Development of a Real-Time Simulation-Based Testbed for the Validation of Control Schemes for a Distribution System with Distributed Generation

The present paper presents the development of a testbed based on real-time simulation of the IEEE 34 node test feeder, including photovoltaic solar farms modeling. In order to run the Simulink™ SimPowerSystems based model in an Opal-RT real-time target, a method called State-Space-Nodal was required due to the computational effort required by the large number of system elements. To demonstrate the testbed effectiveness, a basic control scheme that implements an algorithm for coordinated and selective operation of the voltage regulators is tested. Simulation results allow us to conclude that the proposed testbed is useful to evaluate the dynamic behavior of developed control algorithms previous to the implementation in modern Distribution Management Systems. Also, a SCADA system was developed in LabView from where the test feeder can be monitored and controlled.