Impact of photovoltaic power fluctuations by moving clouds on network voltage: A case study of an urban network

The introduction of renewable energy is becoming more popular within modern society. Large companies and institutions have started to take actions to reduce their carbon footprints. In this paper, an organization is going to place 720kWp photovoltaic (PV) panels into an urban network. The PV system will be installed on the top of two buildings which are in a close proximity. If this area is affected by clouds, there will be considerable PV power fluctuations within a short period of time. These power fluctuations will not be related to system frequency as it is insignificant compared with bulk power delivered in the whole power system, but they may have a noticeable effect on grid voltage in a distribution network with a high R/X ratio. Therefore, a study needs to be conducted before PV installation. The real-life network for the PV integration has been constructed, and its metering records are used to examine the impacts on voltage rise and drop caused by PV power swing.