Optimal power flow calculation in hybrid power system involving solar, wind, and hydropower plant using weighted mean of vectors algorithm.

This article focuses on applying the Vectors Weighted Mean algorithm (INFO), a recent population-based optimization method, to solve the stochastic Optimal Power Flow (OPF) problem in hybrid renewable energy systems integrating wind turbines, solar photovoltaic (PV), and small hydropower plants. The study formulates three objective functions—minimizing total generation cost, total active power loss, and combined generation cost with emission penalties—and tests INFO on modified IEEE 30-bus and IEEE 57-bus systems incorporating renewable sources. Comparative simulations demonstrate that INFO outperforms several contemporary metaheuristic algorithms, achieving lower generation costs and power losses while respecting system constraints. Statistical validation using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) supports the significance of INFO’s superior performance, highlighting its potential as an effective tool for optimizing power flow in systems with renewable energy integration.