Voltage Rise Issues and Mitigation Techniques Due to High PV Penetration into the Distribution Network

In recent years, the increasing integration of PV generations into distribution network systems is becoming a huge concern as it introduces various complications such as voltage rise problems, especially during high PV penetration levels. Conventional mitigation methods using voltage regulating devices are not designed to mitigate this particular problem while emerging methods requires sacrifices in term of cost and profit to be made by PV system owners. Thus, mitigation using a battery energy storage system (BESS) is proposed in this paper, where it is specifically designed to solve the voltage rise problem in the distribution system during high PV penetration. This is achieved by controlling the charging and discharging of the BESS accordingly. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed BESS, a simulation using MATLAB/Simulink software of 25 distributed PV generations with respective loads connected to a distribution network power system is done. The penetration level is set from 0% to 100% and the voltage level is measured at the point of common coupling for each increment. The findings show that the BESS can regulate the voltage rise that occurred during high PV penetration of 80% and 100% from 1.11 p.u. and 1.13 p.u. to an acceptable voltage of 1.01 pu.

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Rooftop Solar PV Penetration Impacts on Distribution Network and Further Growth Factors—A Comprehensive Review

Electronics ◽

10.3390/electronics10010055 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 55

Author(s):

Busra Uzum ◽

Ahmet Onen ◽

Hany M. Hasanien ◽

S. M. Muyeen

Keyword(s):

Solar Energy ◽

Power Quality ◽

Distribution System ◽

Renewable Energy Sources ◽

Distribution Network ◽

System Stability ◽

Solar Pv ◽

Voltage Quality ◽

Solution Methods ◽

Pv Penetration

In order to meet the electricity needs of domestic or commercial buildings, solar energy is more attractive than other renewable energy sources in terms of its simplicity of installation, less dependence on the field and its economy. It is possible to extract solar energy from photovoltaic (PV) including rooftop, ground-mounted, and building integrated PV systems. Interest in rooftop PV system applications has increased in recent years due to simple installation and not occupying an external area. However, the negative effects of increased PV penetration on the distribution system are troublesome. The power loss, reverse power flow (RPF), voltage fluctuations, voltage unbalance, are causing voltage quality problems in the power network. On the other hand, variations in system frequency, power factor, and harmonics are affecting the power quality. The excessive PV penetration also the root cause of voltage stability and has an adverse effect on protection system. The aim of this article is to extensively examines the impacts of rooftop PV on distribution network and evaluate possible solution methods in terms of the voltage quality, power quality, system protection and system stability. Moreover, it is to present a comparison of the advantages/disadvantages of the solution methods discussed, and an examination of the solution methods in which artificial intelligence, deep learning and machine learning based optimization and techniques are discussed with common methods.

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Solar photovoltaic-based microgrid hosting capacity evaluation in electrical energy distribution network with voltage quality analysis

SN Applied Sciences ◽

10.1007/s42452-021-04543-2 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 3 (5) ◽

Author(s):

Arvind Sharma ◽

Mohan Kolhe ◽

Alkistis Kontou ◽

Dimitrios Lagos ◽

Panos Kotsampopoulos

Keyword(s):

Reactive Power ◽

Distribution Network ◽

Electrical Energy ◽

Droop Control ◽

Solar Photovoltaic ◽

Voltage Profile ◽

Power Conditioning ◽

Network Operation ◽

Hardware In Loop ◽

Pv Penetration

Abstract In this paper, solar photovoltaic hosting capacity within the electrical distribution network is estimated for different buses, and the impacts of high PV penetration are evaluated using power hardware-in-loop testing methods. It is observed that the considered operational constraints (i.e. voltage and loadings) and their operational limits have a significant impact on the hosting capacity results. However, with increasing photovoltaic penetration, some of the network buses reach maximum hosting capacity, which affects the network operation (e.g. bus voltages, line loading). The results show that even distributing the maximum hosting capacity among different buses can increase the bus voltage rise to 9%. To maintain the network bus voltages within acceptable limits, reactive power voltage-based droop control is implemented in the photovoltaic conditioning devices to test the dynamics of the network operation. The results show that implementation of the droop control technique can reduce the maximum voltage rise from 9% to 4% in the considered case. This paper also presents the impact of forming a mesh type network (i.e. from radial network) on the voltage profile during PV penetration, and a comparative analysis of the operational performance of a mesh type and radial type electrical network is performed. It is observed that the cumulative effect of forming a mesh type network along with a droop control strategy can further improve the voltage profile and contribute to increase photovoltaic penetration. The results are verified using an experimental setup of digital real-time simulator and power hardware-in-loop test methods. The results from this work will be useful for estimating the appropriate photovoltaic hosting capacity within a distribution network and implementation of a droop control strategy in power conditioning devices to maintain the network operational parameters within the specified limits. Highlights Voltage and line loading constraints’ combination can reduce PV hosting capacity by 50% as compared to only voltage as a constraint. Implementation of reactive power versus voltage droop control in PV power conditioning device can reduce voltage variation from 9% to 4%. In a PV integrated electrical energy network, line loading can be reduced by 20% if the network is configured from radial to mesh type.

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