Optimizing PV-Hosting Capacity with the Integrated Employment of Dynamic Line Rating and Voltage Regulation

Abstract

A record amount of renewable energy has been added to global electricity generation in recent years. Among the renewable energy sources, solar photovoltaic (PV) is the most popular energy source integrated into low voltage distribution networks. However, the voltage limits and current-carrying capacity of the conductors become a barrier to maximizing the PV-hosting capacity in low voltage distribution networks. This paper presents an optimization approach to maximize the PV-hosting capacity in order to fully utilize the existing low voltage distribution network assets. To achieve the maximum PV-hosting capacity of the network, a novel method based on the dynamic line rating of the low voltage distribution network, the coordinated operation of voltage control methods and the PV re-phasing technique was introduced and validated using a case study. The results show that the proposed methodology can enhance the PV-hosting capacity by 53.5% when compared to existing practices.

Keywords

• PV-hosting capacity
• dynamic line rating
• reactive power compensation
• PV re-phasing
• optimization
• low voltage distribution network