Optimal Placement of Reactive Power Compensation Banks for the Maximization of New Generation Capacity

The aim of this paper is to present a novel method for the optimal placement of capacitor and reactor banks, with the objective of maximizing network capacity to absorb new generation. The method is an extension of the Optimal Power Flow used as a tool for network capacity analysis. It can be used to a) plot graphs of the bank investment cost with respect to the increase in network capacity and b) find the optimum investment for the network operator in order to maximize his revenue. A 12-bus low voltage network was used as a test case. The results demonstrate the efficiency of the method to allocate new banks. At a small investment cost, network capacity could nearly double.