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Optimal Allocation and Sizing of Dynamic

Var Sources Using Heuristic Optimization
Sebastian Wildenhues, Student Member, IEEE, Jose L. Rueda, Senior Member, IEEE, and
Istvan Erlich, Senior Member, IEEE

AbstractThis paper addresses the problem of joint optimal

allocation and sizing of dynamic Var sources (ODynVarS) for
short-term dynamic performance enhancement of power systems.
A heuristic optimization based approach is proposed with the
aim of achieving a desirable performance under multiple contingencies with respect to a reference short-term voltage response.
Based on a pre-selected set of credible contingencies and potential
candidate locations for device additions, the approach employs the
mean-variance mapping optimization (MVMO) in combination
with an integrated mixed-integer search strategy (IMIS) and two
intervention schemes, to accelerate and guide the search process
towards a techno-economically optimum solution. The first intervention is performed at fitness evaluation stage to screen economic
solutions which entail technical feasibility and to reduce computational effort. IMIS and the second intervention is concerned with
MVMOs knowledge management, which facilitates the search
for solutions comprising a small number of devices with relatively
large VAr capacity. The approach is tested using the IEEE 39-bus
New England system.
Index TermsDynamic security, dynamic Var planning,
heuristic optimization, power system stability, static synchronous
compensator (STATCOM).

I. INTRODUCTION

AINTANING dynamic security represents one of the

major concerns regarding the reliable operation of
power systems. As such, this issue is receiving renewed interest
due to the recent occurrences of short-term voltage incidents,
especially in the form of slow voltage recovery following
disturbances, or in the form of fast voltage collapse, causing
sustained low voltages in significant portions of a power
system [1]. The increased risk of voltage instability, which
can be attributed to factors such as the growing proportion of
induction motor loads in several countries, the increased use
of electronically controlled devices, and the higher capacity,
variability and changing direction of power transfers due to
renewable energy and market integration, underscores the need
Manuscript received March 31, 2014; revised July 16, 2014; accepted
September 16, 2014. Paper no. TPWRS-00331-2014.
S. Wildenhues is with Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy and Energy
System Technology, 34119 Kassel, Germany (e-mail: sebastian.wildenhues@iwes.fraunhofer.de).
J. L. Rueda is with the Department of Electrical Sustainable Energy, Technical University Delft, 2628 CN Delft, The Netherlands (e-mail: J.L.RuedaTorres@tudelft.nl).
I. Erlich is with the Institute of Electrical Power Systems, University Duisburg-Essen, 47057 Duisburg, Germany (e-mail: istvan.erlich@uni-due.de).
Color versions of one or more of the figures in this paper are available online
at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TPWRS.2014.2361153

for new control and optimal planning procedures targeting

the fulfillment of settled operational performance criteria and
which cover the timescale of a few to tens of seconds after large
disturbances [2].
Traditional options to deal with voltage problems include [3]:
1) under voltage load shedding, which constitutes a slow control
approach and may be unable to address fast dynamics; 2) the
upgrading or addition of transmission lines, which both involve
significant investment and installation time; and 3) installation
of fixed shunt capacitors, which may fail to address short-term
voltage problems.
Alternatively, the addition of flexible AC transmission
systems (FACTS) is taken into consideration. The static synchronous compensator (STATCOM), as FACTS element based
on voltage source converter (VSC) technology, provides almost
instantaneous and continuous voltage support [4]. Aspects
of power quality, desirable footprint, and improved reactive
power contribution under depressed voltages subsequent to
severe disturbances make STATCOM generally an attractive
candidate for mitigating short-term voltage problems, and may
thus be preferred over classical solutions such as the static Var
compensator (SVC), even though specific investment costs are
still notably higher [5].
Many authors addressed the problem of dynamic Var planning in steady-state, e.g., [6]. There is nevertheless no assurance
that obtained solutions entail enhanced performance implications in dynamic terms [2]. By adopting a dynamic framework
with trajectory sensitivities, some publications have addressed
the location and sizing separately. In [3], use is made of decoupling techniques by dividing the problem into two portions,
namely: 1) a primal problem, minimizing costs by classical programming; 2) a master problem, which returns new binary variables (decision about whether or not to install) to the primal
problem in a combinatorial sense. The need for discretization
of time-domain quantities in [3] to make the problem solvable
has been overcome in [7]. Once the procedure is initialized
by an approximating guess, singular value decomposition with
control vector parameterization based on sequential dynamic
programming is applied. Besides the analytical complexity, attained results are difficult to comprehend with regard to technoeconomic efficiency while relying on research-grade software.
Ultimately, considering one contingency only is a major limiting factor in planning.
Associated problems are discontinuous and characterized by
a multimodal, non-convex solution space. Classical techniques
do not lend themselves to acceptable outcomes, even though
these are computationally efficient [8]. In departure from the

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state-of-the-art, this paper proposes an integrated heuristic optimization framework for simultaneous determination of optimal
allocation and sizing of dynamic Var sources (ODynVarS).
Considering multiple pre-selected contingencies in the decision making, mean-variance mapping optimization (MVMO)
is used as the only searching algorithm in conjunction with
intervention schemes for fitness evaluation and knowledge
management to achieve high computational efficiency. Dynamic solver and optimization technique are independent and
only loosely coupled, which makes possible the individual
inclusion of high-performance computing paradigms while
principally relying on off-the-shelf software.
The paper is structured as follows. Section II discusses preliminary considerations to be followed by the detailed presentation of the ODynVarS approach in Section III. A test case study
is performed in Section IV, and finally conclusions are drawn
with an outlook for future research in Section V.
II. PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS
ODynVarS focuses on short-term dynamic performance enhancement of power systems subject to credible, severe disturbances through the addition of one or more dynamic Var
source(s). The actual decision about which type to incorporate
(e.g., STATCOM vs. SVC) is not a limiting factor since the approach is broad enough to consider any fast-acting device influencing the transient voltage recovery without loss of generality.
It is treated as an optimization task with the goal of achieving a
substantiated techno-economic tradeoff.
A. Assessment of Short-Term Dynamic Performance
Post-disturbance voltage requirements are commonly formulated by means of performance criteria in grid codes [9]. As
shown in Fig. 1, generic lower and upper reference boundaries
are defined, to where the associated bus voltage trajectory is restricted:

(1)
The lower part is described by expression (1) while
corresponds to the upper part.
and
denote the instant of fault occurrence and dynamic
simulation time span. Parameter
is used to calibrate the
decaying of the boundaries towards the steady-state value
. In this research,
p.u. and
p.u. are
used except in Section III-B, where
is varied within the
range
. As illustrated in Fig. 1, the area outside
the boundaries, defined as trajectory violation integral (TVI),
characterizes the individual voltage violations with respect to
magnitude and time duration:
(2)

(3)

Fig. 1. Generic criterion for the continuous assessment of short-term dynamic

voltage performance (TVI: trajectory violation integral).

For a given disturbance,

associated to system buses
is used to form a system-wide measure
as follows:
(4)

B. Selection of Credible Contingencies

The solution of the ODynVarS problem should entail a satisfactory system short-term dynamic performance under different
types of credible severe contingencies. Thus, the selection of a
reduced set of contingencies constitutes a key initial step before performing the actual optimization. As the dynamic performance is of main concern, it is strongly recommended to
perform such a task based on dynamic severity measures [3],
[10], [11]. These may reflect operational performance requirements by considering well-established N-1 contingency criteria
[9], [12]. Generally, when subjected to a severe disturbance, the
system short-term voltage response is characterized by at least
one of the following two portions [11]: 1) extent of voltage dip;
2) duration of bus voltage below the acceptable limit, cf. Fig. 1.
One typical approach is therefore to utilize the corresponding
information of voltage violation components by linear combination in order to form a joint severity index (SI) at individual buses. Intrinsic shortcomings regarding the specific definition of those SI, however, have been identified as leading
to potential ambiguity in measuring the actual picture of dynamic severity within the system. This is particularly true under
heavily stressed conditions where transient rotor angle instability of one or more generators shows abrupt variations along
the voltage trajectories. Although practically irrelevant due to
expected prior intervention by associated protection systems,
this aspect is essential in the context of multiple contingencies
within ODynVarS to account for critical scenarios in simulation.
In order to overcome those shortcomings, the contingency
ranking and selection procedure applied in this research is based
directly on the previous generic criterion for the assessment of
short-term dynamic voltage performance. As one of the major
advantages over known formulations, noncompliance of voltage
is processed using a unified continuous measurement, subject to

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a natural characterization of the limiting boundaries. This inherently enables accurate quantification of the degree of severity
compared to composite approaches, where multiple counting of
components cannot be excluded and only sustained violations
are processed [3], [11].
Equation (5) is used for calculation of the individual contingency severity index (CSI). Moreover, other definitions, e.g., to
emphasize the relevance of load buses, may be introduced:
(5)
Contingencies are defined to be single-element three-phase
short-circuits in the middle of transmission lines. The contingencies are ranked according to CSI in a descending order. From
this ranking, the input set for consideration in ODynVarS is then
established after selecting the first five elements. Note that alternative contingency selection procedures based on CSI can be
used instead.
C. Candidate Locations Specification
Determination of candidate locations for potential dynamic
Var source installation constitutes another essential preliminary
step. In connection with steady-state frameworks, this can be
accomplished through (mature) sensitivity analysis techniques,
e.g., based on a reduced power flow Q-U-Jacobian matrix [13].
Nevertheless, a more comprehensive approach should be used
when considering the nonlinear power system short-term dynamics in response to large disturbances.
A basic approach would be to perform the selection by measuring the marginal impact of a control variable (corresponding
to a dynamic Var source addition) on relevant system quantities
(e.g., bus voltages) in the time domain. This is referred to in literature as trajectory sensitivity analysis [14]. Generally, the determination of trajectory sensitivities entails a significant computational burden, especially for large-scale systems. Numerical
approximations have hence been adopted to perform the selection process more efficiently [3]. It has not been proved to date
whether these measures can provide a reliable indication of sensitivities when considering abrupt variations along the voltage
trajectory, such as those involved in cases where transient instability could fortuitously play a complementary role under
stressed operating conditions.
In light of this aspect, an alternative engineering-based procedure, which further utilizes the outcomes from the contingency
assessment described in Section II-B, is used for candidate location specification. Considering the possibility of a 3-phase disturbance occurring along system branches, and after selecting a
given number of credible contingencies, the buses for potential
dynamic Var sources addition are defined as being the buses or
nearby buses corresponding to the branches where the contingencies occur.
The subsequent task is to identify minimum and maximum
rating
at individual candidate buses as component search range for the optimization. Technically, it is reasonable to define
in terms of the local system strength,
which is obtained through
, where
results from a

short-circuit calculation [15]. Short-circuit ratio SCR is typically defined in planning studies to reflect the relationship between short-circuit power and plant size in order to analyze, for
instance, the response of wind power plants to voltage dips in
systems of varying strength [16]. This value has been set to 20
for this research. In contrast to
cannot be determined
in a similar manner. Instead, this limit may be predetermined
by manufacturer rating specifications.
is set equal to 25
Mvar. It can in conclusion be stated thus that while minimum
physical rating
used in the optimization as the lower search
boundary is fixed,
varies at individual candidate buses in
relation to the local system strength.
A functional relationship between investment cost and device rating is further needed to quantify the allocation of individual dynamic Var source(s). In this research, reference per
unit STATCOM investment costs, reflecting expenditures both
for equipment and infrastructure have been obtained from [5],
and extrapolated for different ranges comprising any conceivable Mvar ratings. The data was fitted to a polynomial cost function, which is used to evaluate the economic viability of a candidate solution. In the formulation of the ODynVarS problem, the
overall Var investment cost is determined using the reference
cost function,
, for every STATCOM installation having
rating among
candidate locations as
(6)

D. Optimization Problem Formulation

Based on the preselected set of credible severe contingencies,
candidate locations and cost functions for STATCOM additions,
the optimization is defined as
(7)
subject to
(8)
(9)
(10)
(11)
(12)
where (8)(9) constitute the system of differential and algebraic
, repreequations (DAE). and are functions of class
senting dynamic states and system equality constraints, while
and
are the corresponding variables, respectively. Initial equilibrium conditions are addressed by (10), and
is the vector of control variables.
refer, respectively, to the set of dynamic Var installations
proposed by the optimization in the current iteration, and both
minimum and maximum individual physical Mvar rating at the
set of candidate locations.
As stated above, to evaluate an allocations economic performance via , (7) is used. Superscript in (12) is associated with
individual contingencies, such that conformity with the generic

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Fig. 2. Procedure of ODynVarS.

performance criterion should be fulfilled throughout the search

progress. Moreover, as long as total
exceeds zero, that
is, any transient bus voltage violation has occurred within the
sequence of considered contingencies, the search should be encouraged to find first identify STATCOM allocations that ensure fulfillment of (12). Once technically feasible allocations
are found, the search should exclusively focus on the minimization of investment costs.
An heuristic optimization framework constitutes an attractive
alternative here to mathematical programming owing to its intrinsically open nature. MVMO is used due to conceptual simplicity, easy adaptability, and strengths in achieving robust results with little tuning demands [18], [19]. The algorithm has
evidenced an outstanding numerical performance when used
for solving computationally expensive tasks, and only a limited
number of function evaluations, dictated by execution time constraints, are available [19]. ODynVarS falls into this category,
whereas the underlying time-domain simulations constitute the
major computational burden. Nevertheless, this does not render
efforts towards more efficient solvers obsolete but can be seen
as a complementary field to be addressed [20].
III. PROPOSED APPROACH
The structure of ODynVarS is depicted in Fig. 2. Based on a
postulated and appropriately ranked set of credible severe contingencies, a generic performance criterion and candidate locations, the approach starts by defining optimization settings and
parameters of voltage controllers associated with individual devices. The procedure then continues with the generation of an
initial supposition corresponding to device ratings. The search
is performed iteratively until the optimal set of installations
with minimum investment cost and an acceptable short-term dynamic performance is identified. Proposed allocations are validated in an open and loosely coupled multi-contingency system/
optimization framework.
In general great potential exists to significantly speed-up the
procedure in light of large system sizes by making use of concurrency based on Benders decomposition [21], [22], which is
similar to the practice known from online applications [23].
A. Mean-Variance Mapping Optimization
Fig. 3 summarizes the MVMO based solution procedure for
any type of optimization problem with dimensions. The most

Fig. 3. MVMO procedure for solving general purpose optimization problems.

unique feature of MVMO is its incorporation of a special mapping function for mutating genes in the offspring generation.
Its dynamically changing shape is based on mean and variance
from the set comprising the best solutions achieved so far,
which in turn are archived in a descending order of fitness.
The mapping function is defined within the interval
and guarantees generated offspring to be located strictly within
the search range, e.g., minimum and maximum device ratings.
For function evaluation, optimization variables are de-normalized to real-world quantities. Original MVMO is based on a
single-agent concept requiring only one evaluation per generation [17]. This is beneficial from the computational viewpoint
[19]. A generalized and more global variant is presented in [18].
It offers the possibility of further elaborating the computational
aspects towards large systems by exploiting natural concurrency
provided by a swarm of multiple agents. It is assumed that in the
given time-domain framework, certain inter-agent communication via message passing is acceptable while achieving significant speedup.
B. Multi-Contingency Framework Incorporating Intervention
Proper treatment of ODynVarS under consideration of multiple contingencies in a power system dynamic framework involves key aspects encouraging the inclusion of intervention
schemes into the optimization. It should be stressed that for candidate STATCOM allocation , created through MVMOs offspring generation process, the technical validation could entail
execution of
consecutive time domain simulations for determination of
, cf. (12). Ingenuous implementation would
imply a tremendous computational burden for large-scale power
systems. Thus, considering that a limited net amount of function evaluations is vital to avoid computational bottlenecks, the
twofold intervention scheme illustrated in Fig. 4 is incorporated
into the multi-contingency framework.
Of individual candidate dynamic Var allocation proposed
by MVMO, the procedure evaluates 1) the economic potential
(cf. Intervention I) prior to and 2) the technical feasibility (cf.

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as beneficial allocation and will enter the knowledge-base of

MVMO to influence the search evolution.
C. Archive Update and Integrated Mixed-Integer Search

Fig. 4. Multi-contingency framework incorporating interventions and MVMO.

Intervention II) after entering the multi-contingency framework.

Concerning 1), investment costs associated with , i.e.,
,
are compared to those of already known allocations within the
archive, wherein solutions are stored and ranked according to
their investment costs in descending order. If
is less than
that of at least the last ranked allocation, is superior and said to
be potentially beneficial. Otherwise, is inferior and not further
considered due to lack of economic competitiveness. In case
feasible solutions do not yet exist in the archive, comparisons
based on investment costs are less reasonable. Hence,
is
relevant during that stage.
The simple intervention introduces a substantial decoupling
between the requirements on the search capabilities of the optimization and the quality and reliability of the associated numerical outcome. This is mainly due to the fact that the number
of performed function evaluations is of particular interest in
a dynamic framework in contrast to the total amount of proposals related to investment cost calculations. Regarding to 2),
effectiveness of a potentially beneficial allocation is validated
in terms of its contribution to the post-disturbance voltage performance. Compliance to the criterion is evaluated for the -th
selected contingency in a sequential manner through
.
If it exceeds zero, by using obtained information on the systemwide degree of voltage violations, the validation process is interrupted to circumvent unnecessary simulation of remaining
contingencies. A proposed , which satisfies (12), is regarded

Similar to the previous superior-versus-inferior concept,

an elitist criterion is used to both fill and update the MVMO
archive with candidate dynamic Var allocations throughout the
optimization progress. This includes: 1) Any feasible solution is
preferred over any infeasible solution; 2) Between two feasible
solutions, the solution with smaller is preferred; 3) Between
two infeasible solutions, the solution having smaller
is preferred. It is worth noting that this implies that infeasible
solutions have no chance to actively participate in MVMO
mutations once the archive is filled completely with feasible
STATCOM allocations. Potentially beneficial proposals are
thus rejected after detection of even slight non-compliance of
the performance criterion.
In the decision-making on the selection of reasonable
number and rating of dynamic Var sources, possible economic
scaling should be accounted for. Generally, few installations
with higher ratings are preferred rather than numerous small
ones. Fig. 5 illustrates the general concept of the integrated
mixed-integer search (IMIS) strategy, which constitutes a
complementary part of the offspring generation in MVMO.
It should be mentioned, that in connection with the elitist
criterion introduced above, IMIS strategy is not incorporated
before the MVMO solution archive is filled up completely with
feasible solutions in order to allow reasonable investment cost
comparisons of actual proposed candidate solutions.
A proposed allocation
is passed to the simulation
if the random binary flag IMIS is zero. Otherwise, the individual mean , calculated from the set of solutions within
the archive, is compared with the upper
and lower
normalized thresholds. These allow the search paradigm to
be controlled either towards a distinct separation of large
from small designs (fast progress rates; however, certain
risk of non-optimal outcome), or a more subtle exploration
of more distributed allocations. After conducting sensitivity
studies, appropriate values are
and
. If
, MVMO is guided towards even smaller proposals
in subsequent iterations by regularly enforcing
, where
the respective STATCOM installation is fully rejected in the
multi-contingency framework. As stated above, this accounts
for high expected fixed cost participations for relatively small
designs. Similarly, given that
, the associated STATCOM
is scaled up to its maximum rating, i.e.,
or
.A
more desirable solution from an economy of scale perspective
may thus emerge. If
, no modification takes
place, such that
is passed directly to
, while
MVMO determines optimal medium-scale ratings as part of a
potentially reduced set of dynamic Var sources.
IV. TEST CASE STUDY
ODynVarS is applied to the IEEE New England test system
which is shown in Fig. 6. It comprises of ten generators, 39
buses, and 46 branches [24]. Generators are represented by the

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Fig. 6. IEEE New England 39-bus test system with candidate buses (bold bars)
and locations of the five most severe N-1 line contingencies (arrows).

Fig. 5. MVMO incorporating integrated mixed-integer search (IMIS) strategy.

sub-transient model and equipped with static exciters as well as

basic thermal turbine governors.
The load at each bus, which encompasses static and dynamic
portions, is modeled based on [25]. Reference values were taken
for exponential parameters of the polynomial model of the static
portion in order to account for industrial, commercial and household classes. The dynamic portion is modeled by induction machines, whose parameters correspond to a weighted aggregate of
residential and industrial motors. The implementation is accomplished in DIgSILENT Power Factory and MATLAB software
packages, which exchange data through a user-written DLL-interface. A standard 64-Bit personal computer system with Intel
(R) i7 960 3.2/2.79 GHz CPU, and 8 GB RAM is used.
A. Selection of Credible Severe Contingencies
The assessment and screening of the reduced set of
most severe instances from any N-1 contingencies has been
performed according to Section II-B by applying a three-phase
bolted short-circuit in the middle of the transmission paths,
with a subsequent clearing by isolation after
ms.

Fig. 7. Mean of bus voltages (top) and ranked CSI (bottom) corresponding to
is equal to 0.95 p.u.
N-1 transmission line contingencies (numbered).

The analysis is based on a high demand scenario, where the

percentage
of dynamic load from the total load is 30%.
Fig. 7 illustrates, for the entire contingency set, the trajectories
of system bus voltage mean values over time (top) and the
severity measure in terms of the ranked and normalized CSI
(bottom). Accordingly, the comprehensive severity measure
allows accurate contingency ranking and correctly reflects the
short-term dynamic system performance.
B. Discussion of Intermediate Optimization Results
By definition, ODynVarS is tested here considering the first
of ranked contingencies shown in Fig. 7. Based on the
discussion in Section II-C, the total number of candidate buses
for STATCOM addition is
.

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Fig. 10. Computational time benefit by applying twofold intervention.

Fig. 8. Fitness convergence for 10 independent optimization trials.

Fig. 9. Convergence of best STATCOM allocation of best trial.

Fig.
tions,

6
indicates
which
have

the
corresponding
maximum
possible

locarating

Mvar.
is set to 25
Mvar. In this research, any proposed STATCOM device
operates under a proportional continuous local voltage control
regime.
Fig. 8 shows the fitness convergence with investment costs
to be minimized in (7), and highlights coherent behavior for
10 independent optimization trials. A high level of reliability
can thus be guaranteed concerning the optimal dynamic Var
sources allocation task. Fig. 9 depicts the convergence of best
STATCOM allocation of the best trial. Random initialization of
involves following diverse search paths in the initial stage,
but after 550 function evaluations (FE), i.e., time domain simulations, the individual best solutions reach near-optimality in a
coherent manner. According to the evolution of the individual
components of , representing normalized ratings of the best installations attained so far, the effect of IMIS can clearly be identified. After locating the most promising candidate location(s)
by prior rejection one after another due to high cost participations, the strategy encourages the choice of a single large device
rating at bus 21.
Fig. 10 illustrates major implications of the expected computational time benefit accruing from the twofold intervention
scheme introduced in Section III-B. By the recurrent evaluation

of 1) the economic potential before and 2) the technical feasibility after entering the multi-contingency framework, ODynVarS obviously prevents the execution of a substantial amount
of FEs in time domain, and hence makes beneficial use of the
computational resources. In the initial stage, the search focuses
on exploration, and in this way, localizes the most promising
candidate locations. Several STATCOM devices are dispersed
over local problem areas of interest for short-term dynamic performance, which help to easily avoid violation of the mandated
criterion, that is: constraint (12) is satisfied. As the evolutionary
search progresses, the strategy increasingly intervenes to circumvent unnecessary FEs needed to validate numerous infeasible allocations, accompanied predominantly by few devices
seeking to touch the (lower) trajectory boundary by fast-acting
voltage support. Thus, the cumulative expected computational
time saved is shown in the lower part of Fig. 10. It highlights
the benefit that can be attributed to saved FEs for cost-attractive
allocations being 1) inferior, cf. Intervention I, and 2) superior
but infeasible due to any still critical contingency from the set,
cf. Intervention II. See Figs. 8 and 9 for further reference to this
study case.
Assuming identical load conditions, ODynVarS was tested
considering fault clearing time
ms, which implies
an even higher operational risk. Fig. 11 illustrates how the
combined activity of intervention and IMIS guides the search
towards identifying two devices for fulfillment of (12). Using
circles and crosses, the complexity and variability with which
different contingencies may restrict the evolutionary search
progress towards the optimal allocation, become visible.
C. Investment Cost Sensitivities
Fig. 12 visualizes the sensitivity of overall final STATCOM
investments with respect to the dynamic load percentage
and the strictness of the performance criterion described by ,
cf. (1). It was assumed
ms accounts for potential collateral loss of synchronism of various generators when there are
limited fast-acting remedial measures under stressed conditions,
i.e., heavily depressed transient voltages.
Minimum and maximum refer to the best and worst achieved
numerical outcomes of 5 independent optimization trials.

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Fig. 11. Impact of various contingencies on the evolutionary search progress.

an integrated mixed-integer search strategy and two intervention schemes, the search is guided towards techno-economic efficiency of dynamic Var investments while making rational use
of the computational resources. Numerical experiments highlight the efficiency of the approach.
The control scheme applied to individual dynamic Var
sources has a decisive impact on the numerical outcome as
sensitivity studies have revealed. For instance, specifying the
voltage control droop as an (additional) optimization variable
would be desirable from the generality point of view. This
however constitutes a highly complex and computationally expensive task which is further tightened by the need to consider
multiple dispatch scenarios in the decision making. Future
research could be directed towards the smart incorporation of
control parameters and system scenarios while additionally
taking into account risk-based aspects into both the assessment and enhancement of power system short-term dynamic
performance. This involves large computational effort but can
become reality by exploiting todays computing power and the
intrinsic parallelism provided by modern heuristic optimization
techniques and contingency analysis.
REFERENCES

Fig. 12. Final STATCOM investments associated with 5 optimization trials.

Clearly, the required expenditure increases drastically with

both increasing dynamic load percentage and higher strictness
on the required dynamic performance, respectively. It can
be additionally noted that differences between minimum and
maximum are almost negligible, although still minor when
approaches zero, where loads are considered static and
requirements moderate. Broadly speaking, although the coherency of solutions is high, the enhanced need for dispersed
dynamic Var contribution directly introduces opportunities and
multimodality to the decision-making.
V. CONCLUSION
This research addresses the simultaneous determination of
optimal allocation and sizing of dynamic Var sources for power
system short-term dynamic performance enhancement. An integrated approach, capable of accounting for multiple contingencies and generally amenable to concurrent processing, was proposed based on an heuristic optimization framework. By using
the mean variance mapping optimization in conjunction with

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This article has been accepted for inclusion in a future issue of this journal. Content is final as presented, with the exception of pagination.
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Sebastian Wildenhues (S14) was born in 1987. He received the B.Eng. degree
in electrical power engineering from the University of Applied Sciences Dortmund, Germany, in 2010 and the M.Sc. degree in electrical power engineering
from the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany, in 2013.

He is currently with Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy and System Technology, Kassel, Germany. His research interests include the stability, control,
and simulation of power systems considering uncertainties.

Jose L. Rueda (M07SM12) was born in 1980. He received the Electrical Engineer diploma from the Escuela Politcnica Nacional, Quito, Ecuador, in 2004,
and the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the Universidad Nacional
de San Juan, San Juan, Argentina, in 2009.
From September 2003 until February 2005, he worked in Ecuador, in the
fields of industrial control systems and electrical distribution networks operation and planning. From 2010 to 2014 he was working as a research associate at
the Institute of Electrical Power Systems, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany. Currently, he is an Assistant Professor for Intelligent Electrical Power
Grids at the Department of Electrical Sustainable Energy, Technical University
Delft, The Netherlands. His research interests include power system stability
and control, system identification, power system planning, and probabilistic and
artificial intelligence methods.

Istvan Erlich (SM08) was born in 1953. He received the Dipl.-Ing. degree
in electrical engineering and the Ph.D. degree from the University of Dresden,
Dresden, Germany, in 1976 and 1983, respectively.
From 1979 to 1991, he was with the Department of Electrical Power Systems
of the University of Dresden. In the period of 1991 to 1998, he worked with the
consulting company EAB, Berlin, Germany, and the Fraunhofer Institute IITB
Dresden. During this time, he also had a teaching assignment at the University of
Dresden. Since 1998, he has been a Professor and head of the Institute of Electrical Power Systems at the University of Duisburg-Essen, Duisburg. Germany.
His major scientific interest comprises power system stability and control, modeling, and simulation of power system dynamics, including intelligent system
applications.
Dr. Erlich is a member of VDE and the chairman of the International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC) Technical Committee on Power Plants and
Power Systems.