Simulation of smart functionalities of photovoltaic inverters by interfacing OpenDSS and Matlab

With the increase in demand for clean and green power, several energy utilities are increasing renewable energy in their generation portfolio. The high penetration of PV can create problems of voltage fluctuation and frequency variation. The two major smart functionalities that address high PV penetration include dynamic Volt/VAR control for voltage fluctuations and active power control and curtailment to achieve frequency regulation. Quasi-static time series simulation of the power grid that includes the two smart functionalities of the Photovoltaic (PV) generator is needed. In this paper, the modeling and analysis of the power grid with PV generators is presented using the open source simulation tool OpenDSS. Specifically, the COM interface capability of OpenDSS is used to interface with Matlab to simulate the advanced functionalities of Volt/VAR and active power control and at the same time observe the effect of these controls in the power grid. The IEEE 13 bus feeder is used to demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed simulation methodology interfacing both Matlab and OpenDSS.