Grid Integration of the Small Generation Units in LV Distribution Networks

The integration of a considerable number of small distributed generation units can invert the usual direction of the power flow in the power distribution networks. This situation leads to additional problems as voltage rising, changes of power losses, thermal overloading of the grid components, short-circuit currents increasing or power quality and reliability problems. In these conditions, the power distribution operator should make the grid more flexible to react to the intermittent injections associated with the load variations. These measures have to be put into practice in such a way that grid stability is always ensured and the access to the network is equally fair for all the users. The work deals with the aspects regarding evaluation of the technical impacts of small power generation units integration in the low voltage grids. The presented analysis is based on a methodology that estimates the maximum permissible power injections in the tested LV networks by reference to a CIGRE benchmark one. The analysis results are generated for the case of a real rural LV grid.