Evaluation of Power Quality Impacts due to Photovoltaic Penetration in Distribution Grids via Time-Domain Simulation

In this paper, the problem of estimating the maximum penetration of distributed photovoltaic power in a distribution grid for maintaining acceptable power quality is considered. We evaluate power quality supplied by the grid in terms of root mean square value and total harmonic distortion of bus voltages, which are two important parameters taken into account by the utility in management of grid supply quality. A simple simulation model is proposed for evaluating these parameters as functions of the photovoltaic penetration factor. The model is used in a simulation of an hypotethical distribution feeder in order to validate the proposed method of estimating penetration factor limits.