Field demonstration of local voltage regulation on ERDF MV network

Huge increase in the penetration rate of renewable connected to the distribution network has a major impact on the voltage level, and results in voltage constraints that limit its integration or lead to grid investments. According to the French legislation (order of the 23rd of April 2008), DG (Distributed Generation) reactive power capabilities can be used to ensure that the permissible voltage variation range on the feeder is not exceeded at any conditions. Currently the reactive power demand from DG is constant and doesn´t take into consideration the real network conditions. ERDF investigates DG supplying or absorbing reactive power following a local active regulation characteristic given by the DNO as this has been enabled by the French distribution grid code and pricing policy.