Assignment

Title:
To study, investigate and simulate the photovoltaic grid connected system.

Photovoltaic Grid Connected System:

Typical PV grid connected system use the following modules.
1. Solar Panels

2. Charge Controller

3. Battery Bank

4. Inverter

5. Protection Devices

6. Utility Meter

7. Synchronizer
A Typical Grid Tied PV system is shown in the below figure.

Figure 1: PV Grid Connected System (synergyenviron.com)

NOTE:
Module No. 2 and 3 is optional in this system. We can separate them from the main
circuit to minimize the conversion losses once the battery is fully charged.
The main focus of this document will be on synchronization techniques.

Synchronizer:
This module is used to synchronize the inverter AC voltages with the utility line
AC voltages.

Conditions for Synchronization:

Synchronization conditions must be satisfied before connecting the
AC source to an electrical grid. If these conditions were violated then AC sources cannot
exchange electrical power. Synchronization conditions are given below.

1. Line Voltages

2. Frequency

3. Phase Angle

4. Phase Sequence

5. Waveform
In a generator, phase sequence and waveform are fixed by the construction of the generator.
However voltage, frequency and phase angle must be controlled each time during its operation.
Synchronization process has also worse effects, for example connecting an AC source with the
wrong phase sequence will result in a short circuit or any other adverse effect.

Synchronization Methods:
There are many synchronization methods. A few techniques are discussed
below.

Synchronizing lamps:
In this technique, three light bulbs were connected between the AC source
terminals and the system terminals. As the source frequency changes, the bulbs will flicker at
the beat frequency directly proportional to the difference between source frequency and system
frequency.

Figure 2: Synchronization Lamps (cr4.globalspec.com)

Likewise when there is phase angle difference, the lamps will be bright. When the source
voltage matches the system voltage, the lights will be dark. At that instant, the circuit
breaker connecting the source to the system is closed and system will be synchronized.

Synchroscope:
A synchroscope is a device that indicates the
degree to which two systems are synchronized with each
other. Synchroscopes measure and display the frequency
difference and phase angle between two power systems.
Only when these two quantities are zero is it safe to
connect the two systems together.

Figure 3: Synchroscope (en.wikipedia.org)

Phase Locked Loop:

A phase-locked loop (PLL) is an electronic circuit with a current or voltage driven
oscillator that is constantly adjusted to match in phase (and thus lock on) the frequency of an
input signal. It is a control system that generates an output signal whose phase is related to the
phase of an input signal. While there are several differing types, it is easy to initially visualize as
an electronic circuit consisting of a variable frequency oscillator and a phase detector. The
oscillator generates a periodic signal. The phase detector compares the phase of that signal with
the phase of the input periodic signal and adjusts the oscillator to keep the phases matched. This
document will not go into details of PLL technique. Basic structure of PLL technique is given
below.

Figure 4: PLL Basic Structure

The upper two methods are suitable to generator synchronization. This method (PLL) is more
suitable to PV ON grid system application

Grid Connected Inverter:

This inverter is available in the market and used for PV on grid applications.
Grid Connected inverter uses the PLL technique to satisfy the synchronization conditions. Lets
have a look at inside of grid connected PV system.

Figure 5: Grid Tied PV System

Single Line Diagram:

A one-line diagram or single-line diagram (SLD) is a simplified notation
for representing a three-phase power system.

This SLD is made on ETAP software. The

necessary components of on grid PV system is shown in the below figure.

Figure 6: Single Line Diagram

Voltages are produced by PV panels. Extra energy goes on to the utility grid through grid tie
inverter.
This inverter has the built in synchronization circuit. CT, PT and circuit breaker are used to trip
the circuit under faulty conditions. Isolator is used to separate the two sections. It is off load
device. It must be operated when there is not load connected to circuit or it is sequential process
of circuit breaker operation.

SLD (2):
This is another single line diagram of grid connected PV system. This SLD
contains some extra protection.

Figure 7: Single Line Diagram (2)

Energy meter is used to calculate the amount of power you are sending to the electric grid.
Lighting arrester is used to provide protection against lightning.

Simulation using ETAP:

Etap library is very vast. You can easily simulate renewable energy projects.
It provides you almost all electrical equipments related to your project. The following simulation
is the result of PV connected system to an AC bus. ETAP has a built in PV array module which
provides you dc power though solar panels and also built in inverter inside it to provide AC
output at the final stage. This AC output power can be sent to and AC grid. PV array module is
shown in the below figure located at top right.
Utility is also feeding power to the loads as shown in the figure. Bus 2 and bus 3 are connected
to each other via composite network.

Figure 8: ETAP Simulation

11KV are the primary distribution voltages in Pakistan while 440V are the secondary distribution
voltages in Pakistan. Multiples loads are also connected to the buses. PV array is feeing the AC
buses.

Simulation Results:
After clicking on the load flow analysis icon, ETAP provides the following
simulation results. You can observe that the solar panels are providing power to the loads. You
can set up the rating of each element by clicking on their icon.

In this simulation three PV modules are of the same ratings. Bus nominal voltages
are shown in the figure. Earthing switch is used to provide protection against short circuit
conditions.

Figure 9: Simulation Results

So in this way grid connected system can be simulated using ETAP.

Other Simulating Software:

The following softwares can be useful for simulating the renewable
energy projects and can also be helpful for cost estimation.

Retscreen

pvsyst

Transys16

Homer Energy

Summary:
As this document has three part study, investigate and simulate. In the upper part,
document provides an overview of grid connected PV system and the essential electrical
components required for it. The required insulation for system is also been discussed in this
document. Later it discusses about the types of synchronizer can be useful and how they work. In
the last part, single line diagrams and simulation results are discussed in detail.

References:
[1]Electrical

Engineer.(n.d).

PV

Systems:

Standalone

vs

Grid

Connected.[Online].Available:http://www.solar.udel.edu/ELEG620/12_PV_system_
Util_Scale_BIPV.pdf
[2]P.J Van Duijsen. (n.d) .Modeling Grid Connection for Solar and Wind
Energy.[Online].Available:https://www.integratedsoft.com/papers/vanduijsen_modelinggri
dconnectionforsolarandwindenergy5.pdf
[3]Electrical Engineer.(n.d). Synchronization (Alternating Current) .[Online]. Available:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synchronization_(alternating_current)
[4]Electrical E n g i n e e r . (n.d). PV Solar System Diagrams .[Online]. Available:
http://pvshop.eu/diagrams.html