Improving power quality in distribution feeders with high PV penetration through inverter controls

Voltage fluctuations caused cloud transients in distribution systems with a high level of distributed photovolaic systems is of concern to electric utility companies since this can lead to power quality issues. This article proposes a scheme that can minimize this problem by allowing grid-tie inverters to generate controllable amounts of reactive current in a way to neutralize the change in active current. Inverter oversizing is not required by the implementation of this method. The performance of this technique is verified through computer simulations using PSCAD software.