Pterra was engaged by the New York State (NYS) Department of Public Service (DPS) to provide some insight into technical issues associated with battery energy storage systems (BESS) interconnecting into distribution feeders. This work was part of ongoing support Pterra is providing to the NYSDPS on NYS Standard Interconnection Requirements (SIR) procedures.

By Ketut Dartawan

(This topic was presented at the PSCAD Users group Meeting held in Atlanta, GA on Sept. 20-21, 2018. For the full presentation, please see this link.)

Many interconnection challenges exist when connecting photovoltaic (PV) resources to the electrical distribution grid. Various challenges on the distribution feeders are covered in some technical papers; however, one of the urgent topics – as recently mentioned by utilities and recognized by inverter manufacturers as well as the developers – is the potential for ground fault overvoltage (GFO) on sub-transmission systems feeding distribution feeders via a delta-wye transformer (see Figure 1).

by  Ketut Dartawan,  Amin M. Najafabadi

Pterra is presenting a paper on the above subject at the IEEE General Meeting 2017- Chicago 16~20 July.  Abstract of the paper follows:

IEEE updated its recommended practice and requirement for harmonic control in electric power system after more than two decades. The most updated version of the standard (IEEE Std. 519-2014) revised the 1992 version and its static harmonic voltage and current limits. Unlike the 1992 and the older versions of the standard, the 2014 version introduces a newer approach which considers the stochastic nature of harmonic distortions.  Furthermore, it recommends limits based on the number of times distortions may occur. For example, for the harmonic current distortion, it recommends three limits: daily 99th percentile, weekly 99th percentile, and weekly 95th percentile values. Applying the IEEE Std. 519-2014 for planning studies and for harmonic assessment of proposed projects can be very challenging because presently there is no known commercial tool which fully considers the stochastic simulations and limits required in the standard. This paper demonstrates the approach used by the authors in applying IEEE Std. 519-2014 to a harmonic study recently performed for a 180 MW solar farm.

Index Terms- harmonic analysis, harmonic filters, solar power generation, statistical analysis, time series analysis

Circuit breaker nameplates sometimes indicate only rating on symmetrical short circuit current. In such cases, the rating only reflects the AC component of the short circuit current. A common misinterpretation occurs when one compares the symmetrical short circuit current against the symmetrical short circuit current rating of the circuit breaker for the purposes of circuit breaker duty evaluation. This article provides pointers to avoid making the mistake.

Why is X/R Ratio Important?

Short circuit analysis is a critical piece of the engineering study for a power system. This analysis determines the maximum available fault current in the system, and hence the maximum level that the electrical equipment should be able to withstand.

When a short circuit occurs, the total short circuit current consists of:

• ·        AC component (varies sinusoidally with time), also known as symmetrical current
• ·        DC component (non periodic and decays exponentially with a time constant L/R;  L/R is proportional to X/R)
• ·        The DC component makes the symmetrical current become asymmetrical.

The X/R ratio affects the dc component, and therefore, also the total current. The higher the X/R ratio of a circuit, the longer the dc component will take to decay (longer time constant).

(This Blog is a continuation of an ongoing series on integrating inverter-based solar photovoltaic generation with existing electric distribution circuits. Link to Part 1)

Solar PV (shorthand for photovoltaic) generation is growing in support and implementation in part because of a supportive regulatory environment. Among the more common types of interconnection terms are NEM and FIT.

Harmonics is a very specialized and not widely understood topic in the electric power field which can become a major issue when inverter-based photovoltaic (“PV”) generators, (popularly referred to as solar power), are added to existing distribution circuits. This Blog provides a quick overview of the phenomena, potential negative impacts, causal conditions, and mitigating measures associated with harmonics. The bulk of the material presented here is based on an oral presentation at the SOLAR 2012 Conference of the World Renewable Energy Forum (WREF 2012) held last May 13-17, 2012, at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver.

“Harmonics Issues that Limit Solar Photovoltaic Generation on Distribution Circuits,” by K. Dartawan, L. Hui – Pterra, M. Suehiro – Maui Electric Co., presented at SOLAR 2012, World Renewable Energy Forum (WREF 2012), May 13-17, 2012, at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver.

A wave of new solar photovoltaic (“PV”) installations for power generation is hitting many distribution circuits around the country. These installations are typically in the range of 10-2000 kW and comprise of a set of solar PV arrays or trays and inverter modules. The inverters are needed to change the direct-current produced by the arrays to the alternating current standard used by the distribution circuits. The smaller installations connect single-phase, while the larger sizes are three-phase. Interconnection voltage at the point of common coupling between the PV installation and the distribution circuit varies from 120 volt up to 34.5 kilovolt (“kV”).

The concept of integrating these new PV installations with existing distribution circuits is similar to that of interconnecting larger generators in the transmission grid; i.e., the new installation should “do no harm” to the existing system. There are three aspects to this concept as follows. (1) If the existing circuit meets specified standards or criteria of performance, the circuit should still meet the same standard or criteria when the new PV is installed. (2) If the new PV introduces a violation of standard or criteria, mitigation measures need to be included as part of the the new PV’s installation to resolve the violation. (3) If the existing circuit already violates a standard or criteria, the new PV either should not make the violation worse, or limit its impact such that the violation is not worse or even reduced or eliminated.

Distributed generation (DG) has become a viable option and is gaining wider acceptance to utilities, customers, and independent power producers. While DG offers many advantages, the interconnecting utility typically requires a system impact study for interconnecting DG to the existing electric grid to ensure it would not adversely impact the operation, reliability and safety of the grid. By its nature, DG would interconnect to lower voltage systems generally classified as “distribution”. The studies can range from relatively quick feasibility assessments to comprehensive studies involving extensive equipment and power system modeling, measurements, and detailed simulations. Specific topics for such studies include: islanding, steady state power flow, voltage regulation, short-circuit, protective relaying, power quality (flicker and harmonic), power factor, system stability, grounding, and ground fault overvoltage.

Distributed generators (DGs) are small generating units that are connected to the distribution network at voltages below 69 kV. DG units usually have capacities of 10MW or less, and are based on different energy sources, such as wind, solar and diesel. The distribution network is generally a radial system and designed for one direction of load flow, i.e. from the electric grid to the load. The unidirectional flow assumption is no longer valid when DG is interconnected at the customer or load side since the flow of power can now go in either direction: from the load side to the grid or from the grid to the load side. This fundamental change affects how an impact study, generally required to identify and mitigate any changes to reliability of the distribution system, for DG interconnection is conducted. Reference 1 summarizes several typical tasks required in an interconnection impact study.