Functionalities of smart inverter system for grid-connected applications

The effects on the atmosphere of the global use of conventional fossil fuel have given rise to the use of renewable energy sources as distributed generation (DG) generators. The renewable energy source is considered as a clean source of power generation which is also known as an alternative energy to conventional fossil fuels. Among the renewable energy sources, high interest is on the solar energy which generates electricity using PV (photo voltaic) modules. This has led to the increasing number of the grid-connected inverter affecting the power quality of the system and also causing instability in the grid. The smart inverter has gained more attention for mitigating the negative impacts of grid interfaced variable and intermittent energy sources such as solar energy. This paper presents the functionalities of the various configurations of the grid-connected inverter and how efficient each of the configurations is and their benefits. Simulation results were carried out in MATLAB/SIMULINK to demonstrate the capability of grid-connected distributed generation to provide ancillary services.