A Milp Optimization Model For Siting Isolation Devices In Distribution Systems With Ders To Enhance Reliability

The deployment of distributed energy resources (DER) theoretically improves the reliability of a radial distribution system by taking advantage of the ability to island DERs and customers. However, an isolation device has to be placed in order to create this "island." On the other hand, a radial distribution system typically lacks isolation devices that are able to detect and isolate a fault, especially on the main distribution feeder, which is nowadays often protected by the substation breaker. This paper proposes a methodology to identify the optimal locations to install isolation devices in a radial distribution network with DER integrations, aiming at reliability improvements of distribution networks. We exploit utility historical load and fault data for generating multiple fault scenarios and develop a stochastic programming-based optimization model for unserved energy minimization. Two case studies on an IEEE 4-bus and 123-bus systems are performed, including some sensitivity analysis.