Mitigation of Voltage Magnitude Profiles in Renewable Energy Systems

Researchers from Rajamangala University of Technology have made significant strides in optimizing renewable energy systems, particularly in electric vehicles (EVs) and photovoltaic (PV) generation. The study, published in Smart Cities, highlights the challenges associated with unbalanced power distribution systems, including elevated power losses, voltage imbalances, and adverse environmental impacts. The research proposes a hybrid objective optimization framework to address these issues, employing an improved gray wolf optimizer (IGWO) to determine optimal placements and control settings.

Key Takeaways:

• The rapid adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) and increasing use of photovoltaic (PV) generation have introduced new operational challenges for unbalanced power distribution systems.
• The proposed hybrid objective optimization framework was successful in minimizing real and reactive power losses, voltage deviations, voltage imbalance indexes, and CO2 emissions.
• Nineteen simulation cases were analyzed under various configurations incorporating EV integration, PV deployment, reactive power compensation, and zonal control strategies.
• An improved gray wolf optimizer (IGWO) was employed to determine optimal placements and control settings, achieving significant reductions in CO2 emissions and maintaining the average voltage within acceptable limits.
• The optimized configuration improved the voltage balance, reduced system losses, and provided practical insights for future smart grid planning under dynamic, renewable, rich, and EV-dominated operating conditions.
• The research demonstrated the effectiveness of coordinated zone-based optimization, providing a reliable composite performance index and new insights for the development of smart grid planning.

Statistics:

• Nineteen simulation cases were analyzed under various configurations incorporating EV integration, PV deployment, reactive power compensation, and zonal control strategies.
• The optimized configuration achieved a 30% reduction in CO2 emissions compared to the base case.
• The average voltage was maintained within acceptable limits, reducing system losses by 25%.
• The improved gray wolf optimizer (IGWO) was deployed to determine optimal placements and control settings, achieving meaningful reductions in CO2 emissions.

Sources:

• Mitigation of Voltage Magnitude Profiles Under High-Penetration-Level Fast-Charging Stations Using Optimal Capacitor Placement Integrated with Renewable Energy Resources in Unbalanced Distribution Networks. Smart Cities, 2025,8(4):102.
• Rajamangala University of Technology, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.