Reduction of power fluctuation in grid connected SPV plant through aggregate distributed generation

This paper aims to analyze the reduction of power fluctuation in the main grid by the generation of distributed solar power through several small micro grids connected into main grid. These fluctuations are mainly due to seasonal condition and cloud passing over the solar plant. There are several methods available to predict the power fluctuation due to seasonal variation but fluctuation due to cloud passing is very unpredictable. In this paper, a novel method is proposed where the power generated from SPV using several small micro grids which are geographically distributed in a 100 km radius are integrated. All of the five stations which are generating x amount of power individually are connected to the main grid at a common point, the collective fluctuation is monitored and compared for each of the sites against a system generating 5x power at a single location. It is found that the geographically distributed generation (neglecting transmission losses) produces less fluctuation in the grid. The proposed system gives less fluctuation because it is unlikely that all the sites have cloud cover at a particular time simultaneously. The advantage of the proposed system is that a lesser capacity battery bank will be required and the excess power generated during clear weather will be injected into the grid which will generate extra income. This is aptly suitable for the Indian power sector where grid is always operating at lower frequency.