A novel approach for optimum number and location of FACTS devices on IEEE-30 bus grid using meta-heuristic basd Harmony Search

This paper describes a new Harmony Search (HS) meta-heuristic algorithm to determine the optimal number and location of Flexible AC transmission systems (FACTS) devices in a power system to improve voltage buses profile. HS algorithm is conceptualized as using the musical process of searching for a perfect state of harmony. It uses a stochastic random search instead of a gradient search so that derivative information is unnecessary. FACTS device (STATCOM) have been introduced. Bus voltages have been solved by controlling the reactive power of shunt compensator. An IEEE30 bus system is used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the algorithm as an optimization tool and yields efficiency in improvement of voltage profile and reduction of power losses. The results indicate that the proposed approach is a powerful search and optimization technique that may yield better solutions to engineering problems than those obtained using traditional algorithms.