Valuing DER Location based on the Impact on Transmission Network: A Planning Tool

Distributed energy resources (DERs) are increasingly being considered as an attractive solution to the non-wire alternative problem, given their various benefits to the system. However, high levels of DER penetration can result in unanticipated electric grid operating conditions, as they are traditionally not considered in planning processes by the transmission utilities. Consequently, there arises a need to value DERs based on the impacts they have on the overall system as viewed from a transmission level. This paper presents three metrics to quantify the impacts caused by the addition of DERs to an existing system. The proposed approach employs a statistical approach to measure the shift of critical system parameters from normal operating conditions due to the addition of DERs. A test system developed based on the western Kansas region is used to analyze the impact of DERs and demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed method. The results provide additional insights on how value of DERs can be studied based on the candidate location of installation.