Power Quality Monitoring of a 1.1 MW Photovoltaic Power Plant

In 1982, IEEE standard 519 was first released and then updated in 2014. It sets some rules and steady state limitations on Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) with reference to both current and voltage at the Point of Common Coupling (PCC). However, exceeding these boundaries may be encountered by transient conditions. IEEE Standard 1547 was published in 2003 and the latest amendment was issued in 2014. This standard contains power quality, response to unusual situations, and installation assessment. The specified requirements are essential for interconnection of distributed resources (DR), including power inverters/converters and synchronous generators. The standards are valid to all DR technologies, with combined capacity of 10 MVA or less at the PCC, connected to secondary and/or primary distribution voltages. This paper presents monitoring and assessment of a 1.1MW photovoltaic power plant at Florida International University, Miami, Florida. The assessment criteria were the IEEE 519 and 1547. Revolution power quality recorder and AlsoEnergy power track software captured the harmonics and voltage data with resolution on 1 minute. It concluded that at current level of photovoltaic penetration (16%), Current THDs violates the 5% limit value at the Point of Common Coupling (PCC). Moreover, except from a few short duration voltage impulses, no voltage violation has been observed.