Profit-driven DG placement in active networks using IGEPSO with harmonic and pollution emission considerations

Modern distribution networks have transitioned into active systems due to the integration of distributed generation (DG) at the distribution level. This evolution necessitates advanced pricing mechanisms, such as nodal pricing, which effectively reflect the economic and operational impacts of DG integration. The presence of DGs significantly influences bus nodal prices by reducing system losses and alleviating congestion, leading to lower nodal prices. To enhance the realism and applicability of such analyses, this study incorporates harmonic losses and pollution emission penalty functions into a profit-oriented DG placement framework. These penalty functions serve as financial disincentives for high-emission scenarios, promoting environmentally sustainable and economically balanced configurations. This paper proposes a novel methodology based on nodal pricing for the optimal allocation of DGs, employing the improved generalized particle swarm optimization (IGEPSO) algorithm. The proposed approach aims to maximize profit, minimize system losses, improve voltage profiles, and adapt to nodal price fluctuations. Extensive simulations are conducted on the IEEE 33-bus system to validate the effectiveness of the IGEPSO algorithm. Results demonstrate that IGEPSO outperforms traditional optimization techniques, such as PSO and GEPSO, achieving a 14.28% increase in profit compared to GEPSO when considering pollution emission penalties. Moreover, IGEPSO achieves a 14.52% profit improvement over GEPSO when both pollution emission penalties and harmonics are considered.