Convex Relaxation of Optimal Power Flow in Distribution Feeders with Embedded Solar Power

There is an increasing interest in using Distributed Energy Resources (DER) directly coupled to end user distribution feeders. This poses an array of challenges because most of today's distribution feeders are designed for unidirectional power flow. Therefore when installing DERs such as solar panels with uncontrolled inverters, the upper limit of installable capacity is quickly reached in many of today's distribution feeders. This problem can often be mitigated by optimally controlling the voltage angles of inverters. However, the optimal power flow problem in its standard form is a large scale non-convex optimization problem, and thus can't be solved precisely and also is computationally heavy and intractable for large systems. This paper examines the use of a convex relaxation using Semi-definite programming to optimally control solar power inverters in a distribution grid in order to minimize the global line losses of the feeder. The mathematical model is presented in details. Further, case studies are completed with simulations involving a 15-bus radial distribution system. These simulations are run for 24 hour periods, with actual solar data and demand data. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.