Capacity usage determination of a Capacitor-less D-STATCOM considering Power System Uncertainties

Abstract

The increasing adoption of distributed energy resources (DERs), particularly solar generation and the use of unconventional loads such as plug-in electric vehicles (PHEVs), has a profound impact on the planning and operation of electric distribution systems. In particular, PHEV charging introduces stochastic peaks in energy consumption, while solar generation is fraught with variability during intermittent clouds. The stochastic nature of such DERs renders the operation of mechanical assets such as on-load tap changers and switched capacitor banks ineffective. A possible solution to mitigate the undesirable effects of DERs is using solid-state-based devices such as a distribution static synchronous compensator (D-STATCOM). This paper examines the capacity usage of a capacitor-less D-STATCOM in distribution systems while considering the uncertainties associated with using the aforementioned DERs. We propose a Monte Carlo simulation to study the capacity usage problem with DER inputs sampled from the proposed underlying distributions.