Large photovoltaic power plants integration: A review of challenges and solutions

Abstract

Renewable energy systems (RESs), such as photovoltaic (PV) systems, are providing increasingly larger shares of power generation. PV systems are the fastest growing generation technology today with almost ~30% increase since 2015 reaching 509.3 GWp worldwide capacity by the end of 2018 and predicted to reach 1000 GWp by 2022. Due to the fluctuating and intermittent nature of PV systems, their large-scale integration into the grid poses momentous challenges. This paper provides a review of the technical challenges, such as frequency disturbances and voltage limit violation, related to the stability issues due to the large-scale and intensive PV system penetration into the power network. Possible solutions that mitigate the effect of large-scale PV system integration on the grid are also reviewed. Finally, power system stability when faults occur are outlined as well as their respective achievable solutions.