Harmonic Distortion Caused by Single-Phase Grid-Connected PV Inverter

Abstract

Due to the fast growth of photovoltaic (PV) installations, concerns are rising about the harmonic distortion generated from PV inverters. A general model modified from the conventional control structure diagram is introduced to analyze the harmonic generation pro- cess. Causes of the current harmonics are summarized, and its relationship with output power levels is analyzed. In particular for two-stage inverter, unlike existing models that assume the direct current (DC)-link voltage is constant, the DC-link voltage ripple is identified as the source of a series of odd harmonics. The inverter is modeled as a time-varying system by considering the DC-link voltage ripple. A closed-form solution is derived to calculate the amplitude of the ripple-caused harmonics. The theoretical derivation and anal- ysis are verified by both simulation and experimental evaluation.