Photovoltaic Placement for Losses Reduction and Voltage Stability Enhancement in the Port Moresby System, Papua New Guinea

Abstract

The power grid in the capital city of Papua New Guinea, Port Moresby, still experiences problems of voltage stability and power losses due to many factors which is the common problem that most power systems continue to mitigate until today. The factors that give rise to these problems are the imbalance between generation and load and the long-distance of transmission lines. A possible solution to counteract these problems is to integrate photovoltaic systems into the power grid, especially at the load distribution network. This paper presents PV placement for Port Moresby system by using two stages, which are (1) identification of location with good irradiance then (2) determination of PV location by minimizing power losses and improving the voltage profile. This alternative approach is considered because Port Moresby city is situated in a location that is exposed to a significant amount of solar radiation of about 1976 kWh/m2 GHI annually. Therefore, this makes Port Moresby a suitable location to utilize this type of renewable energy technology. This research provides an analysis of the power flow within the Port Moresby grid through simulation using the Newton-Raphson method. The analysis and simulations are performed to identify the most sensitive buses within the system. Based on their high irradiance levels, these specific areas are identified as the best possible areas for integrating the photovoltaic system.