Study of Smart Grid Protection Challenges with High Photovoltaic Penetration

The rise in the electricity demand and growing environmental concerns have led to more demand for the use of renewable energy resources, especially Photovoltaic (PV) systems. The immense environmental benefits of the use of large grid-tied PV systems come with some enormous technical challenges on the distribution network. The evolving conventional grid to a smart one makes these challenges more complicated. These challenges, though still at the incipient stage, would become aggravated as the level of penetration of PV systems increases. This paper takes a holistic look at the various protection issues resulting as a consequence of high Photovoltaic (PV) penetration, presents some practical case studies and proffers some solutions to help mitigate these challenges in the future smart grids.