Abstract

The increase in photovoltaic penetration, especially in the low voltage distribution system, requires the necessity to identify the problems it causes, as well as the benefits it provides. In this context, this paper presents the impact of small-scale photovoltaic penetration in a radial feeder of the Albanian distribution system, in different connection points (in each feeder’s transformer, in the first half-length, or the second half). Furthermore, the study is based on the investigation of the maximum photovoltaic capacity that can be connected to a feeder, limited by current hosting capacity through evaluation of Active and Reactive Power, Voltage Profile, as well as Line and Transformer Losses. The simulation results show that while an improvement is observed in the feeder voltage profile, problems appear regarding the loading of some transformers and the increase in losses. Meanwhile, the results show that the photovoltaics installation along the entire feeder is the best option. On the other hand, while the most favourable case would be the installation in the first half of the feeder minimum load scenario, the installation in its second half-length would be useful for the maximum feeder's load scenario. In addition to these results achieved from the technical analysis, almost the same results came from the economic analysis carried out in this paper (considering the total investment cost of the photovoltaic systems, cost savings from reduced losses after photovoltaic integration, and the revenue from selling photovoltaic energy to consumers). When photovoltaic systems are connected suitably (in the first or second half length of the feeder), considering the load level, the total revenue can be increased by 1.7 times or the cost savings from fewer losses can be increased by 2.2 times. The result obtained for different operating scenarios gives important information for the RESs industry, distribution system operators, and prosumers.