Distribution network configurations for demand matching with photovoltaic systems

Australia´s renewable energy landscape is growing significantly as residential photovoltaic system installations are experiencing a boom in popularity due to a number of factors. With this boom of course come concerns for the health of the current networks which are often not suited to handle excessive power generation courtesy of PV systems. Several strategies have been proposed to handle this extra strain on the distribution network but not all have been fully investigated. Thus this study was undertaken in order to investigate one such method, feeder switching, and to understand the potential implications and benefits, for both the customer and utility. The objective of this study is to understand the potential implications and benefits, for both the customer and utility, associated with maximizing the matching of photovoltaic generation with network demand by evaluating dynamic network switching at the medium voltage level. The results of this study show that dynamic switching did indeed have the potential to better match photovoltaic generation with network demand and thus minimize voltage rise and reverse power flow in the network. From the utility´s perspective this was beneficial for the health of the network and as a result customers could theoretically experience improved power quality.