Optimal Voltage Regulation and Profile Control for Maximum Distributed Generation Penetration

Abstract

Significant increase in the adoption of intermittent, inertia-less distributed generation technologies has begun to pose noteworthy challenges to the operation of the conventional grid, and hence this necessitates a more active approach to control of equipment in the distribution layer, especially in high-penetration cases. In this paper, a voltage droop control scheme applied to a back-to-back converter architecture is proposed. The control objectives are to regulate secondary circuit/feeder voltage, internal dc-link voltage and feed-in current so as to maximize active power penetration and to maintain an optimal voltage profile. The converters and their controllers are designed and modelled as a stage in cascade with a typical benchmark LV feeder, and simulated using MATLAB. Basing on the simulated cases, it is observed that this concept can be applied as a means of increasing the maximum permissible active power penetration, with optimal voltage profile, in the LV reticulation.