Abstract

Photovoltaic (PV) generation systems have become popular renewable energy alternatives for facing climate changes and for promoting energy transition. During the low/absence of PV output power, the addition of distribution static synchronous compensator (DSTATCOM) functionality to PV inverters represents an important target for maximizing the benefits from inverter capacity. The novelty of this present work is improving the reliability and security indices of the distribution network using an optimal integration of inverter-based PVs without and with their inherent DSTATCOM functionality under uncertain load demand and PV output power. A wide evaluation of reliability performance indices including the load-oriented and customer-oriented reliability indices in addition to the network security-index (NSI) is investigated. Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS) and the scenario-based reduction (SBR) methods are implemented for predicting the stochastic behavior of different uncertainty sources. The IEEE 33-bus test network is used for verifying the superiority of the proposed method by considering various seasonal loading. In addition, the impacts of protective devices installation as well as the linear failure rate of feeders on the reliability indices are addressed. The results and comparisons show superior enhancement of reliability and security indices of distribution test network using inverter-based PVs with their enabled DSTATCOM functionality.