PV Inverter Testing for Momentary Cessation and Rate-of-Change-of-Frequency Events

Research output: Contribution to conferencePaper

Abstract

To understand the power system stability and develop better electromagnetic transient (EMT) models of field deployed photovoltaic (PV) inverters, it is important to characterize inverters' response to abnormal voltage and frequency scenarios. Because EMT models are not typically available for small distribution-connected PV inverters, and because inerterconnection standards historically did not specify desired ride-through behaviors, we tested two such inverters in the lab to characterize their responses to severe undervoltage events and high rate-of-change-of-frequency (ROCOF) conditions. The inverters tested were pre-IEEE 1547-2018 residential PV inverters widely used in the Hawaiian Electric territory and many other areas. The testing results for undervoltage scenarios showed that the inverter from one vendor exhibited momentary cessation while the inverter from the other vendor did not exhibit momentary cessation behavior or tripping for most of the events below the 120 ms undervoltage trip threshold duration set by IEEE 1547-2003. The testing results for ROCOF scenarios showed that the inverter from one vendor temporarily lost synchronization during ROCOF conditions while the inverter from the other vendor did not lose synchronization or cease generation for any ROCOF conditions. Both the inverters were also tested for EMT-simulated grid events with severe changes in frequency and voltage. The observed responses of the inverters were different from the simulated response of PV inverters represented the best available assumptions from pre-existing information. The results from these experiments can be used to update the inverter models used in bulk power system studies.
Original languageAmerican English
Number of pages6
DOIs
StatePublished - 2023
Event2023 IEEE 50th Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC) - San Juan, Puerto Rico
Duration: 11 Jun 202316 Jun 2023

Conference

Conference2023 IEEE 50th Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC)
CitySan Juan, Puerto Rico
Period11/06/2316/06/23

Bibliographical note

See NREL/CP-5D00-86425 for preprint

NREL Publication Number

  • NREL/CP-5D00-88918

Keywords

  • aggregates
  • behavioral sciences
  • inverters
  • photovoltaic systems
  • power system stability
  • synchronization
  • voltage

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'PV Inverter Testing for Momentary Cessation and Rate-of-Change-of-Frequency Events'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this