Assessing the power quality behaviour of high photovoltaic (PV) penetration levels inside the distribution network

In recent years, increasing concerns about climate change and the liberalisation of energy market have provided the necessary impetus for a revolutionary restructuring of the electricity network at every level, namely production, transmission and distribution. Increased electricity production from renewable energy sources (RES) coupled with energy efficiency lie at the heart of the ambitious targets set by Europe in the quest to curb greenhouse gas emissions and to reach energy sustainability. Therefore the security and stability of the power system should be considered carefully to identify possible impacts due to uncontrolled deployment of RES. This paper focuses on the study of varying concentrations of photovoltaic (PV) systems on a proposed electricity grid in an attempt to assess the power quality response of the power system. The study has been performed using a detailed PV system model. The model is initially validated using data from the output of PV systems and then this is used for the study of varying PV penetrations on common distribution system topologies. The results are compared to international power quality standards.