Siting and Sizing of DG Units Considering Energy Equity: Model, Solution, and Guidelines

Low-income communities have challenges obtaining equal access to electricity, so it is important to implement energy justice. Meanwhile, increasing installations of distributed generators (DGs) in distribution systems is a viable means to promote energy equity. Therefore, this work explores a new planning method for a DG units’ siting and sizing problem with an energy equity constraint embedded in the model, and concluding guidelines can be used as a rule of thumb for future DG planning considering energy equity. In this paper, first, the DG siting and sizing problem is formulated as a stochastic bi-level model, where energy equity is considered as an energy burden constraint. The upper level determines the optimal sites and sizes of DGs under investment and energy burden constraints, while the lower level optimizes the distribution operation. Next, a solution method is proposed by applying the Karush-Kuhn-Tucker optimality conditions to convert the stochastic bi-level model to a single-level model. A decomposition approach and Progressive Hedging Algorithm are used to further simplify the single-level model into multiple easy-to-solve subproblems. Finally, numerical studies are performed on two systems to verify the effectiveness of the proposed model. Technical rule-of-thumb guidelines are presented for siting and sizing DGs considering energy equity.