Investigation of voltage performance of an LV distribution network for improving rooftop photovoltaic uptake in Australia

Recently, Queensland state of Australia has seen a rapid growth in rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) installations. However, the growth can be throttled due to voltage violation constraints at the distribution feeder level. Consequently, distribution utilities in Queensland have set a guideline for new PV inverter connections. During light load condition and under high availability of PV power, voltage rise may exceed its acceptable range in some buses even after the PV inverters are operated at specified lagging power factor given by the aforementioned guideline. To address the above-mentioned issue, this paper investigates the impact of upcoming PV units on voltage performance of a Queensland distribution system. This study also determines an allowable power export limit of a new PV inverter by satisfying standard voltage margins. This limit is utilised to develop a battery control strategy. This strategy is then applied to explore the implication of PV-battery on voltage enactment of the network.