Real Time Simulation in a Distribution System Including PV Inverter and Voltage Regulator: Voltage Impact Analysis

This paper presents an analysis of the voltage profile in a distribution system with high photovoltaic (PV) penetration rate. The system used was the IEEE 13 Node Test Feeder with some modifications. The system was modelled in RSCAD software and simulated using Real-Time Digital Power System Simulator (RTDS). PV inverters were modelled with their respective control loops in the software mentioned above, performing the simulations aimed to analyze the voltage variation of the load center, considering the impact of a Voltage Regulator (VR). The VR control was embedded in Digital Signal Processing and Control Engineering (dSPACE), which communicates with RTDS performing a Hardware In the Loop (HIL) simulation. The PV inverter control was modelled and implemented with details. Results show that the effectiveness of the VR control depends on the length of the distribution lines. In this work, conclusions present that for medium length lines, standard VR control cannot limit the voltage profile between the allowed values.