Towards the establishment of maximum PV generation limits due to power quality constraints

The solar irradiance dependent level of harmonic distortion due to PV generation is investigated through a combination of experimental and simulation studies. The expected growth of connection densities of PV systems in distribution networks coupled to the environmental conditions and in particular the fluctuations in solar irradiance can lead to undesirable variations of power and supply quality. In order to be able to predict the harmonic pollution due to PV generation, measurements of power quality indices were carried out at the output of a PV system for a period of 2 weeks. Then, a typical distribution system was modeled using the statistically obtained outcome of the measurements from the PV system. From the simulation of the chosen distribution system we obtained results for voltage distortion and categorized them based on solar irradiance levels. The procedure was then validated using the EN50160 analysis approach. The most extreme case, the high solar irradiance condition, was subsequently used for the simulation of different concentration scenarios, in order to assess the concentration limits set by power quality indices and the results are presented. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.