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Archives for Harmonics

Applying IEEE Std. 519-2014 for Harmonic Distortion Analysis of a 180 MW Solar PV Installation

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

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Interharmonics Case Study: Nuisance Tripping in a 200 MW Wind Farm

This topic was presented at the PSCAD Conference held October 6-7, 2016 in Houston, Texas.

Overview: A 200 MW DFIG wind farm is experiencing nuisance tripping.  These occur during switching of power factor correction cap banks comprising of 4×12 MVAR connected to the farm’s 34.5 KV collector buses.  Trip signals recorded by WTGs indicate power quality issues.  Harmonic distortion study of the Project did not indicate potential violations.

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Harmonics Limit Amount of PV on a Distribution Circuit

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.

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The Increasing Harmonic Penetration in Transmission Systems

When the physicians of the power system (planners and operators) treat for resource inadequacy, congestion, instability and all the modern-day maladies of competitive power markets, their regimen may come with an increasingly common side effect – harmonics.  The utilization of static var compensators (SVC), induction generators, source converters, underground and submarine cables, direct current converters, to name a few, to provide solutions to power system problems can lead to increasing harmonic penetration in the power system.  Harmonic generating equipment coupled with system resonance conditions effects are cumulative and can be detrimental to system operations if not mitigated.

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