Impact study of integrating solar plant in an 11kV urban distribution system

In order to provide access to affordable and reliable electricity it is imperative to reduce the gap between demand and supply of electricity. Renewable resources, preferably solar, seem to be the best alternative at present. Bangladesh is not far aside in this sector as the government has already taken some initiatives and also planned some projects to be encountered in near future. Solar photovoltaic power systems are getting implemented in a large scale around the world. However, integrating these small scale solar plants into already existing networks possess a number of challenges. This paper investigates the impacts of integrating a large photovoltaic solar plant in a practical 11kV urban distribution system. The test system has been simulated using Power System Analysis Toolbox (PSAT). Impact on voltage stability and losses were studied at various generation sizes of the solar plant. Results showed that increased penetration of solar plant improves loading capacity of the test system while leading to increased losses as well as overvoltage phenomenon.