Enhancement of Distribution System using Improved Real-Coded Genetic Algorithm

Distributed generation (DG) implementation into power networks offers several technical and environmental advantages. These advantages include lessening power losses, improving voltage profiles, boosting power system reliability, and offering an easy determination to rapidly growing load needs. On the other hand, installing these DG units might have negative consequences if their distribution is not adequately sized. This research paper aims to allocate DGs optimally while improving the distribution network's voltage profile with decreased power losses. Several approaches have been developed to determine the optimal allocation of DGs in distribution networks. Genetic Algorithm (GA) is one of the most used artificial, naturally inspired approaches. Recently an improved version of the GA was introduced that is called Improved Real Coaded Genetic Algorithm (IRGA) as a powerful optimization algorithm. The IRGA was utilized as a solution tool in this research. Two DG types were considered in this study, the first is DGs capable of injecting active power only while the second is DGs capable of injecting active and reactive power. The attained results show that the developed IRGA can successfully identify the optimum solutions by minimizing power loss and improving the voltage profile, outperforming other current literature approaches. Also, power losses and voltage profile enhancement have improved significantly as the number of DG units has increased.