Reactive Power Control of a 3-phase Grid-Connected Building Integrated Photovoltaic System

Abstract

Recently, a tendency in the growing of grid-connected building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) systems has been noticed in most countries. Hence, high penetration of PV power into the system network can be observed in many points in the network. This may cause severe problems in the distribution network originated by the intermittent behaviour of PV systems. As a feasible solution, the reactive power capability of voltage source inverter in PV systems can be employed rather than approaching expensive grid infrastructures in the distribution network. The purpose of this study is to implement a 3-phase grid-connected BIPV system with reactive power control to regulate the system voltage and improve the system power factor. Subsequent to this, the system model is designed and developed in MATLAB Simulink application. The inverter control system along with the reactive power control is developed for the proper system operation at different system conditions to reduce the var compensation on the utility grid. A better system accuracy of the developed system model is verified by validating with real system data.