Benefits of Distribution-Level Power Electronics for Supporting Distributed Generation Growth

It is expected that distribution networks will be required to accommodate large amounts of distributed generation (DG). Keeping power flows and voltages within their limits will require either traditional infrastructure upgrades or active compensation. The form of active compensation (e.g., series, shunt, back to back, multiterminal), quantity, and rating of the compensator should be chosen to realize the best cost-benefit ratio. Distributed-generator and compensator placement algorithms are used with a power-flow and constraint satisfaction algorithm to analyze a large number of case studies (using real U.K. network data). From these cases, assessments of compensator performance are made and summarized statistically. When considering incremental deployment across all networks, with the site of greatest benefit chosen at each increment, it is found that static synchronous compensators provide the most favorable cost-benefit ratio. In contrast, multiterminal voltage-source converters tend to provide the greatest flexibility when considering uniform deployment across all networks. It is also observed that traditional reinforcement enhances the benefits provided by active compensation.