Abstract
This paper presents new evidence supporting the development of a screening threshold to evaluate the impact aggregations of solar PV facilities in the northeastern United States can have on voltage deviations in the distribution grid (often called flicker). Using measurements from solar irradiance meters and customer-sited monitoring equipment for residential and light commercial solar systems in Central New York along with data from the Measurement and Instrumentation Data Centers at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Elizabeth City State University, and Bluefield College, we present multiple lines of support for the adoption of a flicker screening threshold equivalent to a 5% change in voltage resulting from a full-on to full-off transition of a solar facility. This approach is based on both the newer flicker perception limits in IEEE 1453-2015 and the previous limits derived from the flicker curves in IEEE 519-1992 and is consistent with recent draft recommendations from the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) for use in New York. Measurements of correlations between fluctuations at different sites along with a model for high densities of solar facilities are applied to allow the impact of multiple systems on a single feeder to be taken into account while maintaining the simplicity of a single screening threshold.
Highlights
Due to a combination of economic, social, and policyrelated factors, solar power has become one of the most rapidly increasing sources of power in the United States
We will use a number of sources of data as follows: (1) NREL’s Measurement and Instrumentation Data Center (MIDC) sensors maintained at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Tennessee [43]
The frequency and magnitude of changes in the power output along with the maximum 10-minute RMS irradiance fluctuations can be combined to support a simple and internally consistent screening threshold amenable for use in determining when a detailed study of a proposed PV system is required and, just as importantly, when it is not. Based on both the old and new methodologies for determining the impact of transient changes in voltage resulting from ramps in solar output, we propose here a voltage flicker screen that is equivalent to a limit of 5% on the change in system voltage when modeling a transition of the solar system from full on (i.e., 100% of rated power) to full off (i.e., 0% of rated power)
Summary
Due to a combination of economic-, social-, and policyrelated factors, solar power has become one of the most rapidly increasing sources of power in the United States. Solar photovoltaics (PV) is the largest source of new generating capacity added to the U.S grid [1]. In New York, which is the focus of this work, the total installed solar capacity increased by nearly 800% between 2011 and 2016 [2]. According to Jacobson et al [3], an energy system in New York powered solely by “wind, water, and sunlight” will require a total of 116,000 MW of solar PV by 2030. New York has added just over 132 MW/yr of solar on average over the last five years while it would need to add more than 8,000 MW/yr to reach the target in Jacobson et al [3]
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