Optimum placement of multi type DG units for loss reduction in a radial distribution system considering the distributed generation

Due to the increasing need for electricity, insertion of distributed generation (DG) into a distribution system attracts the attention of the deregulated power market. Placing DG in the distribution system inherently reduces the power loss and improves the system voltage profile. The choice of DG, proper placement and sizing of DG all play a vital role. This paper presents an effective methodology to identify the optimum location of multi type DG in the distribution system. The particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm and differential evolution (DE) are applied to identify the proper location and size of DG using the distributed generation suitability index (DGSI). The optimum location of DG is identified through DGSI and optimum sizing is done by means of the power loss minimization technique using evolutionary algorithms. The effective power loss reduction and improved system voltage profile are evaluated using sixteen combinations of different types of DGs with the standard IEEE 33-bus test system. The results reveal that power loss reduction and voltage profile improvement are effectively addressed by the DE algorithm.