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Title: Examining System-Wide Impacts of Solar PV Control Systems with a Power Hardware-in-the-Loop Platform

Abstract

High penetration levels of distributed solar PV power generation can lead to adverse power quality impacts, such as excessive voltage rise, voltage flicker, and reactive power values that result in unacceptable voltage levels. Advanced inverter control schemes have been developed that have the potential to mitigate many power quality concerns. However, local closed-loop control may lead to unintended behavior in deployed systems as complex interactions can occur between numerous operating devices. To enable the study of the performance of advanced control schemes in a detailed distribution system environment, a test platform has been developed that integrates Power Hardware-in-the-Loop (PHIL) with concurrent time-series electric distribution system simulation. In the test platform, GridLAB-D, a distribution system simulation tool, runs a detailed simulation of a distribution feeder in real-time mode at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and supplies power system parameters at a point of common coupling. At the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), a hardware inverter interacts with grid and PV simulators emulating an operational distribution system. Power output from the inverters is measured and sent to PNNL to update the real-time distribution system simulation. The platform is described and initial test cases are presented. The platform is used to studymore » the system-wide impacts and the interactions of inverter control modes—constant power factor and active Volt/VAr control—when integrated into a simulated IEEE 8500-node test feeder. We demonstrate that this platform is well-suited to the study of advanced inverter controls and their impacts on the power quality of a distribution feeder. Additionally, results are used to validate GridLAB-D simulations of advanced inverter controls.« less

Authors:
; ; ; ; ;
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE
OSTI Identifier:
1237817
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-103009
DOE Contract Number:  
AC05-76RL01830
Resource Type:
Conference
Resource Relation:
Conference: IEEE 40th Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC 2014), June 8-13, 2014, Denver, Colorado, 2082-2087
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

Citation Formats

Williams, Tess L., Fuller, Jason C., Schneider, Kevin P., Palmintier, Bryan, Lundstrom, Blake, and Chakraborty, Sudipta. Examining System-Wide Impacts of Solar PV Control Systems with a Power Hardware-in-the-Loop Platform. United States: N. p., 2014. Web. doi:10.1109/PVSC.2014.6925336.
Williams, Tess L., Fuller, Jason C., Schneider, Kevin P., Palmintier, Bryan, Lundstrom, Blake, & Chakraborty, Sudipta. Examining System-Wide Impacts of Solar PV Control Systems with a Power Hardware-in-the-Loop Platform. United States. https://doi.org/10.1109/PVSC.2014.6925336
Williams, Tess L., Fuller, Jason C., Schneider, Kevin P., Palmintier, Bryan, Lundstrom, Blake, and Chakraborty, Sudipta. 2014. "Examining System-Wide Impacts of Solar PV Control Systems with a Power Hardware-in-the-Loop Platform". United States. https://doi.org/10.1109/PVSC.2014.6925336.
@article{osti_1237817,
title = {Examining System-Wide Impacts of Solar PV Control Systems with a Power Hardware-in-the-Loop Platform},
author = {Williams, Tess L. and Fuller, Jason C. and Schneider, Kevin P. and Palmintier, Bryan and Lundstrom, Blake and Chakraborty, Sudipta},
abstractNote = {High penetration levels of distributed solar PV power generation can lead to adverse power quality impacts, such as excessive voltage rise, voltage flicker, and reactive power values that result in unacceptable voltage levels. Advanced inverter control schemes have been developed that have the potential to mitigate many power quality concerns. However, local closed-loop control may lead to unintended behavior in deployed systems as complex interactions can occur between numerous operating devices. To enable the study of the performance of advanced control schemes in a detailed distribution system environment, a test platform has been developed that integrates Power Hardware-in-the-Loop (PHIL) with concurrent time-series electric distribution system simulation. In the test platform, GridLAB-D, a distribution system simulation tool, runs a detailed simulation of a distribution feeder in real-time mode at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and supplies power system parameters at a point of common coupling. At the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), a hardware inverter interacts with grid and PV simulators emulating an operational distribution system. Power output from the inverters is measured and sent to PNNL to update the real-time distribution system simulation. The platform is described and initial test cases are presented. The platform is used to study the system-wide impacts and the interactions of inverter control modes—constant power factor and active Volt/VAr control—when integrated into a simulated IEEE 8500-node test feeder. We demonstrate that this platform is well-suited to the study of advanced inverter controls and their impacts on the power quality of a distribution feeder. Additionally, results are used to validate GridLAB-D simulations of advanced inverter controls.},
doi = {10.1109/PVSC.2014.6925336},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1237817}, journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Sun Jun 08 00:00:00 EDT 2014},
month = {Sun Jun 08 00:00:00 EDT 2014}
}

Conference:
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