Photovoltaic (PV) impact assessment for very high penetration levels

This paper describes a granular approach for investigating the impacts of very high photovoltaic (PV) generation penetration. Studies on two real-world distribution feeders connected to PV plants are presented. The studies include both steady-state and time-series power flow analyses, which include the effects of solar variability. The goal of the study is to predict the effects of increasing levels of PV generation as it reaches very high penetration levels. The loss and return of generation with and without regulation is simulated to capture short-term problems such as voltage fluctuations. Impact results from the analyses are described along with potential mitigations.