Browsing by Author "Xavier, Ria"

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    The Coordination and control of smart inverters utilizing Volt-VAr and Volt-Watt in low voltage networks, and opportunities for South Africa
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2022-04) Xavier, Ria; Bekker, Bernard; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Engineering. Dept. of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Increasing photovoltaic (PV) penetration in the low-voltage (LV) distribution network leads to grid-interconnection issues for electric utilities. These issues include voltage violations, equipment overloading and frequency instability. To mitigate these problems, advanced smart inverter functionality is becoming increasingly popular in states and countries with high renewable energy penetration levels. Although smart inverters have a wide range of benefits for the utility, these benefits are limited to the local level due to autonomous inverter control. This research investigates the benefits of coordinated inverter control in mitigating voltage violations in LV feeders due to increasing PV penetrations. A critical literature review on the grid interconnection requirements and smart inverter functionality guidelines informs on the gaps that need to be addressed to allow for increased smart inverter deployment in South Africa. The literature review also explores the benefits of distributed energy resource management systems (DERMS) and virtual power plants (VPPs), and the requirements for each platform. Based on the literature review’s findings, a simulation has been conducted to investigate the benefits of coordinated smart inverter voltage regulation control, particularly Volt-VAr and Volt-Watt, to increase hosting capacity in LV networks. The proposed methodology considers the feeder-wide voltage conditions instead of local point of connection (PoC) conditions using sensor measurements, and the fairness of voltage regulation and active power curtailment among customers on a feeder. This proposed methodology can be used as an intermediate solution for coordinating smart inverters without the use of extensive communication infrastructure and advanced aggregating platforms. The simulation results show an improvement in voltage profiles using coordinated Volt-VAr and Volt Watt inverter control and feeder-wide awareness. The improved voltage profiles can accommodate higher levels of PV penetration and thus increase hosting capacities in LV feeders.