Optimal Allocation of Renewable Sources with Battery and Capacitors in Radial Feeders for Reliable Power Supply Using Pathfinder Algorithm

Allocating renewable energy systems (RESs) in an electrical distribution system (EDS) is crucial to achieving various objectives. However, their intermittency presents several challenges. In this connection, an efficient meta-heuristic pathfinder algorithm (PFA) is employed to determine the optimal location and size of photovoltaic (PV) and wind turbine (WT) systems, along with energy storage systems (ESS) and capacitor banks (CB) for both grid and islanding modes of operations. An objective function was formulated for loss reduction, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and voltage profile improvement. The simulation results for the IEEE 33-bus EDS system are shown for two cases: grid-connected and islanding. The computational effectiveness of the PFA was compared with that reported in the literature. The PFA results showed an outstanding ability to resolve difficult optimisation problems. In addition, the optimal size of the RES when the network operates in the grid-connected mode can significantly improve the performance. The real power losses and GHG emissions were reduced by 48.49 % and 67.75% with PV systems and the other, respectively, whereas WT systems they are reduced to 69.68 % and 67.85 %, respectively. However, a combination of ESS, CB, and PV/WT can render the EDN sustainable for the islanding mode of operations.