Smart grid implications for power quality standardization

Renewable energy sources continue to grow in North America and around the world. There is a push to install these renewable energy sources at the low voltage (LV) distribution level to create a distributed generation (DG) power system. Traditionally, the power system is assumed to have one source that is connected to loads through an impedance. Present electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) standardization for both IEC and IEEE is based on this assumption. It is important and necessary to consider how the present standards apply to DG units so that future standardization can account for the shift from one “large” source to multiple “small” distributed sources.