Optimal DER Regulation and Storage Allocation in Distribution Networks: Volt/Var Optimization and Congestion Relief

The need for a smarter integration of Renewable Energy Sources (RESs) is growing together with their increasing spread in electrical grids. Storage systems can significantly help the electric system operation in scenarios with high RES penetration. This work proposes an algorithm for the optimal allocation of storage systems among the busbars of a distribution grid. The proposed technique is based on a Volt/Var optimization, which is also able to provide an estimation of the minimum size of the storage devices, in order to respect technical/quality constraints related to the considered distribution system (voltage profile, congestion relief, etc.). The presented approach has been validated on a Cigre benchmark network and tested on a real distribution grid model.