A novel estimation method for maximum PV hosting capacity in radial distribution networks using bus voltage and electrical distance

•A novel estimation method for maximum photovoltaic hosting capacity (PHC) is proposed in this paper, featuring fast and easy implementation due to simple algorithms.•The conservative estimation for PHC is favorable for practical applications.•Estimation error is very small (less than 6%) and can be further reduced to be within 1% by considering loss change.•Estimation can be carried out with limited parameters that are easy to obtain by power system operators. Large-scale photovoltaics (PV) generation at the distribution network causes overvoltage problems. These large PV systems are generally connected to the distribution network in three-phase configurations to ensure that power is balanced across all phases. At the same time, radial distribution networks are a common configuration of power systems worldwide as it is simpler and more cost-effective than meshed networks. In such a context, this paper proposes a novel method to estimate PV hosting capacity (PHC) for connection points in a radial and three-phase balanced distribution network. Different from existing methods that normally require power flow solutions of the network, the proposed method only needs line parameters and the historical voltage at the connection point. In addition, the proposed method features conservative estimation for PHC and thus can ensure the safety of network voltage compared with existing methods. The accuracy is tested on the IEEE 33 bus system and the estimation error is within 6%. Furthermore, the proposed method can be easily extended to consider branch losses that can reduce the estimation error to be within 1%. The obtained results have confirmed the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method.