Performance Investigation Based on Vital Factors of Agricultural Feeder Supported by Solar Photovoltaic Power Plant

Solar photovoltaic (SPV) installations are growing in the distribution network due to the continuously decreasing prices of solar photovoltaic panels. Installing the SPV Plant on the distribution feeder supplying to the agricultural pumps is a challenging task due to the varying agricultural load pattern of the Agricultural Feeder (AG Feeder). Supply of power and demand creates potential challenges in the low voltage (LV) distribution system. This paper presents a case study of a 2 MW SPV connected to an agricultural feeder in India. Performance analysis has been carried out using field measurement data. The key parameters such as PV Penetration and Capacity Utilization Factor (CUF) are calculated for analysis. Parameters such as Grid Dependency of the load and PV Contribution have been introduced in this paper, which relates to the SPV system behavior more aptly. It is recommended that the Time of Day (ToD) metering with the lowest cost during the solar generation hours will make agricultural consumers shift their demand matching with solar generation hours. Extensive analysis of agricultural feeder connected SPV power plant indicates that the power supply has improved for the feeder during winter and summer months.

A New Tool to Assess Maximum Permissible Solar PV Penetration in a Power System

With diminishing fossil fuel resources and increasing environmental concerns, large-scale deployment of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) has accelerated the transition towards clean energy systems, leading to significant RES generation share in power systems worldwide. Among different RES, solar PV is receiving major focus as it is most abundant in nature compared to others, complimented by falling prices of PV technology. However, variable, intermittent and non-synchronous nature of PV power generation technology introduces several technical challenges, ranging from short-term issues, such as low inertia, frequency stability, voltage stability and small signal stability, to long-term issues, such as unit commitment and scheduling issues. Therefore, such technical issues often limit the amount of non-synchronous instantaneous power that can be securely accommodated by a grid. In this backdrop, this research work proposes a tool to estimate maximum PV penetration level that a given power system can securely accommodate for a given unit commitment interval. The proposed tool will consider voltage and frequency while estimating maximum PV power penetration of a system. The tool will be useful to a system operator in assessing grid stability and security under a given generation mix, network topology and PV penetration level. Besides estimating maximum PV penetration, the proposed tool provides useful inputs to the system operator which will allow the operator to take necessary actions to handle high PV penetration in a secure and stable manner.

Optimal Individual Phase Voltage Regulation Strategies in Active Distribution Networks with High PV Penetration Using the Sparrow Search Algorithm

This study aimed to propose individual phase voltage regulation strategies using the sparrow search algorithm (SSA) in the IEEE 8500-node large-scale unbalanced distribution network with high photovoltaic (PV) penetration. The proposed approach is capable of individual phase regulation, which coordinates the on-load tap changer (OLTC), voltage regulator (VR), switched capacitor bank (SCB), and volt–var setting controlled by a smart inverter to improve voltage variation and unbalance. Consequently, the change time of VRs, the switched times of SCBs, and the individual phase voltage magnitude and unbalance ratio are considered in the fitness function for the SSA. The simulation scenarios fully consider the unbalanced load conditions and PV power output patterns, and the numerical results demonstrate that the voltage variation and unbalance are clearly improved, by 15% and 26%, respectively. The fitness values, operation times of OLTC, VR, and SCB, and the settings of the volt–var controlled smart inverter are also optimized by the SSA. The outcomes of this study are helpful for distribution system operators in formulating voltage control strategies corresponding to different system conditions.

VOLTAGE REGULATION CONTROL USING BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM IN DISTRIBUTION NETWORK WITH HIGH PV PENETRATION STRENGTH

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.