Impacts of PV-STATCOM Reactive Power Dispatch in the Allocation of Capacitors Bank and Voltage Regulators on Active Distribution Networks

With the increasing penetration of distributed generation in the distribution network, mainly solar photovoltaic (PV) generation, the reactive power’s planning must be revised to minimize problems arising from the massive penetration of this kind of generation. Therefore, the differential of this work is to study the impacts on the reactive power flows and power factor regulation arising from the massive penetration of PV generation when allocating capacitor banks (CB) and voltage regulators (VR). Given the available technology of the power electronics inverters, this work aims to model the reactive power dispatch of these generators in an optimal power flow to act as reactive power compensators throughout the day even at night, known as PV-STATCOM. The allocation process of CB and VR is solved by genetic algorithms, modeled to allow the CB placement in medium-voltage (MV) and low-voltage buses, while VR is placed only in MV. As PV-STATCOM penetration increases, the results show that this approach eliminates the need for fixed CB in the system, requiring only automatic CB on periods of maximum PV-STATCOM active power dispatch. Also, the combination of CB, VR, and PV-STATCOM is efficient for solving problems of power quality.