A novel optimal allocation of STATCOM to enhance voltage stability in power networks

Utilizing a static synchronous compensator (STATCOM) in the electrical power grid greatly improves the grid's voltage profile by enhancing voltage stability. This article proposes a novel approach based on Mixed Integer Distributed Ant Colony Optimization (MIDACO) to determine the optimal STATCOM installation in the electrical power grid. This approach has two control variables to optimize: the STATCOM size and location. This optimization aims to enhance voltage stability with minimum cost by minimizing two objectives: the voltage deviation index and the STATCOM cost. Also, this article presents a sensitivity analysis to show the stochastic nature of MIDACO and to explain the effect of MIDACO parameters on the optimization approach and the process of reaching the optimal solution. The proposed method has been evaluated on three standard test systems: IEEE 14-bus, IEEE 57-bus, and IEEE 118-bus. In addition, the MIDACO results are compared to those of the artificial bee colony algorithm, the genetic algorithm, and particle swarm optimization.