Grid Connected PV System with Reactive Power Compensation for the Grid

Grid tied solar inverters are designed to generate power at unity power factor which means they have the capability to produce active power only. The reactive power requirement of the load is catered by grid only. With the dramatic increase in the deployment of renewable based Distributed Energy Resources, reactive power drawn from the grid as compared to active power has increased considerably. This affects the power quality of the grid. If the grid tied solar inverter is made smart in terms of supplying reactive power in addition to active power, the reactive power requirement from the grid will reduce as the grid has to supply lesser reactive power. In this paper, different methods for operation of PV inverters in terms of absorbing and injecting reactive power in addition to its normal functionality has been discussed. Simulation results of various static reactive power compensation control strategies has been presented and the results are discussed in detail.