Smart inverter capabilities for mitigating over-voltage on distribution systems with high penetrations of PV

As the penetration level of PV on the distribution system grows, the current injection by PV can create over-voltage issues around the location of the interconnection of PV. Often, the voltage regulation in the feeder is not setup to handle these reverse current flows and inverse feeder voltage profile shape. The PV inverter can be used to absorb or inject reactive power to help negate the voltage change caused by the real power generation. Detailed analysis is performed to investigate the impact of PV output power factor and reactive power on the distribution system voltage. Several reactive control methods are demonstrated in simulation for a real distribution system with coincident high time-resolution measured load and irradiance data.