UC San Diego

Penetration of solar photovoltaic (PV) generation into power distribution grids is happening around the globe. Recent research has indicated that the coordination of these technologies' functions with the existing grid infrastructure can help mitigate the adverse effects on voltage stability that has been observed with decentralized generation. The volt-var control functionality of smart inverters is often considered for mitigation of both short and long term, small disturbances to voltage. In many studies, smart inverter volt-var control functionality is primarily considered to mitigate overvoltage and reverse power flow. This research demonstrates the use of smart inverter volt-var control to mitigate long term, highly variable voltage deviations from the nominal voltage on a distribution feeder in Kathmandu, Nepal. The work considers data collected from an existing, grid-tied, PV plus battery system to show the feasibility of voltage stabilization in a region with an inconsistent power supply from the local utility.