Clustering Methods and Validation of Representative Distribution Feeders

Clustering has received a lot of focus globally in recent years to determine representative feeders for validating smart grid technologies; however, clear reasoning on why a particular technique was used to accomplish a clustering step and whether similar results can be obtained from different techniques has not been reported. Further, and most importantly, validating final representative feeders and clusters when a sizeable feeder data set is used has not been completed. This paper addresses these issues. This paper also highlights the parameters that were determined to be critical for photovoltaic hosting capacity based on this analysis.