Inverter-Based Local Control Methods for Mitigating Overvoltage in Photovoltaic Penetrated Low-Voltage Networks

A reduced number of smart meters in low-voltage (LV), especially in the extensive ones, limits the application of centralized, decentralized, or distributed voltage control in this type of network with small-scale residential photovoltaic (PV) systems. However, in local control, controllers can respond fast to distributed generation variability and are not affected by communication failures. Thus, local voltage control methods can mitigate the overvoltage using droop control curves in PV inverters, which are set offline in pre-operational studies. This chapter presents four local control methods for overvoltage mitigation in LV networks with PV generation. Three of these methods use one smart control functionality of PV inverters, while the other uses two smart control functionalities in a coordinated way. Power flow simulations are performed using data from a Brazilian real-world and extensive LV network to compare the performance of these control methods. Besides, a broader comparison is conducted by analyzing power losses in the network, the transformer power factor, and transformer loading. Finally, the above methods are evaluated considering several PV integration scenarios. This analysis can help utilities use one or more local voltage control methods to accommodate more PV systems in their LV feeders.