Benefits and Impact of Using Small Generators for Network Support

Distributed generation (DG) is playing an increasing role not only in electric power generation, as backup sources to increase the supply reliability, but also as a possible source providing ancillary services for grid support. The penetration level of DG in some particular power systems is high and growing, leading to a great concern how to employ DG in an efficient and effective way for network control and support. This paper aims to give an overview of technical, economical and environmental aspects when integrating DG to the power system. The contribution ability of DG to ancillary services is also investigated.