Stability of distribution network with large-scale PV penetration under off-grid operation

Abstract

Large-scale photovoltaic (PV) penetration reduces system damping and causes stability problems on off-grid distribution systems. The single-machine equivalent method is typically used to simplify the full-order model by ignoring the differences in PVs. However, this results in substantial errors. When the differences between the control models of PVs are greater, the calculation results lead to greater error. Then the stability of the PV system cannot be judged. This study validated that the oscillation mode of the PV in the subsynchronous frequency band has a linear correlation with the operating conditions and control parameters. Accordingly, the authors proposed to divide the oscillation mode interval by taking the maximum and minimum PV operating conditions as the boundary to assess the stability of the system. Considering the difference in the operating conditions of the PVs, the average power was used to dynamically aggregate the PV electric farm to determine whether the system was at risk of instability. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method was verified through case studies on a 12-PV off-grid distribution system and a large-scale PV farm system. The verification results show that the proposed method can determine the stability of the distribution system accurately. The proposed method is significant for developing strategies to enhance the stability of off-grid distribution systems.

Keywords

• Off-grid distribution system stability
• Photovoltaic (PV) penetration
• Stability analysis
• Solar PV plant
• Subsynchronous frequency