Efficient Reactive Power Management in Low Voltage Distribution Networks Using Pv Smart Inverters and Fc with Cost-Benefit Analysis

Using photovoltaic resources is considered as an opportunity to improve voltage deviation index through reactive power management of low voltage distribution grids. The present study aims to propose an optimal planning model for improving voltage deviation index and electricity sales revenue with the inverter capability and fixed capacitor. In this regard, the optimal smart photovoltaic inverter capacity, along with location and number of fixed capacitors are simultaneously determined to minimize the investment for inverters and fixed capacitors, operation cost, and maximise electricity sales revenue. To this aim, an innovative model is presented, which can calculate an annual techno-economic assessment. To be more realistic, investment, operation and maintenance costs of compensation devices, as well as lifetime and oversizing of the inverter are modelled in the objective function. In this article, accurate AC load flow equations along with technical constraints are integrated into a mixed-integer second-order conic programming model. Two real distribution grids are simulated using MATLAB software in order to show the effectiveness of the proposed model. The comparison of the proposed reactive power management method with conventional methods confirmed considerable reduction of investment and energy losses in the low voltage distribution networks