Impact of High PV Penetration on Regional Power Grids

Abstract

Due to the high solar irradiance or energy price, certain regions in the U.S. may reach 100% PV penetration and experience degradation of frequency response greater than the interconnection as a whole. Therefore, in this section, the 100% PV penetration region in each interconnection is simulated to study the local high PV penetration effects. The study was performed by quantifying rate of change of frequency (RoCoF), frequency nadir, and settling frequency at different regional PV penetration levels. The impact of high regional PV penetration on the compliance of grid code on frequency response is also studied.