Distributed Voltage Control Strategies in a LV Distribution Network

As the amount of locally installed distributed generation is increasing rapidly, voltage quality problems begin to arise in the LV distribution network. Particularly the introduction of large amounts of distributed generation may cause an excessive voltage rise on a distribution feeder violating the voltage limitations. PV installations specifically are found to trip on days with high solar irradiance and low load. New standards for the connection of locally installed generators to the LV distribution grid will have to be developed in order to enable the large scale implementation of distributed generation in the LV distribution grid, and to avoid unwanted tripping of the locally installed generation units. In this paper, different voltage control mechanisms are discussed and compared in terms of grid losses and profitability of the installed generation for a typical Belgian distribution network topology.