Impact of distributed generation technology and location on power system voltage stability

This paper shows the effect of distributed generation location and type of technology on power system voltage stability and power losses. Three types of distributed generation technologies are used to check this effect: injecting active and reactive power, injecting active power and absorbing reactive power, and injecting only active power to the system (unity power factor operation). Location of distributed generation is also evaluated. The most suitable locations to connect distributed generation sources are identified by modal analysis through participation factors. These participation factors indicate sensitive areas of the system associated with active and reactive power. Then, they can be used to assess the impacts of each type of distributed generation technology on the system. The analysis is conducted on a 33 and 65 bus system representing Brazilian regions. The analysis shows that power system voltage stability and power losses are significantly affected by distributed generation location and type of technology. In some cases, the presence of distributed generation can even deteriorate voltage stability and power losses.