Optimum Sizing and Placement of Distributed and Renewable Energy Sources in Electric Power Distribution Systems

Climate change concerns, mandatory requirements for the renewable portfolio standards, incentives offered by the Government, and cost reduction in renewables and distributed energy sources (DER) are some of the driving forces for the steep growth in DER installations. DERs are commonly connected near the load in the electric power distribution system. DER includes renewable energy such as wind and solar, fossil-fuel based generation-microturbines, and other distributed energy storage elements. In this research, a novel methodology is developed that optimizes the sizing and placement of DER on electrical distribution feeders based on technical and economic considerations. The paper also evaluates the methodology on the IEEE 34-bus system.