Optimal Location and Sizing of DGs in DC Networks Using a Hybrid Methodology Based on the PPBIL Algorithm and the VSA

In this paper, we propose a master–slave methodology to address the problem of optimal integration (location and sizing) of Distributed Generators (DGs) in Direct Current (DC) networks. This proposed methodology employs a parallel version of the Population-Based Incremental Learning (PPBIL) optimization method in the master stage to solve the location problem and the Vortex Search Algorithm (VSA) in the slave stage to solve the sizing problem. In addition, it uses the reduction of power losses as the objective function, considering all the constraints associated with the technical conditions specific to DGs and DC networks. To validate its effectiveness and robustness, we use as comparison methods, different solution methodologies that have been reported in the specialized literature, as well as two test systems (the 21 and 69-bus test systems). All simulations were performed in MATLAB. According to the results, the proposed hybrid (PPBIL–VSA) methodology provides the best trade-off between quality of the solution and processing times and exhibits an adequate repeatability every time it is executed.