Effects of PV microgeneration on rural LV network voltage quality - harmonics and unbalance

The growing demand for utilization of solar energy and thus increasing number of photovoltaic (PV) systems installed in low voltage (LV) distribution networks has given rise to the studies focusing on the effects of these systems on power quality (PQ) and supply reliability. The aim of this study is to analyze the effects of small-scale PV-system power (P
_(PV)
) generation on voltage quality in a rural LV distribution network in Estonia. In the analysis, which is based on real field measurements, the numerical and graphical methods were used. The correlations between P
_(PV)
generation and the following voltage quality parameters are shown: voltage total harmonic distortion (THD
_U
) and individual odd harmonic components up to order 19 and voltage unbalance.