Estimation of solar photovoltaic energy curtailment due to volt–watt control. Issue 4 (25th February 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Emmanuel, Michael; Giraldez, Julieta; Gotseff, Peter; Hoke, Anderson
• Is Part Of: IET renewable power generation. Volume 14:Issue 4(2020)
• Page Start: 640
• Page End: 646
• Publication Date: 2020-02-25
• Subjects: power grids -- power distribution control -- smart meters -- photovoltaic power systems -- distribution networks -- invertors; high‐penetration photovoltaic systems -- PV production curtailment -- solar energy -- inverter‐based grid support functions -- customer PV energy curtailment -- smart meter voltage data -- maximum possible curtailment -- given volt–watt curve -- customer smart meter voltage -- actual field measurements -- irradiance -- customer inverter data -- previous simulation‐driven study -- advanced inverter GSF activation -- volt–watt control aligns -- customer energy curtailment -- customer‐sited resources -- solar photovoltaic energy curtailment -- autonomous inverter‐based solutions -- persistent voltage -- frequency excursions; Renewable energy sources -- Periodicals; 333.79405
• DOI: 10.1049/iet-rpg.2019.1003
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1752-1416

Abstract

Abstract : The widespread deployment of autonomous inverter‐based solutions for mitigating voltage and frequency excursions caused by high‐penetration photovoltaic (PV) systems has drawn increased attention due to their potential impact on PV production. It is now important to quantify the amount of solar energy curtailed as a result of the activation of inverter‐based grid support functions (GSFs). This study proposes a methodology for estimating the impact of volt–watt on customer PV energy curtailment using smart meter voltage data. This method estimates maximum possible curtailment for a given volt–watt curve based on the customer smart meter voltage during the time period of interest. This study compares the proposed methodology with field measurements using irradiance and customer inverter data from Hawaii as well as with results from a previous simulation‐driven study on the impact of advanced inverter GSF activation on PV energy curtailment. Results show that the proposed method for estimating lost PV production caused by volt–watt control aligns reasonably well with field measurements and computer simulations for hundreds of customers. The proposed method could be used to estimate customer energy curtailment, which could inform future compensation mechanisms for utilities leveraging customer‐sited resources to mitigate high voltage and defer infrastructure upgrades.