Flexible power control scheme for interconnected photovoltaics to benefit the power quality and network losses of the distribution grid

Photovoltaic (PV) systems are integrated into the distribution network (DN) through the grid tied inverter. This paper proposes a flexible power control scheme (FPCS) for three-phase inverters which can compensate the load asymmetries imposed by the nearby residential loads. The development of the control scheme is based on: a dynamic estimation of the load current sequences through a Compensator of Prosumer’s Loads (CPL); a power analysis to limit the current injection within the inverter ratings; and an advanced current controller for injecting on purpose unbalanced currents. The proposed scheme can fully exploit the inverter capabilities for benefiting the operation of the DN and its effectiveness has been evaluated through simulation and experimental results. Further, a novel investigation is performed for indicating the impact of the proposed scheme on a realistic low-voltage DN. The investigation shows that the flexible inverter can improve the power quality, reduce the power losses, and decrease the required network capacity of the DN.This work was supported by the Research Promotion Foundation of Cyprus (RPF, Cyprus, Project KOINA/SOLAR-ERA.NET/0114/02), by Energinet.dk (ForskEL, Denmark) and the SOLAR-ERA.NET (European Union's Seventh Framework Programme). © 2017 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works. L. Hadjidemetriou, L. Zacharia, and E. Kyriakides, "Flexible power control scheme for interconnected photovoltaics to benefit the power quality and network losses of the dis-tribution grid," in Proc. IEEE ECCE-Asia 2017, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 2017, pp. 1-6. DOI: 10.1109/IFEEC.2017.7992424 https://www.ieee.org/publications_standards/publications/rights/rights_policies.htm