Coordinated integration of renewables, STATCOMs, and V2G for hosting capacity improvement under uncertainty

Abstract

Although incorporating renewable energy sources (RESs) into electric distribution networks (EDNs) offers significant sustainability and environmental benefits, improper management of RESs may threaten the technical performance of the network. To assess the safe integration of distributed generation (DG), the hosting capacity (HC) concept is employed. Plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs), through coordinated charging and discharging, can further support RES integration. Moreover, reactive power compensation using devices such as static synchronous compensators (STATCOMs) remains a key strategy for mitigating voltage violations under high RES penetration. This article proposes a novel stochastic multi-objective optimization framework, from the distribution system operator’s (DSO) perspective, to optimally coordinate the dispatch of PEV aggregators, wind-based DGs, PV-based DGs, and STATCOMs. The model accounts for uncertainties in load demand, solar radiation, wind speed, and PEV demand using stochastic programming. The objectives are to maximize HC while minimizing voltage deviation and power losses. The feasibility of employing a recent optimization technique, Tianji’s Horse Racing Optimization (THRO), to solve the proposed multi-objective problem is demonstrated and benchmarked against three other optimization algorithms on both the IEEE 33-bus system and a real 59-bus network in Cairo, Egypt. Results of IEEE 33-bus EDN show that optimal coordination of V2G-enabled PEVs and reactive power support via STATCOMs can enhance HC by 37%, reduce voltage deviation by 74%, and decrease power losses by 15%. In addition, the Cairo 59-bus EDN system exhibited similar trends, achieving an approximately 83% increase in hosting capacity, accompanied by nearly a 39% reduction in voltage deviation.