3-Phase grid-connected building integrated photovoltaic system with reactive power control capability

Recently, a tendency in the growing of grid-connected building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) systems has been noticed in most countries. Hence, high penetration of PV power into the system network can be observed in many points in the network. This may cause severe problems on the distribution network due to the intermittent nature of PV systems. As a feasible solution, the reactive power capability of voltage source inverter in PV systems can be employed rather than approaching expensive grid infrastructures in the distribution network. The purpose of this study is to implement a 3-phase grid-connected (BIPV) system with reactive power control to regulate the system voltage and improve the system power factor. Subsequent to this, a specific system model has been designed and developed in MATLAB Simulink application. The selection of PV system specifications is based on practical system implementation. The inverter control system along with the reactive power control has been developed for the proper system operation at different system conditions to reduce the var compensation on the utility grid. Better system accuracy of the developed system model has been found by validating with real system data. The overall system performance has indicated that the effective utilization of reactive power control of a grid-connected PV system yields to a stable, reliable and cost-effective system network operation which reduces the heavy burden on the utility grid to control the PV system effects. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.