PhotovoltaicPower Japan Integrates Solar KEPCO is engaged with the challenges arising from the rapid introduction of significant photovoltaic power. By Takaharu Ito, Manabu Inai ond Kentaro Fujimoto, Kansai Electric Power Co, Ine he Japanese government established goals for intso- ducing renewable energy sources of 28 GW in 2020 and 53 GW in 2030, The 2080 figure is equal to 30 ‘of current peak demand, In 2010, a feechin tariff was introduced that resulted in rapid commissioning of large- scale industrial and residential photovoltaic (PV) systems. Since all nuclear power plants have not operated follow: ing the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, all renewable ‘energy sources are now regarded as an acceptable alternative power. In September 2014, the total capacity of PV installa- tions was 18 GW, and t including accepted and planned PY, is estimated to be 69 GW, well in excess of the government 2080 goal. Therefore, Kansai Electric Power Co. Inc, (KEPCO), the second-largest electric power utility in Japan, has been working on the challenges arising from the € total capac rapid introduction of PV systems. Distribution System Management Japane tion systems (DAS) in the 1990s to remotely control seetional- utilities started to introduce dist sutomma- izing switchgear; The major functions of the first DAS was to omatically detect the faulty section and to remotely ene size the healthy section of the network, The DAS could also identify the faulty section using a step-by-step closing oper Substation A Tce:phose POM censor Information network tion of each sectionalizer; ind control of remote switchgear ‘enabled reconfiguration of the distribution neuwork to ener size the In order to realize these funct hy section from other feedlers. the switchgear installed ‘on the distibution network i used daily and is a conuiby factor for reducing the annual average outage time in Japan to just Mf minutes Power-Quality Maintenance Tn Japan, the lowsoltage network is 100/200 V, In accor dance with the Electricity Business Act, it must be maintained in the range of 101 46 V or 202 +20 V. This is less than the IEG standard, which allows a #10% margin. In addition, the mediumsvoltage distribution network is mainly is a lower voltage th These lower voltages are more sensitive to voltage fluctuations To maintain the voltage profile within the specified range, KEPCO has installed step voltage regulators (SVR) on me- diumsvoltage distr es. They autonomously control voltage on the basis of either a time schedule fom the through current and control param- cecers. The operating schedule or control paramerersare deter- mined based on voltage-profile analysis and the recorded load measurement data in the DAS, Justa for gridwoltage contr, as lustroted inthis graphic re ate multiple opportunities to introduce PV and other distributed resources into the distribution grid, there re multiple options $50 January 2017 | wwrtdworld comPhotovoltaic Impact Photenoltaic penetration introduces various impacts to power system management, such as vollage and frequency fluctuation and surplus power at times of light load. Because of the wide penetration of midkllescale PV that typically hasan installed capacity greater than 500 RW in the distribution network, the line wolage can be raised by reverse power flow caused by Muctuating weather conditions. This phenomenon requires countermeasures for the distribution network vollage management. In response to these problems, in recent years, Japanese uilies and manufacturers have devel ‘oped advanced distribution management sys tems, Conventional switegear is being veplaced with new switchgear with three-phase internal sensors (35-SW), which can measure three-phase voltage, current and phase angle on disuibution Tines. These measurements are uploaded to the supervision andl control center via dedicated communications networks ‘They re widely used for recording the overall power flowanel voltage profile in distribution lines. Some manufactures and research institutes structed testing facilities, to simulate the operat teristics ofthe grid, connected with a large number dispersed ‘energy resources. These approaches are expected to lead (0 accurate estimation of voltage and current to enhance the advancement of voltage management technology. onal charac- Advancement of Voltage Control Each step voltage regulator controls its secondary volt age to absorb voltage fictuations at intervals ranging from around 50 seconds through ta few minutes, according tothe awionomous control parameters determined from consum- ers’ power-usige/soltage profiling data. This control strat gy not suficient for the complicated and dynamic voltage ‘ctuations inthe distribution system that can be caused by PV. For lowvoltage-class rooftop PV installations, the output ‘uetuation, wo some extent can be smoothed because they are distributed, Conversely, the output of industsial PV installations, which 1 muuch larger than typical residential installations, cannot be smoothed because the output is large and concentrated. Consequently, the distribution Tine voltage can fluctuate rapidly and exceed the performance range of conventional regulators ‘As the first step to solve this problem, KEPCO uses the measurement data of line current, current direction and the voltage magnitude of each phase by 8S:SW to estimate the vole profile more accurately using the remote-controlled SVR to set the optimum transformer tap position oF control parametersaccording to the measured data, The next step for REPCO is to improve voltage control in order to cope with rapid voltage fluctuation caused by PY. In these new voltage-control devices, the static var compenst parallel in a distribution line and the thyristortype step voltage regulator on the Fight is connectedin series in a distribution ine PhotovoltaicPower con the lftisin Power Electronics Technology KEPCO is now developing and testing two power electron= iecsbasedl control devices. One is staie var compensator (SVC) connected in parallel in a distribution line. The semicondue- tor device will supply reactive power into the connected line instantaneously to compensate rapid voltage fluctuations. ‘A further development is the thyristortype step voltage regulator (TVR) connected in series in a distribution line. It, controlsits tap positon to keep the secondary voltage in phase ith the SVR, but its control is eleetronie as opposed to the non-mechanical SVR control. The significant advantages of the TVR are the fast response and wearfree tap movement, ‘thereby eliminating mechanical Demonstration Project KEPCO constructed a PV demonstration project to mea- sure the impact of midllescale PV and to evaluate the perfor- ‘mance of the new devices before in-service use. This tral en- vironment has two 500-KW PV systems connected t0 a 6.6-kV. ‘overhead distribution line in the Wakasa area, located north of the Kansai region. One feature of the project isthe use of in-service dstribue tion lines in various realtime conditions such as daily load variations and high-voltage transmission alfection, The test fa cility has the flexibility to consider various conditions because there isa wide variety ofthe actual network topologies and PV interconnection points. The demonstration site has two dis ‘tribution lines supplied from adjacent substations, so the net- work topology can be changed easly by switching operations. ‘Thus, the demonstration site allows the middle-seale PV 10 be in cireuitat various positions on the distribution lines between ‘the two substations. ‘The impacts of PV andl the voltage-control performances were evaluated with measurement data from some 8S-SW. installed at the source substations, PV interconnection points, and other distinctive positions on the distribution lines. The sua tdwortd.com | January 2017 51PhotovoltaicPower The measured characteristics included various PV outputs and load curves under the normal op- tration with conventional volage regulators, The results confirmed that the voltage regulators operated satisfactorily and the maximum voltage fluctuation was within the ‘ceptable range for the dlistribu- tion operation, even in the worst ‘ease. KEPCO also measured and analyzed a further test, whereby two 5O0-KW PVs were connected to the Demonstration area and distribution network section thats being us 85-$Ws measured the current, voltage and phase angle every second in some periods characterized by the load curve, PV ‘output and we Simulation software has been developed to estimate and ‘evaluate the voltage fluctuation andl load profile at every see- ‘ond, KEPCO can compare the actual measurements ofall the variables with simulation results, providing the opportunity to improve the accuracy of the software, Initially, the eurrentand, voltage fluctuation were measured and analyzed for three dif ferent PV interconnection positions relative to the source side ‘of the distribution line: ‘*One 500-4W PV connection at the source side of the distribution line. One 500-KW PV connection at the remo distribution line {wo 500-kW PV connections at the remote end of the distribution line. c end of the cediorhepletpojen._ iileveion ofthe mame diane As the accuracy of the simulation software was continually ‘monitored, KEPCO was able to confirm tha age could be accurate ‘work power factor at the feeding point of the distribution line and the PV output measured by 38-SW. By using the software, the distribution network condition with various amount of PY, KEPCO was able to confirm that the variation in voltage fluctuations was directly proportional to the kilowatt capacity of the PV plant connected to the dis tribution Hine. Also, the company confirmed that the voltage fluctuation increased according to the distance between the source substation and PV plant. the network volt. correlated to the New Voltage Control Devices KEPGO set the control parameters of the conventional SVR according to the voltage-profile analysis from previous annual load measurement data in the DAS in order to adjust sve gf Installed PV near the substation ASS Installed PV atthe end ASS 2Pv Installed PV in the mide Sve OPV sve 855 ov x) -—— me Qe Ee ‘The demonstration project evaluated possible variations in network topology by changing the location ofthe open owitch to simulate PV installations at different locations on the feeder 52 January 2017 | wwa.tdworld.omPhotovoltaicPower —1000kW 1500 | —2000 kW —100% —150% —200% 6700 6700 s 4600 = 6600 a 2 i 2 6500 $6500 6400, 6100, ‘00 3.00” G00 9.00 1200 18:00 1800 21.00 600° 9100” 1200” 75°00. ”* 18:00 Time Time Results for circuit voltage simulations with various PV connection parameters. On the lefts the result of varying the PY connected to the demonstration network rom 1000 KW to 2000 KW. The simulation on the right shows the result of changing the distance between substation and the PV instalation, both maximum and minimum values of line voltage within the proper range. Although these parameters optimized the annual performance of SVR, they were not consistently accu fhe annual maximum and minimum voltages short time period, The remote-controlled SVR offered a solution to this prob- lem, which allowed frequent parameter readjustment from DAS remotely. KEPCO tried annual, seasonal, monthly and daily parameter readjustment according to past load profiles, simulating operation of the remote-controlled SVR with each parameter before confirming that the monthly parameter re- adjustment was the most accurate, The operation of the re- ‘mote-controlled SVR by the simullation software will continue in order for applications on actual distribution networks ‘The SVCisa type of system voltage regulator th to the SVR, but the SVC compensates for rapid voltage fluc tion in a distribution line by rapid reactive power regulation, KEPCO has already installed a large number of SVR units on the distribution network, but these units cannot compensate rapid voltage fluctuations. However, the combination control can be provided by SVR and SVG, whereby the SVR compen- sates long-eycle fluctuations by load and SVC compensates short-cyce fluctuations PV output. Inorder to investigate the effect of rapid fluctuations of the PV generated output, KEPCO analyzed the transition of vot: age fluctuation. It was concluded that the voltage fhuetuation was stabilized in about 5 minutes, so this time period was used as a parameter for the SVC to compensate the shorter cyele voltage fluctuations, also in 5 minutes. TVR units are primarily installed at the branch points/ nodes in a distribution line supplying residential customers to compensate local voltage fluctuations caused by a large num- ber of residential PV installations in the area. In the demon- stration project, TVR was installed on the interconnecting point of the residential PV. The control effect was evaluated by nd the results ‘actual measurement and simulation software proved there was 5 ‘luctuations. factory compensation of rapid voltage Simulation dato —Messuced data 1230" "1235" "i2ao "T2as" i280" 1255" Time This comparison of circuit voltage simulation with actual voltage measurements shows very consistent agreement. 64104 SVR only —SvR and SVC 015 Time 0:20 The difference in voltage controlis accomplished using step voltage regulators SVR] only orby using @combinetion ofstatic var compen sator (SVC) and SVR. The voltage fluctuations with SVR only fe line) tre nicely absorbed by the adaltion ofthe SV (black Ine. Voltage Control Enhanced The objective ofthe demonstration project was toad the voltage control of the distribution newwork to cope the increasing penetration of PV powe The PV impact on distribution fines and the improvement caused by st new voltage control approach has been undertaken on an sua tdwortd.com | January 2017 53PhotovoltaicPower actual distribution network in the Wakasa area, There at hrce key results of this demonstration project The impact to distribution network caused by PV, such as voltage fluctuations, was confirmed. ‘*KEPCO developed the simulation software that made it possible to simulate distribution network conditions accu rately while changing capacity of location of PV oF vol regulators. ‘© KEPCO was able to confirm that new voltage regulators, SVC and TVR, were effective such as remote-controlled SVR, “dng armas ene) * naeaiaanas nets EQRPORATION s cvecncssawce "mlm SSS ee sors mimics Case OCURE ge sn apna = & PUES Cs TD TC Ca UT Ti ‘shoes to fill. Explore our career opportunities: www.michelscareers.us ‘eu ib coper cos) for PV and that combination control could be realized, KEDCO plans to continue the demonstration, changing the distribution network topology in order to achieve the opti- mum combination of voage regulators and the advancement ‘of contral method depending on the capacity and the location of photovoltaic Additionally, KEPCO is considering other methods to cope with the increased penetration of dispersed energy resoure cs by using smart meters, opt information such as satellite pictures, TOW fiber network and weather Acknowledgements The shi Electric Corp, Hitachi Lid. and DAIHEN Corp. and all of those who ty the test environme athors wish to thank Mitsubi- fet ptr ce contributed and cooperated in or nck a control development for the Wakasa demonstration project. Takaharu Ito (to taksharu@e3 kepco, cajp) joined Kensai El in 1992, working in distribution network planning, Ito is now senior manager of the distribution group (smart grid) in the power system division, where he supervises the development of smart grids, especially smart meters and distribution automation systems tric Power Co, Manabu Inai(inairmanabu@c3kepco, cojp) joined Kansai Electric Power Co. in 2004, working on the planning and dlevalopment of the distribution network before being appointed assistant manager of the distribution group (omart grid, He is now responsible for investigating smart grid technologies and developing methods of using smart meter data Kentaro Fujimoto ({yimoto kentaro@ Bikepco.cojp) joined Kansai Electiic Power Co. in 2001 and has worked on developing equip te distribution networks, Fujimoto is currently responsible for developing advanced equipment for distribution automation systems, ineluding switchgear with sensors and voltege regulators related For more information: Kansai Electric Power Co. Inc. ‘www kepeo.co jp/english/ 54 January 2017 | wwrw.tdworld.com