Large-scale photovoltaic solar power integration in transmission and distribution networks

The province of Ontario in Canada has embarked on a major initiative to promote the grid interconnection of photovoltaic (PV) solar power systems. The Ontario Centres of Excellence, Centre of Energy, has recently approved a $6 million project for this purpose to a team of two Universities — University of Western Ontario and University of Waterloo, together with the support of four major industry partners who are involved in this technology in Ontario. A new technology has been developed for the utilization of PV solar farms in the nighttime and also during daytime as STATCOM. This paper will present the scope, objectives, research activities and commercialization potentials of this transformative project.