Optimal Placement of Solar PV in Distribution System Using PSO: A Case Study of Begnas and Budibazar Feeder

Nepal’s radial distribution feeders often face low voltage, high power losses, and poor power quality due to long lines and heavy loads. This study focuses on improving the voltage profile and reducing losses by optimally placing and sizing solar photovoltaic (PV) systems on the Begnas and Budibazar feeders of the Lekhnath DCs. Solar PV is selected as a clean and abundant source of Distributed Generation (DG).Using MATLAB R2015b and the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm, simulations were first conducted on the IEEE-33 bus test system, then applied to real feeders. The optimization showed significant improvements in voltage regulation and loss reduction, especially with the placement of three PV units.