INCREASING HOSTING CAPACITY BY SMART INVERTERS – CONCEPTS AND APPLICATIONS

This chapter describes hosting capacity for solar photovoltaic (PV) systems and its enhancement in distribution networks. It introduces the concept of hosting capacity and elucidates the factors impacting hosting capacity. The chapter presents different non smart inverter‐based methods for increasing hosting capacity. It discusses the characteristics of different smart inverter (SI) functions and their effectiveness in improving hosting capacity. A case study is presented to demonstrate the application of a methodology for evaluating different SI‐based technological options in a distribution feeder. The chapter explains the methodologies and guidelines for selecting the settings of different smart inverter functions. Several simulation studies of increasing hosting capacity in utility networks are described. Finally, the chapter presents different worldwide field implementations of smart inverters in enhancing hosting capacity. Although the focus of this chapter is on hosting capacity of solar PV systems, the concepts presented apply equally to other distributed energy resources.