Solar-PV inverter for the overall stability of power systems with intelligent MPPT control of DC-link capacitor voltage

Abstract

This paper demonstrates the controlling abilities of a large PV-farm as a Solar-PV inverter for mitigating the chaotic electrical, electromechanical, and torsional oscillations including Subsynchronous resonance in a turbogenerator-based power system. The oscillations include deviations in the machine speed, rotor angle, voltage fluctuations (leading to voltage collapse), and torsional modes. During the night with no solar power generation, the PV-plant switches to PV-STATCOM mode and works as a Solar-PV inverter at its full capacity to attenuate the oscillations. During full sun in the daytime, on any fault detection, the PV-plant responds instantly and stops generating power to work as a Solar-PV inverter. The PV-farm operates in the same mode until the oscillations are fully alleviated. This paper manifests the control of the DC-link capacitor voltage of the Solar-PV inverter with a bacterial foraging optimization-based intelligent maximum power point tracking controller for the optimal control of active and reactive power. Kundur’s multi-machine model aggregated with PV-plant is modeled in the Matlab/Simulink environment to examine the rotor swing deviations with associated shaft segments. The results for different test cases of interest demonstrate the positive outcomes of deploying large PV-farms as a smart PV-STATCOM for controlling power system oscillations.