Voltage Support Study of Smart PV Inverters on a High-Photovoltaic Penetration Utility Distribution Feeder
This paper reports on tools and methodologies developed to study the impact of adding rooftop photovoltaic (PV) systems, with and without the ability to provide voltage support, on the voltage profile of distribution feeders. Simulation results are provided from a study of a specific utility feeder. The simulation model of the utility distribution feeder was built in OpenDSS and verified by comparing the simulated voltages to field measurements. First, we set all PV systems to operate at unity power factor and analyzed the impact on feeder voltages. Then we conducted multiple simulations with voltage support activated for all the smart PV inverters. These included different constant power factor settings and volt/VAR controls.
- Research Organization:
- NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States))
- Sponsoring Organization:
- San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC36-08GO28308
- OSTI ID:
- 1343487
- Report Number(s):
- NREL/CP-5D00-65732
- Journal Information:
- Conference Record of the IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, Journal Name: Conference Record of the IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference Vol. 2016; ISSN 0160-8371
- Publisher:
- IEEE
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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