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The integration of renewable distributed generation into distribution systems has been studied comprehensively, due to the potential benefits, such as the reduction of energy losses and mitigation of the environmental impacts resulting from power generation. The problem of minimizing energy losses in distribution systems and the methods used for optimal integration of the renewable distributed generation have been the subject of recent studies. The present study proposes an analytical method which addresses the problem of sizing the nominal power of photovoltaic generation, connected to the nodes of a radial distribution feeder. The goal of this method is to minimize the total energy losses during the daily insolation period, with an optimization constraint consisting in the energy flow in the slack bus, conditioned to the energetic independence of the feeder. The sizing is achieved from the photovoltaic generation capacity and load factors, calculated in time intervals defined in the typical production curve of a photovoltaic unit connected to the distribution system. The analytical method has its foundations on Lagrange multipliers and relies on the Gauss-Jacobi method to make the resulting equation system solution feasible. This optimization method was evaluated on the IEEE 37-bus test system, from which the scenarios of generation integration were considered. The obtained results display the optimal sizing as well as the energy losses related to additional power and the location of the photovoltaic generation in distributed generation integration scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Floating photovoltaic systems (FPVs) are an emerging technology where photovoltaic solar panels are placed on the water surface. They are cost-competitive compared to ground-mounted solar farms and provide some additional and unique properties including reduced evaporation of the water from the reservoir, mitigating algae growth; higher efficiency of electricity generation compared to common PV systems because of the cooling effects of water and preventing land-use conflicts. Despite the growing interest in this technology and the opportunities that it could create, there is no systematic assessment of the technical potential of FPVs in Brazil. This work is the first study on the technical potential of FPVs in artificial water bodies applied to Brazil at country and state levels. The country's potential for this purpose was determined based on two criteria: selecting only artificial/man-made water bodies and excluding protected areas. The QGIS software was used to locate water bodies and cross georeferenced meteorological data. The results show that even if FPVs cover only 1% of the identified suitable areas this technology can produce energy equivalent to almost 12.5% of the current national electricity generation and correspond to approximately 16% of Brazil's electricity consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global economy is advancing towards a low-carbon future. Alongside this energy transition, the sustainability concept has become a fundamental value of our society, encouraging a worldwide discussion on the consideration of socio-environmental issues by the energy sector. In Brazil, the electricity generation expansion planning has not been doing enough to incorporate these issues into its decision-making process, especially in regards to alternative and renewable energy sources. Considering that Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA) is suitable for addressing this situation, we focus on one of its first steps, which consists of defining a set of indicators able to communicate sustainability issues. With this in mind, this paper aims at incorporating sustainability into the decision-making process concerning electricity generation in Brazil by formulating a set of indicators. We carry out a systematic review for collecting the leading environmental, social, and economic indicators used by scientific papers focused on recent and practical LCSA studies concerning electricity generation and that contemplate alternative and renewable energy sources. Thus, we analyze the frequency of indicators in a sample of 41 papers and screen them against selection criteria and their relevance for the Brazilian context. As a result, we establish a set of 28 indicators (18 environmental, four social, and six economic). It is clear from our findings that LCSA practitioners have been facing different levels of methodological and practical challenges depending on the dimension of sustainability, which reflects on the number of environmental, social, and economic indicators collected from the overall sample. • 28 indicators have been selected from a systematic review of practical LCSA studies. • Traditional communities and protected areas were included in this set of indicators. • The final set of indicators covers environmental, social, economic dimensions. • They can be used to incorporate sustainability into the Brazilian electricity sector. • Practical LCSA studies in the electricity sector mainly address environmental issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]