Optimal Placement of Distributed Energy Resources to Enhance Resilience in Electrical Distribution Systems

The resilience of electrical distribution systems (EDS) is critical for the continuity of essential services, particularly in the face of increasing natural disasters. While EDS reliability has been emphasized historically, resilience has recently gained attention due to its broader scope of maintaining system integrity during and after disturbances. This study proposes a novel optimization framework for the optimal placement of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) in EDS, enhancing resilience, especially during extreme events. Leveraging a modified Multi-Objective Particle Swarm Optimization (MOPSO) algorithm, this research addresses the challenge of maintaining continuous power supply to critical loads. We use a new resilience metric aligned with the Resilience Analysis Process (RAP) from Sandia National Laboratories, accommodating the complex network topology and system variations. From the results, it is found that when contrasted with configurations optimized solely for power loss, the proposed approach demonstrates a slight increase in power loss of 1 kW but yields an improvement in resilience of 3.3%. This trade-off needs to be considered when incorporating resilience considerations into EDS planning.