A review on power quality issues due to high penetration level of solar generated power on the grid

In the last decade, there has been a tremendous growth in the field of grid-tied Photovoltaic (PV) generating plants in INDIA. With the recent government subsidies and reduction in the panel prices, the generation capacity has increased from a few kilowatts to hundreds of Mega-Watts. This rapid escalation in the penetration level on the grid has increased the utility companies’ concerns about its impact on the power quality of the system.In the current scenario, the penetration levels of the Photovoltaic generating in INDIA is very low to create any kind of significant power quality issues on the grid, however, power quality issues such as current harmonics and power factor have been identified in some cases. But with the increase in the penetration levels of PV generator on the grid, it may start affecting the overall power quality of the system. Power system stability and security issues, voltage variation (i.e. sag & swell), reverse power flow, power factor, and harmonics are the major power quality issues that may arise due to increased PV penetration. This paper gives an overall review of different power quality issues that may arise due to the increased penetration level of a PV generator on the grid.