Assessing the benefits of PV var absorption on the hosting capacity of LV feeders

The UK has reached, thanks to the Feed-In-Tariff scheme, an installed photovoltaic (PV) capacity of almost 1.5GW mostly connected to low voltage (LV) networks. Voltage rise issues have started to appear particularly in clusters of PV systems. Thus, in order to defer potential network reinforcements, Distribution Network Operators have to consider alternative solutions that can cost-effectively allow hosting the ongoing and future uptake of PV systems. Adopting a thorough Monte Carlo-based analysis, this work evaluates the potential benefits from using the power factor capabilities of PV systems connected to LV feeders. The results, based on a real UK suburban LV feeder, show that for a given penetration level, the number of customers affected by voltage issues at a given penetration level can be significantly reduced when adopting PV reactive power absorption. However, this strategy had a limited effect on the reduction of the overall voltage rise issue. © 2013 IEEE