A Fully Distributed Reactive Power Optimization and Control Method for Active Distribution Networks

TL;DR

This paper introduces a fully distributed reactive power optimization method for active distribution networks that achieves global optimality without a central coordinator, utilizing SOC relaxation and an enhanced ADMM algorithm.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel fully distributed optimization algorithm for active distribution networks that guarantees global optimality using SOC relaxation and an improved ADMM approach.

Findings

Successfully applied to IEEE 33-node network

Achieved convergence with minimal boundary data exchange

Validated on large-scale distribution systems

Abstract

This paper proposes a fully distributed reactive power optimization algorithm that can obtain the global optimum of non-convex problems for distribution networks without a central coordinator. Second-order cone (SOC) relaxation is used to achieve exact convexification. A fully distributed algorithm is then formulated corresponding to the given division of areas based on an alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) algorithm, which is greatly simplified by exploiting the structure of active distribution networks (ADNs). The problem is solved for each area with very little interchange of boundary information between neighboring areas. The standard ADMM algorithm is extended using a varying penalty parameter to improve convergence. The validity of the method is demonstrated via numerical simulations on an IEEE 33-node distribution network, a PG&E 69-node distribution system, and an extended 137-node system.