Abstract:
The increase of Photovoltaics (PV) units’ penetration factor in the power grids might create
overvoltage over the network buses. The active power curtailment (APC) and the reactive
power provision methods use inverters to regulate their output active and reactive powers
for high PV-penetrated grids. However, the mentioned solutions would reduce the
maximum injectable active solar power to the grid, not financially acceptable.
Continuous employment of the maximum apparent power capacity of the inverters will
practically decrease the inverters’ lifetime, require special design considerations, and make
the control system complex. To overcome those issues, a feasible solution would be
increasing the load consumption within the time intervals in which the grid faces the overvoltage
problem. In this research, the demand response (DR) program is employed. Load
shifting techniques are exerted to move a portion of loads from the peak hours to when
further power consumption is expected for voltage level reduction purposes. A new longterm
strategy based on the coordinated operation of the PV inverters and load shifting
techniques is proposed to resolve the over-voltage issue in the network. Consequently, the
PV inverter’s contribution to voltage control is reduced; a new sight of DR potential is
implemented, and also the under-voltage level in peak times is decreased significantly.