Impact of Distributed Generation Penetration on Radial networks with Shunt Compensation

The impact of penetration of distributed generation (DG) on shunt capacitor operation on a radial MV feeder with shunt compensation is assessed in this paper. Impact of capacitor location and DG location on the capacitor output and on feeder voltage profile in a network are both assessed and analyzed. South African utility capacitor placement methods are considered in studies. Two methods of calculating the feeder voltage profile are used in this study, where Method A is an approximate approach and Method B is a precise approach. Furthermore the accuracy of using Method A and Method B to assess the impact of DG on capacitors on an MV feeder is explored in comparison with results obtained from Power System Analysis (PSA) tools like DIgSILENT Powerfactory. The results inform the choice of using of Method A or Method B for the same analysis when PSA tools are not readily available. Studies are completed with DIgSILENT Powerfactory 2017.