Methodology for Determining the Optimal Location and Capacity of STATCOM Based on Grid Clustering for Grid Voltage Stability

Abstract

This paper proposes a grid clustering methodology based on an artificial bee colony (ABC) algorithm for determining the optimal location and capacity of a static synchronous compensator (STATCOM) to enhance voltage stability and voltage profile in a power system. The conventional ABC algorithm has a wide search space, which can lead to getting trapped in local optima, resulting in low accuracy and high computational time. To resolve this issue, this paper suggests a method that clusters buses based on the degree of voltage compensation due to reactive power compensation by STATCOM, and then performs the optimization algorithm within the selected cluster. Specifically, the voltage stability index (i.e., QSI) is used to select the clusters, and the algorithm's objective function takes voltage sensitivity into account when determining where STATCOM should be placed to enhance the voltage stability. The proposed algorithm is verified using the IEEE-30 bus system, and its high accuracy and quick computation speed are demonstrated by a comparison with several conventional meta-heuristic algorithms.