Grid Connected Solar PV System with Power Quality Improvement

Abstract: Solar photovoltaic (SPV) energy is the most important energy due to its eco-friendly nature and cost-effectiveness. Nowadays, grid interfaced SPV generating systems are becoming popular than stand alone SPV power generation.This paper discusses about the design and control of a grid interfaced solar photovoltaic (SPV) system which also mitigates power quality problems in three-phase distribution system. The grid connected SPV system consists of a PV array, DC/DC converter, a three leg VSC (Voltage Source Converter), grid and linear/nonlinear loads. Along with this, a suitable control algorithm (based on Instantaneous Reactive Power Theory) is also implemented for improved power quality so as to provide zero voltage regulation (ZVR) or power factor correction (PFC) along with harmonic elimination and load balancing. Simulation results obtained using MATLAB/Simulink shows the performance of the proposed control strategy for power quality improvement under various modes of operation. Keywords: Instantaneous Reactive Power Theory (IRPT), Solar Photo Voltaic (SPV), Zero Voltage Regulation (ZVR), Power Factor Correction (PFC), Power Quality (PQ).