Analysis of the operation and power quality of a microgrid with photovoltaic sources

The electric power system is much different now than it used to be decades ago. Smart grid technologies have advanced the capabilities of the power system by applying power-electronic based components and automatic control strategies. The inclusion of power electronics and smart applications in the grid introduces new technical challenges that need to be addressed to deliver acceptable power quality to end users. This paper proposes a method to assess the power quality of distributed energy resources connected to the grid. The method was applied to a solar-powered microgrid. We discuss aspects of the module design that complied with the limits established in the IEEE Std. 519-2014, “IEEE Recommended Practice for Harmonic Control in Electric Power Systems”, and IEEE Std. 1547a-2014, “IEEE Standard for Interconnecting Distributed Resources with Electric Power Systems”. Finally, we discuss the implications of the disturbances as those observed during experimentation in the overall power quality of the grid-connected system.