Nonlinear reactive power control scheme to maximize penetration of distributed generation in distribution networks

Abstract

Distributed generation (DG) using solar photovoltaic (PV) as a source of energy is of interest to governments and utilities due to its ability to displace significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while leveraging existing distributed generation infrastructure. This has led to increased PV installation across the grids in many countries. It can, however, lead to issues with distributed feeder voltage regulation and, ultimately voltage stability problems. The ability to maintain grid voltage stability is compromised by the addition of DG units in existing feeder networks. In this paper, a reactive power control technique is proposed that uses the concept of optimizing reactive power to reduce the problem of voltage instability and in doing so, provides a method to maximize the active power injected for each distributed generation unit connected to the grid. The algorithm is tested in MATLAB/Simulink with IEEE 13 and 37-node test feeder systems.