Distributed Generation

Abstract

Power losses and their regulation is a key issue in modern electrical systems, especially in distribution networks. In the last few years, the number of distributed energy resources has grown dramatically, emphasising the importance of knowing in detail the operating conditions and the efficiency of low–voltage (LV) and medium-voltage (MV) networks. In particular, LV systems are often unbalanced networks experiencing a significant neutral current. This aspect could become more and more critical considering the distributed generation and its daily profile in comparison with the load typical time trend. The present regulatory prescriptions and rules for the connection of generators in the Italian context are discussed and then applied to a real LV case study network. Several scenarios are considered to analyse how distributed generators connection options and reactive power management strategies have influence on network losses.