Relation between solar PV power generation, inverter rating and THD

Abstract

The increasing threat of global warming call for the policy chances that increase the share of renewable energy-based generation including the integration of solar PV generation in the distribution networks. However, the distribution networks are designed and operated for centralised power generation and unidirectional power flow. The integration of solar PV systems leads to distributed power generation and bidirectional power flow, which results in operation challenges, such as power quality problems. These problems required to be quantified to develop appropriate solutions. Therefore, in this paper, a power quality auditing is conducted for a 50 kVA solar PV power plant and the resultant observations are presented in this paper. The study is conducted for two types of days, which are: (i) weekend day; (ii) weekday. The former type of day has relatively lower demand compared to the later type day. A number of observations are made and they are presented in this paper. Few important observations and conclusions are presented in this paper. The relation among the power generation, harmonics and inverters rating are observed and presented. Moreover, the quantification of voltage dips is also presented in this paper.