Using k-Means Clustering Method in Determination
of the Optimal Placement of Distributed Generation
Sources in Electrical Distribution Systems
Florina Scarlatache*, Gheorghe Grigoraş*, Gianfranco Chicco**, Gheorghe Cârţină*
*Technical University “Gheorghe Asachi” of Iasi, Romania **Politecnico di Torino, Italy
E-mail: flr_rotaru@yahoo.com
Abstract - This paper proposes a method using k-means
clustering, based on the operational characteristics (loss
sensitivity factor and voltage values in nodes) to determine the
optimal location of distributed generation sources into an
electrical distribution system. The suggested method is tested on
a 20 kV real rural distribution network with 91 nodes. In the
optimal nodes from the network analyzed, DG is installed at
different power levels, considering the evolution in time of the
energy losses. On the basis of the results, the proposed method
demonstrates that the methodology can be successfully used to
reduce the real power losses, to improve the voltage values in
nodes, but more important to determine the optimal placement
of DG without violation of any of the system constraints under
any operating conditions. The results show the effectiveness of
the proposed method.
I. INTRODUCTION
The definition of distributed generation (DG) takes
different forms in different contexts and countries and
according to the indications of different agencies.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) defines distributed
generation as generating plant serving a customer on-site or
providing support to a distribution network, being connected
to the grid at distribution-level voltages. CIGRE defines DG
as a generation not centrally planned, not centrally dispatched
at present, usually connected to the distribution network, and
smaller than 50–100 MW. Other organizations like the
Electric Power Research Institute defines distributed
generation as generation from a few kilowatts up to 50 MW.
According to the Standard IEEE 1547, distributed generation
is an electric power source connected directly to the
distribution network or at the customer side of the meter, with
maximum limit of 10 MVA. Thus, in general, DG refers to
small-scale generation connected to Medium Voltage and
Low Voltage grids, excluding the large size production plants
connected to the High Voltage grid. The term DG also
implies the use of any modular technology that is sited
throughout a utility’s service area (interconnected to the
distribution or sub-transmission system) to reduce the cost of
service.
DG location is a key aspect emerging with the diffusion of
local generation sources connected to the distribution
networks. The incorporation of DG in the distribution
systems has led to the possibility of getting the net power
injected in a node either with positive values (i.e., generation
exceeds demand) or negative values (i.e., demand exceeds
generation). The variety of DG sources implies that the
amount and sign of the injected power are variable in time.
DG location has then to be considered by analysing the
evolution of the electrical quantities in the time domain.
Studies have indicated that inappropriate selection of
location of DG may lead to system losses greater than the
losses without DG [1][2]. The use of a method capable of
indicating the best solution for a given distribution network
can be very useful for the system planning engineer. Due to
high efficiency, small size, low investment cost, modularity
in the construction and exploitation of the units, DG has
increasingly become an attractive alternative to network
reinforcement and expansion. Therefore, the factor of best
location is one of the important issues in the implementation
of DG sources in the distribution system.
With proper planning, the integration of DG sources in
electrical distribution networks would lead to enhancement in
the network performance in terms of: voltage profile
improvement, reduction in system losses, improved power
quality and reliability of supply, reduction of the electricity
cost, and possibility to assist congestion management in
transmission lines. So, it is expected that DG sources will
have increasing contribution in supplying the electricity
demanded by customers in future [3]. In addition, installation
of DG can decrease the costs related to transmission of
electricity to remote places. Also because of using new and
renewable energy in DG units, it can help protect the
environment. Interconnecting DG to the distribution feeders
can have significant effects on the system in terms of power
flow, voltage regulation and reliability. A DG installation
changes the traditional characteristics of the distribution
system. Most of the distribution systems are designed such
that the power flows in one direction. The installation of a
DG introduces other sources in the system.
Determination of the optimal location of DG units in
distribution systems with various objective functions have
been continuously studied in recent years, with many
solutions proposed. DG sources impact on losses is an aspect
of great interest, as shown by the number of different studies
performed on this subject. Most of these studies were
concentrated on studying a specific case (feeder and DG plant
connection) or to develop a methodology to assess specific
losses for particular scenarios of DG penetration. Regarding
the placement of DG sources, in the literature there are many
solutions proposed, namely using fuzzy techniques [4][5],
analytical technique [6], heuristic optimization algorithm [7]
[8], mixed integer nonlinear programming [9], Evolutionary
Programming (EP) optimization technique [10], and others.
In this sense, a new approach is proposed in this paper. Using
k-means clustering method the optimal placement of DG into
electrical distribution network is determined based on the
operational characteristics (the loss sensitivity factor (LSFs)
and the nodal voltage magnitude). In general, the data
analysis is based on the evaluation of several applications,
either at the design stage or in on-line management operations
of complex processes. In such processes, the use of clustering
techniques for representing data, measuring the similarity
between elements representative for the group, can be very
suggestive and attractive. The k-means clustering methods
are tested by a series of simulations on 20 kV rural
distribution network to show the effectiveness of the methods
in determining the optimal nodes where DG sources can be
placed. Compared with the methods presented in [1][2], and
[4], that used the same variables to find the optimal place for
DG into a distribution network, the new method based on k-
means clustering techniques obtains the results very quickly
and is particularly effective.
II. LOSS SENSITIVITY FACTORS
The sensitivity factor method applies the principle of
linearization of the original non-linear equations around the
initial operating point, reducing the dimension of the solution
space. The loss sensitivity factor method has been used to
solve some of the problems referring to distribution systems,
for instance for capacitor location, and can be successfully
used to determine the optimal place of DG [1][2][4]. To
calculate the loss sensitivity factors into a radial distribution
network, it is necessary to know the real and reactive power
loads, the real and reactive power losses in network nodes
and branches, that can be obtained from power flow
calculations.
Let us consider a radial network in which the branches are
numbered with the same number of the receiving node (the
one located at the opposite side with respect to the root node).
The real power losses Plineloss,b and the reactive power losses
Qlineloss,b at the receiving node b of branch b are calculated
with the next expressions [4]:
Rb ( Pb2 + Qb2 )
P1ineloss , b = 2
Vb
(1)
X b ( Pb2 + Qb2 )
Q1ineloss , b = 2 section III, which determine the nodes more suitable for DG
Vb
where, indicating with “beyond node b” the portion of the
network located at the opposite side of node b with respect to
the root node:
• Pb is the sum of the real power loads of all the nodes
beyond node b plus the real power load of node b itself
plus the sum of the real power losses of all the branches
beyond node b;
• Qb is the sum of the reactive power loads of all the nodes
beyond node b plus the reactive power load of node b
itself plus the sum of the reactive power losses of all the
branches beyond node b;
• Vb is the voltage value at the end node b.
Using the reactive power loss calculated, the loss
sensitivity factors LSFs, real power loss P1ineloss.b with respect
to effective reactive power Qb given by equation (2), are
determined:
∂P1ineloss , b 2 * Qb * Rb
LSF = = 2 (2)
∂Qb Vb
The loss sensitivity factors are then normalized to the (0,1)
range, with the largest sensitivity having a value of 1 and the
smallest one having a value of 0.
The normalization process of the LSF is carried out by
determining the LSF values obtained in the network nodes
and the sums of LSFs in all the feeders f, of the network
analysed [11]. The normalized loss sensitivity factors, l,
expressed with respect to the ending node of branch b in
order to use the system nodes as a common reference with the
normalized voltage magnitudes defined below, are calculated
with the relation:
LSF − LSF min
l= (3)
LSF max − LSF min
The normalized nodal voltage magnitudes u are obtained
by considering the voltage magnitudes U at the network
nodes and the nominal voltage Un of the network analysed,
obtaining:
U
u= (4)
Un
This normalization assumes that the voltage magnitude U
does not exceed the value Un in the network analyzed (as in
the case study analyzed here). More generally, the upper limit
for the network voltages in normal conditions could be used
as the normalizing factor.
The normalised LSFs and nodal voltage magnitudes are
used as inputs to the k-means clustering method illustrated in
installation.
III. K-MEANS CLUSTERING METHOD
The clustering methods has been used with success in
different applications for distribution systems, like in
evaluation of the energy losses [12], to find the optimal
placement of phasor measurements units (PMU) [13], or to
find the optimal node to install the DG sources, method
proposed in this paper. The k-means clustering is an
algorithm to classify or to group the objects based on
attributes into a number of groups K (positive integer
number). The grouping is done by minimizing the sum of
squares of distances between data and the corresponding
cluster centroid, [12].
⎧⎪ k ⎫⎪
min {E} = min ⎨
⎪⎩ i =1
∑ ∑ d (x, z )⎬⎪i
x∈C i
where zi is the center of cluster Ci , while d(x, zi) is the
Euclidean distance between points x and zi. Thus, the
criterion function E attempts to minimize the distance of each
point from the center of the cluster to which the point
belongs. More specifically, the algorithm begins by
initializing a set of K cluster centers. Then, it assigns each
object of the dataset to the cluster whose center is the nearest,
and recomputed the centers. The process continues until the
centers of the clusters stop changing.
The steps of the algorithm are the following [14][15]:
Step 1. Choose K initial cluster centres z1(0), z2(0), …, zk(0), for
instance, at random among the points to be analyzed.
Step 2. At the k-th iterative step, distribute the samples {x}
among the K clusters by using the relation:
(k ) (k )
x ∈ Ci(k ) if , d ( x , z i ) < d ( x , z j )
i = 1, 2, ... , K ; i ≠ j
where Ci(k) denotes the set of samples whose cluster centre is
zi(k).
Step 3. Compute the new cluster centres zi(k+1), j = 1, 2, …,K.
The new cluster centre is given by equation (7), where ni is
the number of objects in Ci(k).
1 objects in the class closest to class j.
z i( k +1) =
ni
∑ x, i = 1, 2 , ..., K
x∈C i( k )
Step 4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until convergence is achieved,
that is, until a pass through the training sample causes no new
assignment. It is obvious in this algorithm that the final
clusters will depend on the initial cluster centre choice and on
the value of K.
For defining of the optimal number of clusters Nc,opt the
following algorithm can be used [15][16]:
1. Determination of the maximum number of clusters
Nc,max. The maximum optimal of clusters Nc,max
should be set to satisfy 2 ≤ Nc,max ≤ n , where n is
the clustered objects from data base.
2. For set of objects from data base, the method of
clustering k-means with given Nc (2 ≤Nc ≤ Nc,max) is
used.
3. According to the obtained clusters structure,
determinate partition quality is evaluated. In the
paper, this is achieved through the silhouette global
coefficient.
4. Increase the number of clusters Nc to Nc,max to see if
the k-means method finds a better grouping of the
data. (To repeat the steps 2 ÷ 3).
5. Show the number of clusters corresponding to the
optimal value of the silhouette global coefficient.
Using this approach each cluster could be represented by
the so-called silhouette, which is based on the comparison of
(5) its tightness and separation. The silhouette validation
⎭ technique calculates the silhouette width for each sample,
average silhouette width for each cluster and overall average
silhouette width for a total data set.
The average silhouette width will be applied for evaluation
of clustering validity and also will be used to decide the
determination of the optimal number of clusters.
1
Nc
SC =
Nc ∑S
j =1
j (8)
where Sj is the silhouette local coefficient, defined as
rj
1
S j =
rj ∑si =1
i (9)
in which si is the silhouette width index for the i-object
(6)
bi − a i
si = (10)
max {bi , a i }
rj is the number of object for each cluster;
ai – mean distance between object i and objects of the same
class j;
bi – minimum mean distance between object i and the
(7) In (10), if the object i is the single object of a cluster, then
si = 0.
In [17] it is proposed the following interpretation of the
silhouette coefficient: 0.71 – 1.0 a strong structure has been
found; 0.51 – 0.7 a reasonable structure has been found; 0.26
– 0.5 the structure is weak and could be artificial; < 0.25 no
substantial structure has been found.
IV. OPTIMAL DG ALLOCATION METHOD WITH CLUSTERING
TECHNIQUES
Regarding the placement of DG sources, in the literature there
are many solution proposed, namely using fuzzy and real
coded genetic algorithm, using particle swarm optimization
(PSO) and others.
 To determine the optimal placement of DG sources into
an electrical distribution system we propose a new solution,
with the following steps:
1. Regime calculations. In this step is calculated the
real and reactive power loads, the real and reactive
power losses in nodes and branch and the variations
of voltage value in nodes.
2. The second step it to determine the loss sensitivity
factors (LSFs) in nodes of electrical system
analyzed. The relation (2) is used to calculate these
coefficients. The normalized LSFs and voltages are
then computed from equations (3) and (4).
3. The k-means clustering method is used for grouping
the nodes from the viewpoint of the operation
characteristics (l and u).
4. Based on the clusters obtained in the previous step,
the pilot node where DG sources can be located is
established for each cluster.
The choice of the type of DG source is a key aspect. The
possible set of locations of each type DG plant is restricted to
the locations at which the corresponding resource is available.
This aspect is dealt with at the time of data definition.
V. CASE STUDY
To show the capability of the proposed method to solve the
problem of the optimal placement of DG sources, a 20 kV
real rural distribution network with 91 nodes, has been
considered (Fig. 1).
Fig. 1. The schematic diagram of the 20 kV rural distribution system
analysed.
For this network we have information about the line
(length, number of transformers points and the circuit type),
information which have led to performing the regime
calculations. Based on the parameters computed in the regime
calculations step, the loss sensitivity factors (LSFs) were
determined and after that the LSFs and voltage values in the
nodes were normalized to be used in the process of clustering.
It was applied the algorithm to determine the optimal number
of clusters. In the first step, the maximum number of clusters
Nc,max was calculated (<= 9). In the next step, for the set of
feeders from the database, the k-means clustering method
with given Nc (2 ≤Nc ≤ Nc,max) is used. In the step three, the
silhouette global coefficient is calculated to assess the
partition quality. The results are presented in Fig. 2.
Fig. 2. The silhouette global coefficient for different values of the number of
clusters Nc
As it appears in Fig. 2, the criterion has given acceptable
results with Nc = 5. For this value, the silhouette plot is
presented in Fig. 3.
Fig. 3. The silhouette plot for Nc = 5.
The nodes that belong to each cluster from the real rural
distribution network tested are presented in Fig. 4. Each
cluster is represented by a pilot node that is characterized by
the average group value of the normalized LSF, l, and voltage
values, u, parameters that were used in the clustering process.
 Table I shows the average groups values of the normalized TABLE II
THE ALTERNATIVE DG SIZES TESTED IN THE 20 KV DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM
LSF, l, and voltage values, u, and the representative node for NODES
each cluster. Distributed Generation
Pilot Nodes Levels of power injected
Type
[kW]
19 CHP 300,400,500,600
65 PV 50,100,150,200
80 SH 300,400,500,600
30 SH 100,200,300,400

The effective solution of the levels of power injected in

pilot nodes in 20 kV rural distribution network, is presented
in Fig. 5. Thus, 600 kW are injected in nodes 19 and 80 using
combined heat and power sources (CHP) and a small hydro
power plant (SH), respectively, 400 kW are injected in node
30 from a hydro power plant (SH), and 200 kW are injected
in node 65 using photovoltaic systems (PV).
In the base case (no DG sources installed) the value of real
power losses is 0.19 MW and in the best case the value of real
power losses is 0.13 MW in the 20 kV real rural distribution
network.

Fig. 4. The nodes that belong to each cluster of the 20 kV network analysed.

TABLE I
THE AVERAGE CLUSTERS VALUES OF THE NORMALIZED LSF AND VOLTAGE
VALUES, AND THE PILOT NODE FOR EACH CLUSTER
No. No. Pilot
cluster feeders node l u
mean mean
1 55 19 0.0017 0.9676
2 15 65 0.0019 0.9916
Fig. 5. Best solution for DG sizes in the 20 kV rural distribution network.
3 12 80 0.0234 0.9679
4 4 30 0.1145 0.9779 The active power losses in the network analyzed, in
5 4 - 0.035 0.9915 different cases, when in the pilot nodes was injected different
value of power is shown in Fig. 6.
Cluster no. 5 presents an LSF normalized of medium to
maximum value and the voltage value normalized of high
value; the nodes included in this cluster are situated close to
the root node and are not of interest to install DG sources. In
every pilot node of clusters, namely 19, 30, 65 and 80, were
installed DG sources of different sizes to analyze the
evolution of power losses and the voltage variations in the 20
kW rural distribution network. The DG types considered in
the area are combined heat and power (CHP), photovoltaic
systems (PV), and small hydro plants (SH, in a restricted set
of nodes, from node 25 to node 33, and on the main feeder
from node 66 to node 84). In Table II are presented the
representative nodes for each cluster, the type of DG sources
and the levels of power injected in these nodes, in order to Fig. 6. The active power losses in different cases analyzed in the distribution
network of 20 kV.
analyze the evolution of losses when DG sources are installed
in some pilot nodes into a network. The evolution of the voltage variation in 20 kV rural
distribution network nodes in the base case (no DG sources
installed) and in the best case is presented in Fig. 7. Blue
colour is used to represent the voltage profile in the network
nodes in the base case and red colour for the best case. An
improvement of voltage values in the 20 kV distribution
system is remarked where the DG sources are installed. The
node voltage does not exceed the rated voltage in any node,
and this result is consistent with using the rated voltage for
voltage normalization.
Fig. 7. Voltage values evolution in 20 kV rural distribution network nodes.
VI. CONCLUSIONS
The methodology described in this paper allows to
determine the nodes for optimal placement of DG sources
based on the k-means clustering method.
Optimization is based on searching for the best clustering
solutions by using the operational characteristics of the
network nodes (normalized factors l and u) as clustering
variables. The silhouette factor is considered as the relevant
entry for determining the optimal number of clusters. The
proposed combination of clustering variables and k-means
application allows determining the set of nodes where DG
sources can be successfully installed in the network.
The optimal DG placement obtained has operational effects
on improvement of the voltage levels and reduction of the
power losses. In the case studied, using this methodology the
losses in the 20 kV rural distribution network were decreased
by 30% of the initial power losses (considering as base case
the one with no DG sources installed) and the voltage profile
in the network nodes was significantly improved. In the
solution obtained, all DG units are exploited at their
maximum sizes. This result indicates that the network studied
has not reached yet the maximum levels of DG penetration
(after which the total losses could increase and the voltage
profile could reach excessively high values in some nodes),
and leaves room to further deployment of local generation
sources in that network.
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