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Medium-Scale PV-DG
Capacities range from 101,000 kW and include installations on small or large buildings (e.g., residential complexes,
retail stores, government sites, and other buildings). Their
typical interconnection configuration depends on the capacity of the PV-DG system. Larger plants (those with capacities in the hundreds of kW) may typically have installations
similar to those of utility-size PV-DG plants, including
separate interconnection transformers, with the main difference being the nominal ratings of associated equipment
(e.g., transformers and switches). Smaller plants in which
the PV-DG capacity is comparable to the load may have
typical installations similar to those of small-scale PV-DG
units, using the existing customer transformers, possibly
with minor changes in the interconnection.
Utility-Scale PV-DG
Megawatt (MW)-size plantse.g., 110 MWare either
directly connected to conventional feeders or to distribution substations via dedicated (express) feeders. Utilityscale PV-DG has nominal capacities compatible with
substation ratings or manageable by medium-voltage
distribution feeders (e.g., 12.47-kV feeders). These types
of installations are three phase and typically require one
or more interconnection transformers. A MW-size PV-DG
plant generally includes several power-electronic inverter
modules connected in parallelusually called power conversion systems (PCSs)that vary in size depending on
the model and manufacturer (see Figure 1). Each PCS is
equipped with internal and external protection schemes
such as fast overcurrent protection and under and overvoltage and frequency safeguards, as well as active anti-island
protection schemes to prevent the PV-DG plant from feeding power to the grid in the event that the utility grid connection is lost.
1 MW PCS
dc/ac
Inverter
480 V
#2
dc/ac
Inverter
PCS 2
(1 MW)
12.47 kV
#1
Y-
480 V
#2
12.47 kV
#1
PCC
Y-
.
.
.
PCS 10
(1 MW)
480 V
#2
12.47 kV
#1
.
.
.
Small-Scale PV-DG
Capacities range up to 10 kW. This category mainly includes
distributed rooftop PV-DG units installed at customer residences and connected to secondary lines (120/240 V). The
PV-DG system is usually single phase and can produce
more or less electricity than required by the customers load.
Typical installations do not require an interconnection transformer. To reduce complexity in utility studies, many North
American utilities lump the PV-DG units installed on a common circuit and/or connected to a pole-mounted transformer
together and represent them by an aggregated PV-DG unit.
Figure 2 shows such a typical aggregation area for small
rooftop PV-DGs.
PoleMounted
Transformer
Y-
10 MW PV-DG Plant
2 x 120 Vac
Secondary Circuit
Impact Studies
The typical scope of work for PV-DG impact studies
includes:
1) identifying the local and/or systemwide impacts of
PV-DG on the power distribution grid
2) providing utility customers with guidelines regarding
the expected impacts as a function of the penetration
level of PV-DG
3) assessing potential mitigation measures for any problem discovered during the study.
Additional tasks may include:
1) verifying models, such as performing PV inverter
tests in a laboratory environment to develop a detailed
computational model representing the dynamic characteristics of vendor-specific devices
2) developing best-practice interconnection guidelines
for PV-DG readiness studies.
The main objectives of impact studies are to:
1) quantify steady-state impacts
2) quantify dynamic impacts
3) determine remedial measures.
Steady-state impacts are estimated via distribution software analysis, and they require running batch processes
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plant at a time. When the next PV interconnection application is considered for review and study, the base case will
then include any previously studied and approved PV-DG
plants on the feeder.
The objective of steady-state simulations is to analyze
feeder voltage profiles, equipment loading, power flows,
and losses for the base case (without PV or with only previously connected PV-DG plants) and after interconnection
of a newly proposed PV-DG plant. Furthermore, simulations capture the number of operations for LTCs, line voltage regulators, and capacitor banks. Study results estimate
the annual operation increases and assess potential impacts
on equipment maintenance. Numerous simulations may be
required to model different scenarios involving variations in
load and PV generation. The inputs required for these analyses include:
PV
Plant
Four Miles
PV Express Feeder
6 MW
LTC
Conventional Feeder
M1
M2
C1
Substation
Adjacent
Feeders
Load
Measurement Point
Capacitor Banks
0.0
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
1.5
0.5
0.5
1.0
1.5
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Hour
Potential Steady-State
Impacts and Concerns
Some of the most common expected impacts of PV-DG on
the distribution system include the following.
Voltage Rise
and Fluctuations
1) a detailed distribution feeder model, including settings of voltage control and regulation equipment
2) a typical PV-DG injection profile (monthly and annual
average)
3) PV-DG capacity in kW
4) 8,760-hour feeder load data.
If available, additional information, such as the status of
capacitor banks and typical customer power factors, can
improve the accuracy of the results.
Modification of Feeder
Section Loading
The location of the PV-DG can significantly affect the
loading of feeder sections. Therefore, before installing
utility-scale PV-DG plants, it is necessary to verify that
the feeder sections located between the PV-DG plants and
substation have enough available capacity to distribute the
may/june 2011
1.05
1.04
1.03
1.02
1.00
1.00
0.99
0.98
0.97
0.96
0.95
No Caps
Caps
PV-DG
0
1
2
3
4
5
Distance from Substation (Miles)
Without PV-DG
With PV-DG
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
Voltage (PU)
Hour
69
Feeder
Loading (% of Themal Rating)
120
F1
F2
F3
F4
F5
100
80
60
F6
F7
F8
F9
F10
F11
F12
F13
F14
F15
40
20
0
0
10
20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
PV-DG Penetration (%)
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Plss (kW)
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
kW
Hour
Dynamic Analysis
and Effects
Dynamic studies for PV-DG integration typically analyze the
effects of fast-varying (transient) phenomena caused by the
PV-DG (e.g., generation intermittency due to cloud movements) or initiated on the system (e.g., following faults and
subsequent switching). The time frame of interest may vary
from subminute to several hours with very fine time steps
that can capture the dynamic behavior and response time of
the feeder equipment, including PV inverters (typically with
subsecond steps), automatic voltage control devices (with
subminute or minute steps), and loads.
Dynamic analysis generally covers study cases for light
and heavy load conditions such as sudden connection and
disconnection (tripping) of a PV-DG plant; quick, large
fluctuations of the PV-DG output due to intermittency; and
accidental islanding of part of a feeder downstream of an
automatic switching device (a recloser or remote-controlled
switch). The main study objectives are usually to determine
the impact of PV-DG integration on voltage transients and
power quality (e.g., voltage sags, swells, and flicker) and/
or PV-DG behavior during faults and system dynamics.
Such studies typically include potential interactions of conventional and nonconventional voltage control devices on
a feeder.
Figure 11 shows a proposed study methodology for
dynamic analysis. Color coding is used to relate overall
process flow blocks (on the right) to the specific steps (on
the left) for each stage of the study. The approach starts with
developing and verifying a base-case dynamic feeder model
including control aspects of automatic voltage regulation
devices and generic or vendor-specific PV inverter models.
No-PV study cases refer to the base-case situation of the
feeder prior to adding a newly proposed PV-DG plant. The
base-case model may include any existing generation plant
(conventional or nonconventional) and is used to determine
initial feeder conditions such as the status of capacitor
banks and tap changer positions for LTCs or VRs. In the
next step, prespecified PV study scenarios are simulated.
Two main groups of study cases are normally defined:
studies involving PV-DG output variations and
investigating their impact on feeder voltages and
operation
case studies intended to assess the effects of transients and subsequent switching initiated on the
feeder on the PV-DG operation to determine any adverse power-quality consequences.
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