of the network. On the other hand, siting and sizing of DGs with
the purpose of enhancing some of the parameters of the network will result in improvement of the
considered parameters [3].
This paper describes a methodology for preparing a reliable and dependable plan for operation
engineers to be able to integrate DGs penetration in their networks. The methodology presents
procedure, based on the power flow, to determine the optimal locations and sizes of DGs. A realistic
study is carried out on an actual Egyptian distribution grid, when installing one or more DG units, with
the aim of reducing the total active power loss and enhancing voltage magnitudes, within DG units
constraints. |
