Interline Photovoltaic (I-PV) power system — A novel concept of power flow control and management

Abstract

This paper presents a new system configuration for a large-scale Photovoltaic (PV) power system with multi-line transmission/distribution networks. A PV power plant is reconfigured in a way that two adjacent power system networks/ feeders can be interconnected. The inverter modules in a PV power plant are configured such that the system is represented as a back to back inverter connected multi-line system, called as Interline-PV (I-PV) system. The proposed I-PV system then can be controlled adequately allowing the PV solar plant to function as a flexible AC transmission system (FACTS) device, such as, interline power flow controller (IPFC). With the proposed I-PV system both active and reactive power flow control and energy management in a multi-line system can be achieved. The I-PV system can have various applications, for example, to regulate the feeder voltages, load reactive power support, real power transfer from over power generation line to under loaded line, improve the overall system performance against dynamic disturbances (such as, power system damping) and so on. A simulation study is carried out to illustrate one of the capabilities and effectiveness of the proposed I-PV system.