Field Trial of Coordinated Control of PV and Energy Storage Units and Analysis of Power Quality Measurements

Trends support low voltage distribution networks will soon experience significant uptake of customer-owned low-carbon technology (LCT) devices especially rooftop photovoltaics (PVs) and small-scale energy storage (SSES) systems. This paradigm shift will introduce some significant challenges in modern distribution network planning and operations owing to the temporal nature of modern demand. Therefore, it became relevant to investigate the UK low voltage (LV) network operations considering high uptake of PVs and SSESs through both field measurements and desktop studies. The aim was to validate through field trials, the flexibility benefits of peak demand reduction and reverse power flow mitigation through smart control of customer-owned SSESs. It was shown that peak demand of up to 60% could be achieved in UK distribution network through the smart control of these devices. In tandem with the demand reduction, the study revealed that type-tested SSES power interface units do not pose significant power quality risks even for 100% customer penetration.