Solar Energy Resource Potential Assessment and the Impacts of Solar PV System Integration on the Performance of Radial Distribution Network

In a distribution network, there are high power losses and also undervoltage problems. Utility companies enhance this by incorporating solar photovoltaic systems with the distribution network. Nonetheless, the performance of the network may be impacted by the integration of solar PV systems. To assess the effect of solar PV integration on the distribution system’s performance, the BATA, one of the 34-bus radial distribution feeders in Bahir Dar, is used as a case study. This area is found rich in solar resources for solar system installation. The precise location and size of the PV system are ascertained using the PSO algorithm. MATLAB software is utilized to calculate the voltage profile and power losses of each bus in the system using the backward-forward load flow algorithm. As a result, bus 34 and 74 4 kW, respectively, are determined to be the optimal PV site and size. Based on the variables of voltage profile, power losses, and harmonic distortion, the performance of the distribution network with and without solar system integration is investigated. Connecting the optimal solar PV system results in an improvement in the minimum voltage profile from 0.8393 p.u. to 0.953 p.u.; reductions in active and reactive power losses of 63.26% and 66.72%, respectively; and total voltage harmonic distortion within IEEE standards (4.05%). However, the over-integration of solar PV systems resulted in high harmonic distortion, overvoltage, and power losses. In general, to significantly improve network performance, the solar PV system should be integrated as best it can be.