Optimal Design and Performance Analysis of Multiple Photovoltaic with Grid-Connected Commercial Load

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the potential of integrating Photovoltaic (PV) with commercial load and examine the impact on distribution networks. To estimate the hourly PV output power, 13 years of historical weather data were used. Furthermore, a beta probability density function was modeled to handle large amounts of data and generate a 24-hour predicted PV curve. Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) was used to determine the location and size of multiple PV units, ranging from 1 to 3. PV performance was tested on IEEE 33-bus and 69-bus test systems using time-varying commercial load, with power loss index (PLI) set as the objective function. PV penetration level was also calculated. The results showed a significant power loss reduction and PV penetration levels when 3 PV units were integrated into the system compared to a single PV unit. Specifically, the power loss reduction improved from 32.71% to 45.37% and 43.80% to 48.08%, producing PV penetration levels of 43.08% and 40.15% in 33-bus and 69-bus systems, respectively. The results indicated that the integration of multiple PV units was better than the single PV integration. The proposed model using PSO determined the impact of considering weather-dependent PV generation simultaneously with time-varying loads. It also provided knowledge to model the optimal location and sizing of multiple PV units in the distribution networks based on the generated solar irradiance patterns.

Keywords

• commercial load
• historical weather data
• power loss
• pv penetration
• particle swarm optimization