th

THE 9 INTERNATION
NAL SYMPOSIUM ON ADVANCED TOPICS IN ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
May 7-9, 2015
Bucharest, Romania

P-Q Diagram Construction for Multii-inverter

Photovoltaic Poower Plant Connected to MV grid
Mihovil Ivas
Telenerg ltd, Zagreb, Croatia
mihovil.ivas@fer.hr

Abstract– Article describes the constructionn of operation chart medium voltage grid [3] is shoown on Figure 1. The part of
for typical photovoltaic plants connected to medium voltage network feeder to which power plant is connected is shown
grid. Such distributed source is comprised of multiple grid
inverter units which connect photovoltaic panel field to low symbolically.
voltage AC grid which is, through LV V/MV power plant Power plant is usually conn nected to one of the existing
transformer substation and MV cable, con nnected to network medium voltage feeders from trransformer substation HV/MV,
operator transformer substation, which is po oint of connection to on which there is already conneccted certain number of MV/LV
grid. When looking on such power plant ass on one generating transformer substations with its consumers. The connection is
unit connected at point of connection, such h "operation chart"
shows all possible operation points in P-Q diaagram. made through two plants: poweer plant transformer substation
and distribution network operatoor (DNO) interface transformer
Keywords: P-Q diagram, multi inverter, photoovoltaic power substation [4]. The point of connnection of the power plant to
I. INTRODUCTION grid is at interface substation, inn outgoing bay towards power
plant transformer substation. Feeeder to which it is connected is
For numerous research reasons (e.g. for island possibility
powered radially in operation, looking from the side of the
assessment) there is a need for development of substitute
"main grid", i.e. from feeding transformer substation, and in
model of photovoltaic multi-inverter type power plants at
general has the option of being g powered from the other side,
point of connection to grid, with parametters defining active
usually from the other section of the MV switchgear in the
and reactive power for such substitute sourcce model.
same feeding substation or from some other HV/MV
Opposite of the common assumption of (pre)defined power
transformer substation. Switchinng in the local grid, depending
factor for this type of power plants (phhotovoltaic inverter
on operation needs, is done by ddistribution network operator.
plant), all elements that make this plant have influence on
operation point of substitute source model. B. Substitute model
In accordance with stated in introduction above, it is
II. TYPICAL INVERTER-TYPE POWER PLANT CONNECTED TO
MEDIUM VOLTAGE NET
TWORK possible to create substitute moddel for a power plant shown on
Figure 1, in a way that this model encompasses the complete
Due to incentive scheme, there are many connection inner power plant grid with all the inverters, LV cables,
requirements for connection of distributeed sources having transformer and MV cable to intterface substation.
nominal power rating of more than 500 kVA, mostly solar
photovoltaic power plants, to grid operrated by Croatian C. Operation chart
distribution network operator (HEP-ODS) [1]. According to Considering that power plantt point of connection to grid is
regulatory standards [2], these plants have to be connected to in DNO interface transformerr substation, in outgoing bay
medium voltage network. feeding the power plant trannsformer substation [4], and
considering substitute model from previous chapter, such
A. Principal diagram model of distributed source in the
t point of connection can be
Generally, with this type of powerr plants, although used to define "operation chartt" of the power plant, i.e. P-Q
connection is on MV grid (10 or 20 kV), the generation source diagram showing area of possiblle operation points.
itself is connected on LV side, and thhen through "unit" Inverters have adjustable powwer factor, but in practice they
transformer connected to MV grid. There are a two main types, are set to deliver only active po
ower, i.e. power factor is set to
one with centralised inverter of large poweer rating, and other 1. On operation point of the co omplete power plant, regarding
with multiple grid inverter units of smaller power ratings. The the reactive power, the other ellements have major influence,
practical experience shows that almost all a requests are for and that is power transformer on inductance, and cables on
power plants with multiple smaller invertter units which are capacitance. Special case wouldd be solar power plants which
standardised products and economically more m preferred by have panels connected to inverters
i that do not have
investors [1]. galvanically isolated DC and AC A side (which often is case)
Principal diagram of (solar photovolltaic) power plant and parasitic impedances of pho otovoltaic panels are transferred
comprised of multiple grid inverter units and connected to to AC side [5]. Depending on size
s of the panels field and the

978-1-4799-7514-3/15/$31.00 ©2015 IEEE

E
 However, there is a problem with inverters working when
SS MV/LV POINT OF
CONNECTION (DNO)
SS HV/MV - MV FEEDERS there is no generation from panels (night work). Inverter then
has no input power and therefore no output power nor power
factor regulation. The output L-C filter at nominal frequency is
of capacitive character and dominates during night work [6].
SS MV/LV SS MV/LV
Also, at solar power plants which have panels connected to
inverters that do not have galvanically isolated DC and AC
SS MV/LV SS MV/LV
side, parasitic impedances of photovoltaic panels are
transferred to AC side [5]. Depending on size of the panels
SS MV/LV field and the way of installation, this capacitive power can be
SS MV/LV significant and is in a range of few percent of rated power in
SS MV/LV SOLAR POWER PLANT
case of single phase inverters without galvanic isolation.
With almost all single phase inverters without galvanic
isolation (transformer), half of the grid voltage amplitude (115
V) passes to DC side and PV modules. With three phase
inverters this effect is largely supressed [6]. With inverters
M
with transformer for galvanic isolation, voltage which passes
I>
I>>
I>>> oscillates within only few Volts (2 V), changing constantly
charge of parasitic capacities of PV modules.
Capacitive current which appears in this case is [6]:
ΔQ ΔU
I= =C⋅ = C ⋅ 2π f ⋅ V (1)
Δt Δt
with: C – capacitance of PV modules, f – frequency (50 Hz)
and V - effective value of transferred AC voltage.
Capacitance of PV modules can be assessed from:
A
C = ε0 ⋅εr ⋅ (2)
d
INVERTER 1 INVERTER n
SOLAR POWER PLANT 1 MW
with: ε0=8.85·10-12 (As/Vm) - permittivity constant for vacuum,
Fig. 1. Principal diagram of photovoltaic power plant comprised of
εr=5-10 – relative permittivity of glass (of which PV panels are
multiple inverter units connected to MV grid [3] made of), A – surface area of PV panels and d - distance
between condenser surfaces (panel width).
Capacitive reactive power at inverter output is:
way panels are installed, this capacitive power can be
significant and during night it dominates, especially in case of
Qcap _ inv = 3 ⋅ U f ⋅ I = 3 ⋅U f ⋅ C ⋅ 2π f ⋅ V (3)
smaller solar power plants.
III. CONTRIBUTION OF INDIVIDUAL ELEMENTS with: Uf – phase voltage.
The power generated by photovoltaic panels, which is from B. Low voltage cables
DC side, through inverters, delivered to AC side of the power Low voltage cables connect inverters to power transformer,
plant grid, has major influence on active power of the power through multiple gathering points (panels and switchgears).
plant. There are certain losses of this active power on AC side, With no load, cables are of mild capacitive character. When
it is dissipated on resistances of individual elements. This having long lengths (when area of power plant is large) this
article does not consider these losses, the accent is put on capacitive power is more significant.
determining of the reactive power of the power plant, and The assessment can be done by measuring or using
active power decrease is neglected. catalogue data for cable in order to calculate capacitive power
Methods of calculation or assessment for contribution of from the following equation:
individual elements of the power plant to total reactive power
in point of connection are listed below. U2f S2
Qcab =−3⋅ +3⋅ I 2 ⋅ XL =−3⋅U2f ⋅ 2π fCk ⋅l +3⋅ ⋅ 2π fLk ⋅ l (4)
A. Inverters XC U2f
There are great differences among inverters made by
with: Uf – phase voltage, Ck, Lk – specific capacitance and
different manufacturers, regarding the mode of reactive power
inductance, l – cable length, S - power flowing through cable.
generation. The best inverters are capable of giving any
reactive power amount, with automatic control of power factor C. Transformers
set. Usually, power plant owner wants to maximize active Transformers are of inductive character when working with
power production, due to selling tariffs, and power factor is no-load, and inductive reactive power increases with the
therefore set to 1. transformer load rising. Value of reactive power can be
catalogue information or can be calculated from the following the "operation chart" of typical photovoltaic power plant
equation: connected to MV grid at its point of connection.
2 2
Application of the above concept is done on real case study,
⎛ S ⎞ ⎛ S ⎞ Photovoltaic power plant Kanfanar, for which the P-Q diagram
Qind _ tr = Δ Q0 + Δ Qk ⋅ ⎜ ⎟ = i0 ⋅ Sn + uk ⋅ Sn ⋅ ⎜ ⎟ (5)
⎝ Sn ⎠ ⎝ Sn ⎠ with area of possible operation points will be constructed from
measurements and assessed data.
with: Qind_tr – inductive power of transformer, Q0 – reactive
VI. MEASUREMENTS AND ANALYSIS CONDUCTED ON CASE
power of transformer in no-load condition, Qk – load
STUDY SOLAR POWER PLANT
dependent reactive power of transformer, S – load power, Sn –
rated power, i0 – no-load current, uk – short circuit voltage. Solar photovoltaic power plant Kanfanar, in Istria region,
with rated power of 1MW (999 kW installed panel power, 912
D. Compensation units for transformer inductance
kW installed inverter power), is currently the biggest solar
It is important to take into account compensation batteries
power plant in Croatia and is the first solar power plant
installed in low voltage switchgear whose purpose is to
connected on medium voltage grid of local distribution
compensate inductive losses of transformer. These are
network operator. It is connected to 20 kV grid of Distribution
generally of standardized sizes dependable on transformer
area Elektroistra Pula. Principal diagram of power plant
rated power. Installation is usual, although it can be
configuration is shown on Figure 1.
counterproductive, for the reason that reactive power of the
complete power plant is not analysed during design stages. A. Conducted measurements
Resulting reactive power can easily be capacitive and in such During test operation of power plant measurements are
case these compensation units with its capacitive power conducted, of which some results are shown in this article [7].
(Qcap_bat) only make situation worse. The equation for it is: Figure 2. shows daily power generation curves for power
plant on 16/2/2013. Curves partially have typical shape for
U 2f sunny (winter) day, and there is one decrease of generation in
Qcap _ bat = 3 ⋅ = 3 ⋅ U 2f ⋅ 2 ⋅ π ⋅ f ⋅ Cbat (6)
X C _ bat afternoon hours, caused by cloudy sky. Curves show active
power (P), reactive power (Q) and apparent power (S) of the
with: Uf – phase voltage, XC_bat – capacitive reactance of 900

transformer, Cbat - capacity of the compensation unit. 800

700

E. Medium voltage cable 600

500

Medium voltage cables connect power plant with interface 400

substation where point of connection to grid is established.

300
200

They are of highly capacitive character and in case of lengths 100

0

longer then few hundred meters they become dominant -100

0:00 2:00 4:00 6:00 8:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00

-200
element which influences the reactive power at point of -300

connection. Values can also be calculated from equation (4). -400

-500
-600
IV. REACTIVE POWER OF POWER PLANT AT POINT OF -700

CONNECTION -800
-900
P Q S

In order to calculate total reactive power of the power plant

kW/kVAr

one would add up/deduct all listed element reactive powers: Fig. 2. Daily curve of solar power plant power production (at point
of connection)
Qtot = −Qcap _ inv ± QcabLV + Qind _ tr − Qcap _ bat ± QcabMV (7) power plant, and are derived from 10-minute measurements of
average power from measuring equipment connected to point
Looking the previously listed equations for reactive power of power plant connection to grid. Active and apparent power
of individual elements it can be seen that total reactive power have opposite signs, this in only to represents power flow
of the power plant at point of connection to grid will change direction of active power.
with the change of the following variables: current power plant From measurements shown on Figure 2, trajectory of daily
generation power (inductive part) and current grid voltage movement of operation points (P and Q) is derived, at
(capacitive part). measuring point at interface substation (shown on Figure 3).
V. OPERATION CHART IN P-Q DIAGRAM B. Calculation assessment and analysis of power plant
reactive power
Putting equations (3) to (6) into (7), while keeping fixed In accordance with equations given in chapter III. for
certain values that are characteristics of the equipment and not contributions of individual elements to total reactive power of
hard to define in each specific case, with assumed possible the power plant these contributions and their actual relevance
(allowed) grid voltage range of 0,9 Un to 1,1 Un, and by are assessed. Calculated values are given bellow.
varying the generation power from 0 to maximal power plant The contribution of parasitic capacitances of DC side of the
power, one can construct the area of possible operation points inverter is calculated according to equation (3) and its value is
of the power plant in P-Q diagram. Such P-Q diagram shows Qcap_inv = 5,74 VAr and can practically be neglected.
 1000
800

900
700

800
600

700
500

600
400

500
300
400
200
300
100
200

0
-50 -40 -30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 100
kVAr
-100 kW kVAr
P-Q kW 0
-50 -40 -30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50
Fig. 3. Trajectory of daily movement of power plant operation
point (at point of connection) in P-Q diagram, derived from daily Fig. 4. Constructed power plant operation chart in P-Q diagram
power production curve from Figure 2. based on calculations.

Capacitance of output filter at rated frequency is not known, measurements. Also, data gathered by measurement were 10-
and for the purpose of constructing the operation chart it will minute average power values, and not current values.
be assumed it has a value of 2% of rated power, which It must be noted that possible operation situations of
matches the measurements. disconnection of part of power plant (at one of the switching
The contribution of low voltage cables, calculated according devices which can be seen on principal diagram on Figure 1)
to equation (4), has a value of QcabLV = 0,35 kVAcap when there were not considered. In such case there would be a change in
is no generation from power plant and value of QcabLV = 12,4 predicted reactive powers and there will be sure deviation
kVAind for maximum generating power of power plant. from operation chart developed by described procedure.
The contribution of transformer is calculated from equation VII. CONCLUSION
(5) and is Qind_tr = 1,5 kVAr when there is no generation from
power plant and Qind_tr = 51,4 kVAr for maximum power. If we look at particular type of distributed source, solar
The contribution from compensation units calculated from photovoltaic power plant comprised of multiple inverter units
(6) has a value of Qcap_bat = 59,8 kVAr. and connected to medium voltage grid, as at one „generator“
The contribution of medium voltage cables, calculated connected to grid at point of connection, „operation chart“
according to equation (4), has a value of QcabMV = 23,6 kVAcap shows all possible operation points in P-Q diagram.
when there is no generation from power plant and value of With certain neglections (loss of active power on power
QcabMV = 23,4 kVAcap for maximum generating power. plant elements, own consumption of power plant and
Considering the fact that total reactive power is capacitive, possibility of partial disconnection internally are not
when this plant was commissioned, it was decided to considered), which all can be taken to similar more developed
permanently disconnect compensation batteries for model, procedure is suggested for construction of operation
transformer inductive losses compensation. Taking this into chart of such plant and is verified on real case study plant.
account, according to calculation assessment of reactive power REFERENCES
(at rated voltage), it is changing from circa 40 kVAr
[1] Decisions on approval of the status of privileged electrical energy
capacitive, during night, to circa 40 kVA inductive, for producers, web page of Croatian energetic regulatory agency (HERA),
maximum power plant generation power. (http://www.hera.hr/hrvatski/html/rjesenja.html, August 2014)
[2] Ministry of the Economy, Labour and Entrepreneurship:’’Electrical grid
C. Construction of operation chart in P-Q diagram code’’ (NN36/06), Zagreb, April 2006.
Operation chart, constructed from values (curves) calculated [3] Photovoltaic power plant Kanfanar electrotechnical design for
construction, volume no. IZV-15-2011, San Polo d.o.o., Rovinj, 2012.
as described in chapter V., according to equations given in [4] PVP Kanfanar, Preliminary electrical consent no. 401102-100287-0011;
chapter III., is shown on Figure 4. HEP-ODS d.o.o. Elektroistra Pula, Rovinj, 2011.
By comparison of calculated and measured values (Figures [5] "Capacitive Leakage Currents - Information on the Design of
Transformerless Inverters", technical information paper, SMA Solar
4 and 3) similarity can be noticed, but when trajectory made Technology AG
from measurement values is overlapped on theoretically [6] F. Bernath.: Power factor compensation of photovoltaic power plants,
constructed operation chart, certain mismatch could have been Energyspectrum – International e-Journal, 2011.
[7] "Plan and program for testing of parallel operation of Photovoltaic
be seen between measured and calculated values. This power plant Kanfanar with distribution network during test operation
mismatch can be caused by less accurate measurement period“, Telenerg d.o.o, Zagreb, March 2012.
(measurements are taken via protection core of current [8] R.Goic, J. Krstulovic Opara, I. Penovic, D. Jakus, I. Zlatunic: Large
photovoltaic plant connection to distribution grid, CIRED, Umag, 2010.
transformer), but this can not be asserted without additional