On the Der Hosting Capacity of Distribution Feeders

In the last two decades, there is significant increase in the grid connected distributed energy resources (DER) worldwide. At the distribution level, a high DER penetration provides a number of challenges for the Distribution system operators (DSOs) concerning the operation and planning of their electricity networks. Despite these operational problems, DSOs are often faced with high political pressures to increase DER installations by investors driven by significant economic incentives. There is a clear need to adopt an objective metric that can define, at the planning stage, the limits of electricity grids for hosting DER without violating operational constraints. This paper reviews the methods and regulations currently used in several countries, it proves analytically the maximum allowable capacity for DER hosting in the worst case scenario and examines its possible increase by applying smart control solutions.