Loss Reduction in Radial Distribution Networks Using a Solid-State Transformer

Electrical power losses in distribution networks contribute significantly to the overall energy loss in power systems. Reducing network losses can help the power system become more energy efficient. The solid-state transformer (SST) is primarily being considered as a replacement to the traditional fundamental frequency transformer. This paper proposes the use of the dual-reactive power support feature of the SST to reduce radial distribution network losses. A planning algorithm using particle swarm optimization (PSO) is proposed to optimally locate and size the SST installations with an overall objective of reducing network losses. The proposed algorithm is implemented on a standard 33-bus radial distribution network and the results for multiple scenarios are presented. It is shown that by increasing the deployment of SST, the losses in the distribution network can be reduced considerably.