A grid connection photovoltaic inverter with volt‐VAR control and reactive power support for voltage regulation

Abstract

SummaryThis paper presents the development of a single‐phase voltage source inverter (VSI) of 3.5KW, applied to grid‐connected photovoltaic systems (GCPS). The proposed system has a boost interface converter connected to a full bridge inverter with an LCL filter. Each block that constitutes the proposed GCPS is described in detail, containing the specifications of the solar modules, the design of the power circuit components, the mathematical modeling, and the control design of the converters. The presentation of the Volt‐VAR Control (VVC) highlights the contribution of this work, where it is implemented with the intention of the inverter to supply/consume reactive power, in order to minimize voltage variations at the point of common coupling (PCC). To validate the inverter operation with VVC, three cases are presented, encompassing grid voltage and irradiance variations, and load steps. Through the PCC voltage profiles, currents, and power supplied/consumed, the means to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control is shown. The results obtained through the PSIM simulations and verified by Typhoon Hardware in the Loop (HIL) model, showed the regulation of grid voltage levels for all established conditions.