New Efficient Evolutionary Algorithm Applied to Optimal Reactive Power Dispatch

Abstract

Evolutionary Algorithms (EAs) are well-known optimization techniques to deal with nonlinear and complex optimization problems. However, most of these population-based algorithms are computationally expensive due to the slow nature of the evolutionary process. To overcome this drawback and to improve the convergence rate, this chapter employs Quasi-Opposition-Based Learning (QOBL) in conventional Biogeography-Based Optimization (BBO) technique. The proposed Quasi-Oppositional BBO (QOBBO) is comprehensively developed and successfully applied for solving the Optimal Reactive Power Dispatch (ORPD) problem by minimizing the transmission loss when both equality and inequality constraints are satisfied. The proposed QOBBO algorithm's performance is studied with comparisons of Canonical Genetic Algorithm (CGA), five versions of Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Local Search-Based Self-Adaptive Differential Evolution (L-SADE), Seeker Optimization Algorithm (SOA), and BBO on the IEEE 30-bus, IEEE 57-bus, and IEEE 118-bus power systems. The simulation results show that the proposed QOBBO approach performed better than the other listed algorithms and can be efficiently used to solve small-, medium-, and large-scale ORPD problems.