Integration of Photovoltaic Panels Into Low-voltage Distribution Networks

We address in this thesis the problem of overvoltages caused by photovoltaic (PV) panels in low-voltage networks. As a solution to this problem, we propose new active network management schemes. They work by modulating in an ad-hoc way the power injected by the PV inverters into the low-voltage network. Two types of control schemes are studied: centralized ones and distributed ones. The centralized schemes compute the modulation orders by exploiting an optimal power flow formulation of the problem. The distributed schemes are based on simple control logics implemented in the inverters and using only local information. Henceforth, they are less expensive to build than centralized ones. Both types of schemes are tested on a simple test network. The simulation results show that they are indeed able to control the voltages so that they stay within their limits. Moreover, the distributed schemes are shown to perform almost as well as the centralized ones, when using as performance metric the amount of energy curtailed on the PV installations.