Efficient Probabilistic Assessment of the Impact of Renewable Generation on Annual Steady State Performance of Distribution Network

The penetration levels of stochastic and uncertain renewable energy sources (RESs) generation in the power systems, particularly in the distribution networks, have been increasing to decarbonise the power sector. This paper addresses the impacts of the spatial and temporal variation of RESs generation on the annual operation of the distribution network considering different penetration levels of single-phase and three-phase connected renewable generation. A Monte Carlo-based three-phase probabilistic load flow and K-means clustering were used to conduct an efficient annual network performance assessment in a combined DIgSILENT PowerFactory and MATLAB computational environment. Results show that the steady-state distribution network’s operation is affected by the total output from the RES generators, the output and location of the individual generators and the strength of the network.