Technical-Economic Indices for Optimal Integration of Photovoltaic Distributed Generation Units Using Hybrid PSO-WOA Technique

Abstract

This paper proposes to hybridize the Whale Optimizer (WOA) and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithms to achieve optimal integration of Distributed Generator (DG) based photovoltaic sources in the search for optimal allocation. Optimal integration reduces the Active Power Loss (APL) index and enhances the Total Voltage Variation (TVV) index and the Total Operating Cost (TOC) index. The proposed hybrid PSO-WOA algorithm is validated on standard IEEE 33-bus and 69-bus Electrical Distribution Systems (EDS). Numerical and graphical comparative studies were conducted to benchmark the hybrid approach results against those obtained using other powerful algorithms and techniques existing in the literature. Active and reactive branch currents are calculated and plotted to show how the DG affects current flows in the EDS. To make the results more realistic, linear load level variation is considered, with the loads varying from 60% to 120% of the rated loading level.