Maximization of distributed generation by considering system operating limits and protection reach reduction as constraints

Increased distributed generation (DG) in systems always brings about the impacts on maintaining the operation of protection systems. This paper concentrates on the impact on the protection reach reduction and proposes a solution to eliminate this impact by using a suitable DG transformer in parallel with a grounding reactance at the neutral point of the transformer's winding. Based on this, a Tabu search algorithm is proposed to maximize DG when the system operating limits and the protection reach reduction are considered as constraints. In order to illustrate the effectiveness of this algorithm, a case study is performed through an IEEE 34 Node Test Feeder.