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Model-Free Cooperative Control for Volt-Var Optimization in Power Distribution Systems

Author

Listed:
  • Gaurav Yadav

    (Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA)

  • Yuan Liao

    (Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA)

  • Aaron M. Cramer

    (Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA)

Abstract

Power distribution systems are witnessing a growing deployment of distributed, inverter-based renewable resources such as solar generation. This poses certain challenges such as rapid voltage fluctuations due to the intermittent nature of renewables. Volt-Var control (VVC) methods have been proposed to utilize the ability of inverters to supply or consume reactive power to mitigate fast voltage fluctuations. These methods usually require a detailed power network model including topology and impedance data. However, network models may be difficult to obtain. Thus, it is desirable to develop a model-free method that obviates the need for the network model. This paper proposes a novel model-free cooperative control method to perform voltage regulation and reduce inverter aging in power distribution systems. This method assumes the existence of time-series voltage and load data, from which the relationship between voltage and nodal power injection is derived using a feedforward artificial neural network (ANN). The node voltage sensitivity versus reactive power injection can then be calculated, based on which a cooperative control approach is proposed for mitigating voltage fluctuation. The results obtained for a modified IEEE 13-bus system using the proposed method have shown its effectiveness in mitigating fast voltage variation due to PV intermittency. Moreover, a comparative analysis between model-free and model-based methods is provided to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed method.

Suggested Citation

  • Gaurav Yadav & Yuan Liao & Aaron M. Cramer, 2025. "Model-Free Cooperative Control for Volt-Var Optimization in Power Distribution Systems," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(15), pages 1-16, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:18:y:2025:i:15:p:4061-:d:1714272
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Kabir, Farzana & Yu, Nanpeng & Gao, Yuanqi & Wang, Wenyu, 2023. "Deep reinforcement learning-based two-timescale Volt-VAR control with degradation-aware smart inverters in power distribution systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 335(C).
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