*Article* **Optimal Location and Sizing of PV Sources in DC Networks for Minimizing Greenhouse Emissions in Diesel Generators**

### **Oscar Danilo Montoya 1,2, Luis Fernando Grisales-Noreña 3, Walter Gil-González 2, Gerardo Alcalá 4 and Quetzalcoatl Hernandez-Escobedo 5,\***


Received: 27 December 2019; Accepted: 10 February 2020; Published: 24 February 2020

**Abstract:** This paper addresses the problem of the optimal location and sizing of photovoltaic (PV) sources in direct current (DC) electrical networks considering time-varying load and renewable generation curves. To represent this problem, a mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) model is developed. The main idea of including PV sources in the DC grid is minimizing the total greenhouse emissions produced by diesel generators in isolated areas. An artificial neural network is employed for short-term forecasting to deal with uncertainties in the PV power generation. The general algebraic modeling system (GAMS) package is employed to solve the MINLP model by using the CONOPT solver that works with mixed and integer variables. Numerical results demonstrate important reductions of harmful gas emissions to the atmosphere when PV sources are optimally integrated (size and location) to the DC grid.

**Keywords:** artificial neural networks; diesel generation; direct current networks; greenhouse emissions; numerical optimization; mixed-integer nonlinear programming photovoltaic plants
