Voltage control and optimal capacitor placement in the presence of photovoltaic systems in distribution networks

This paper presents an approach based on genetic algorithm for optimal capacitor placement and sizing in the presence of photovoltaic systems. In this approach, the PV systems ability to inject reactive power at the daylight and also at night hours will be studied. This algorithm has been implemented on a radial distribution network with 33 buses. Simulation results show that reactive power injection of PV inverters to the grid not only reduces power losses but also can decrease the total amount of required capacitor sizes. Moreover, voltage profile has been improved. Meanwhile, the impact of PV systems penetration level on the above mentioned indices improvement is studied.