Reactive power management in photovoltaic installations connected to low-voltage grids to avoid active power curtailment. J.F. Gómez-González, D. Cañadillas-Ramallo, B. González-Díaz, J.A. Méndez-Pérez, J. Rodríguez, J. Sánchez and R. Guerrero-Lemus 2018/04/20

Abstract

Photovoltaic (PV) inverters are traditionally designed to operate with unity power factors. In order to use reactive power capabilities of smart inverters, in this work two strategies are analysed: limiting the amount of active power delivered or oversizing the inverter. The first of these options implies a reduction in the PV production and therefore, it would lead to reduced earnings for the PV system owner. On the other hand, oversizing the PV inverter allows having reactive power compensation capabilities, while delivering full power output from its PV field.

Authors and affiliations

J.F. Gómez-González1, D. Cañadillas-Ramallo2, B. González-Díaz1, J.A. Méndez-Pérez3, J.
Rodríguez4, J. Sánchez4 and R. Guerrero-Lemus2*
1. Departamento de Ingeniería Industrial, Escuela Superior de Ingeniería y Tecnología, Universidad de La Laguna (ULL), Escuela Superior de Ingeniería y Tecnología, Universidad de La Laguna (ULL), (Tenerife), España.
2. Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de La Laguna (ULL), (Tenerife), España
3. Departamento de Ingeniería Informática y de Sistemas, Escuela Superior de Ingeniería y Tecnología,
Universidad de La Laguna (ULL), (Tenerife), España.
4. ENDESA Distribución Eléctrica SL. Madrid. España

Key words

Photovoltaic, reactive power management, electrical systems.

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