Dynamic compensation of active and reactive power in distribution systems through PV-STATCOM and metaheuristic optimization

This article presents a heuristic methodology to address the operation problem of PV-STATCOMs, focusing on the dynamic compensation of active and reactive power to minimize daily energy losses and costs associated with purchasing energy in distribution networks. The methodology is developed using a master -slave type optimization approach. In the master stage, potential solutions are generated using an optimization algorithm based on the salp swarm. In contrast, the slave stage evaluates these solutions using the power flow method by successive approximations. The methodology was evaluated in two test systems, with 33 and 69 nodes, varying the power factor of each PV-STATCOM. The results demonstrate a significant reduction in both energy losses in the network and the cost of purchasing energy at the substation. Furthermore, the efficiency of the salp swarm algorithm for effective resolution of the problem is confirmed. This approach contributes to optimizing the operation of PV-STATCOMs and highlights the proposed algorithm's applicability and effectiveness in practical distribution network environments.