Solar generation control with time-synchronized phasors

Solar-energy-based photovoltaic (PV) systems are a quickly growing source of distributed generation (DG) and connect to the power distribution system. PV-based DG poses challenges to grid reliability and power quality. One critical challenge is islanding control. Research is underway to devise best practice methods for anti-islanding for all power mismatch conditions. Synchrophasors provide an accurate means to detect islanding conditions by enabling precise, time-synchronized wide-area measurements. This paper presents an islanding detection system for PV-based DG. The system utilizes synchrophasor data collected from local and remote locations to detect the islanded condition. The paper shows how synchrophasors are used to control the DG during such conditions. It also discusses the power system modeling using a Real Time Digital Simulator (RTDS^®) and closed-loop testing of the synchrophasor-based islanding detection system, which includes the PV-based inverter and the power distribution system. The effectiveness of the system was experimentally tested on a live power system.