Power Quality Issues Due to High Penetration of Rooftop Solar PV in Low Voltage Distribution Networks: A Case Study

Increased penetration of rooftop solar PV is causing undesirable technical impacts on the distribution networks. Several urban distribution transformers in Sri Lanka are exceeding fifty percent of the solar PV over the transformer capacity, which shed a green light to assess the cumulative effect of the rooftop solar PVs. In this study, a distribution feeder with high solar PV penetration has been selected and power quality issues such as harmonics, over voltage and DC injection are analyzed under various conditions. Effects of non-linear loads were also assessed to create an accurate representation of the existing network. The simulation results identify whether the selected system satisfies the statutory limits imposed by various global regulations concerned with power quality.