Volt/Var control in distribution networks with high penetration of PV considering inverter utilization

In this paper, a Volt/Var control strategy in distribution networks with high PV penetration considering inverter thermal model is presented. This strategy considers a central distribution control to schedule active power and reactive power to deal with solar power generation intermittency. The objective is to provide voltage regulation control while solving for optimal power flow to minimize both distribution system losses and inverter losses. A radial distribution feeder with high PV penetration is considered for the analysis. Simulation results verify the effectiveness of the proposed strategy in regulating voltage within limits while allowing optimal reactive power allocation among distributed generation (DG) units to relieve the stress on some inverters especially those at the end of the feeder.