Detection of Power Quality Disturbances in Distribution Grid Network with Photovoltaic Penetration

This paper aims to study the power quality disturbances that might occur in a Photovoltaic (PV) connected distribution grid. Recently, there has been rapid increase in grid-connected PV plants to meet the ever-increasing peak consumer demands. Grid-connected PV sources as well as non-linear loads introduce Power Quality issues. The PQ issues such as voltage sag, voltage swell, transients, total harmonic distortions, etc. might have an adverse effect on the reliable operation of power plant and distribution network. The first step in preparing a reliable grid system is to understand the types of quality issues and their effects. In this paper, the PQ issues that occur in the low voltage and medium voltage distribution grid due to the PV penetration and nonlinear loads are studied. To assess the quality issues, a MATLAB/SIMULINK model has been developed where a PV source has been integrated into the distribution network. Voltage variation caused by faults, total harmonic distortions due to PV penetration, and transient stability issues due to nonlinear loads have been simulated and analyzed.