A heuristic-based method for setting synchronous distributed generators excitation system parameters to improve islanding detection

• Published in: Electric power systems research 2024-10, Vol.235, p.110691, Article 110691
• Main Authors: de Barros Iscuissati, Rodrigo, Davi, Moisés Junior Batista Borges, Vieira, José Carlos Melo, Motter, Daniel
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anti-islanding protection; Differential evolution; Distributed generation; Renewable energy
• ISSN: 0378-7796; 1873-2046
• DOI: 10.1016/j.epsr.2024.110691

Passive anti-islanding protections rely on measurements of voltage, frequency, and rate of change of frequency at the point of common coupling of the distributed generators, and their performance is impacted by the dynamic behavior of distributed generators operating under specific control modes. In this context, this paper proposes a novel heuristic-based method for setting the excitation system parameters of synchronous distributed generators using the differential evolution algorithm to enhance the performance of anti-islanding protection. The results demonstrate that the heuristic-based method achieves improved islanding detection performance compared to traditional values used to specify excitation system parameters. Furthermore, the optimized excitation system parameters do not adversely affect the transient response of the generator during fault events. •A novel heuristic method for setting the excitation system of synchronous generators.•The method aims to minimize the actuation time of passive anti-islanding protection.•The heuristic reduced the non-detection zone of passive techniques.•The method does not affect the dependability of passive anti-islanding protection.•The overall performance of the synchronous generator is not affected.