PV Power Curtailment and BESS Management for Distribution Networks: A Practical Approach

Voltage and thermal limits in distribution feeders are the main features assessed to determine their hosting capacity (HC) due to the integration of distributed generation (DG), especially photovoltaic systems (PV). This paper proposes a PV active power curtailment control strategy combined with the management of battery energy storage systems (BESS) under high penetration of PV systems. In addition, the voltage imbalances rate is included in the evaluated operating parameters in order to reduce voltage and thermal issues and avoid or postpone the feeder reinforcement costs. The study uses Monte-Carlo and stochastic simulations to determine the HC and the PV system's random location. Also, several PV systems capacities are proposed by using statistics. Mexican standards are used for the HC estimation and to perform the power curtailment control strategy. The use of smart PV inverters is considered to reduce or increase the PV active power generation. The BESSs are capable of regulating their charge and discharge cycle independently. The results show the advantages of using strategies separately and in combination can be beneficial to improve the feeder performance.