Effective Utilization of Limited Channel PMUs for Islanding Detection in a Solar PV Integrated Distribution System

Abstract

The advancements in the field of wind turbine, solar photovoltaic (PV), fuel cell coupled with improved power electronics have increased reliability of renewable energy sources. The environmental benefits of these sources have forced the power industry to switch over for more distributed generations to meet the increasing load demand. Islanding in distribution system occurs when a portion of distribution system gets isolated from the rest of the grid and continues to supply the local load. Practically, all distributed generations (DG) are required to be disconnected immediately after the formation of island. It is done primarily to take care of safety of the operating personnel and to prevent power quality issues. Effective detection of islanding is an important area of concern. Prior to the integration of DG to the main electrical grid, each DG must be equipped with a suitable anti-islanding detection technique. In this paper, phasor measurement unit (PMU)-based islanding detection technique is presented. The requirement of channel limits of PMUs is also incorporated, and significant results of industry and utility have been obtained. The study has been carried out using MATLAB/Simulink (version 2018a) creating several islanding and non-islanding cases in a PV integrated distribution grid.