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I. INTRODUCTION
Manuscript received April 9, 2003. This work was supported by the U.K.
Engineering and Physical Science Research Council under Grant GR/L15050.
The authors are with Centre for Renewable Energy Systems Technology
(CREST), Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, Loughborough
University, Leicestershire LE11 3TU, U.K. (email:D.G.Infield@lboro.ac.uk).
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TPWRD.2004.829950
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For a single inverter, the current harmonics have been assessed through a program of detailed measurement, and computer modeling. The degree of total harmonic distortion (THD),
as a percentage of the fundamental current, varies significantly
with the real power output of the inverter. At part load, THD
levels are higher mainly due to measurement resolution errors.
The PG400 exhibits a higher THD when operating at a
leading power factor, i.e., when importing reactive power from
the grid (while exporting real power), as shown in Fig. 3.
This is explained by the lower voltages that occur under these
conditions, and the consequent deterioration in resolution.
Given that PV inverters operate mostly at part load, it is important that performance standards be set which reflect these
conditions. Otherwise, manufacturers will continue to design
for THD targets at rated power, and not optimize their designs
for more typical operating conditions.
Fig. 4 shows the distribution of distortion up to the 50th harmonic for a single inverter at rated power; Table II lists the first
15 of these.
Most of the significant contributions, as expected, are of
relatively low order, but it is noticeable that the even harmonics
(2nd in particular) are significant. This reflects asymmetry in
the current (and therefore switching pattern) waveform over
one cycle, about its mid point. This issue was investigated
further, and found to be mainly due to an unnecessarily large
2nd harmonic component in the reference sine wave pattern
(from a look-up table) used to generate the switching pattern.
Whether the harmonic components are acceptable depends
on which standard or draft standard is being referred to. Both
G83 and IEEE P1547/D10 limits THD to 5% at rated output
so that the total measured at 4.5% is acceptable. However the
IEEE draft places greater restrictions on individual harmonics,
in particular the second harmonic is required to be below 1%.
Table II shows this is not the case for the PG400 as measured,
although correction of the look-up table will remedy this. The
stringent approach to even order harmonic currents reflects
concern that they may add to unwanted negative sequence
currents, adversely affecting three-phase loads.
TABLE I
SALIENT CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PG400
TABLE II
HARMONICS UP TO FIFTEENTH ORDER
Fig. 5.
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scription is available in [9]. In particular it was shown that generation into an ideal grid, provided by a Kikusui power supply
with resistive load, produced a THD of 3.15% whereas connection to the low voltage network at Loughborough gave 5.68%
with all other conditions remaining the same.
An experimental indication of the PG400s performance,
when connected to a near perfect supply, is provided by
measurement of its output when operating islanded (for a few
cycles, prior to disconnection by the protection function of the
inverter) into a purely resistive load. A significant improvement
in the current waveform is shown in Fig. 5 after the point of
disconnection from the network at 2.03 seconds; the voltage
waveform is also shown in the figure and is much nearer to ideal
after this point. The calculated THD figures before and after
disconnection are 6.15% and 3.29% respectively, confirming
the significant effect that network voltage waveform quality
has on inverter operation, and the resultant power quality of
connected inverters.
In interpreting these results, it should be noted that inverters
vary in the way that the reference sine wave is produced. Many,
like the PG400, use an internally generated function (either from
a look-up table, or simple series expansion); but some use the
measured grid voltage as reference. These approaches result in
rather different inverter characteristics. The former will perform
better if the objective is to move the grid voltage toward a more
perfect sine wave, but will suffer more current distortion when
connected to a poor quality voltage source. The latter can be
controlled to generate sinusoidal currents irrespective of the grid
supply waveform, but will do nothing to attenuate existing levels
of voltage distortion. The choice of approach also has implications for the way in which the inverter will operate islanded, and
in parallel with inverters controlled in a different manner. It is
clear that the form of type approval tests likely to be specified in
future standards for grid-connected inverters will influence the
way manufacturers approach this issue.
B. Harmonics From Multiple Inverters
The DNOs concern is focused legitimately on future scenarios that involve many grid-connected inverters embedded in
the distribution system. How the harmonic output of these multiple inverters adds up is, therefore, a key question. Although
switching harmonics can be regarded as occurring with random
phase, [6], this is not the case for the lower frequency harmonics
which constitute the bulk of the THD. Lower order harmonics
are less straightforward to deal with in practice because of this
large but variable degree of phase alignment. Fig. 6 shows this
rather clearly for the case of five inverters, all operating under
similar conditions. This phenomenon is not entirely unexpected
as all the inverters are sensing a common grid waveform for control purposes. Provisional results from a Japanese study confirm
this behavior suggesting that the conclusions apply more generally than the use of data from a single inverter might indicate.
Even with unequal loading, a significant proportion of the correlation persists although it does reduce, and this was found too
by the Japanese who, in addition, used a range of different inverters [10].
The measured harmonics were found to combine, following
standard phasor calculation, with no attenuation of these lower
(1)
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Fig. 6.
paralleled inverters are modeled to be exactly in unison, attenuation effects and multiple inverter interaction were investigated.
Figs. 9 and 10 show the combined effects of attenuation, which
can be viewed as a desirable inverter-inverter interaction, and
some clearly undesirable interactive effects. In Fig. 9 the aggregate current waveform from seven inverters modeled using
IsSPICE, is shown for both weak (with an impedance representing 2.5 km of low-voltage cabling to the infinite bus) and
strong grids (with no intervening impedance). The weak grid
connection results in a marginally poorer current waveform so
that interference between the controllers predominates over attenuation (harmonic cancellation being zero due to the deliberate phase alignment).
Fig. 10 suggests that for smaller numbers of inverters, attenuation, which is larger with a weak grid, results in some reduction
in overall harmonic content, while larger numbers display significant increases in THD reflecting potential inverter control
instabilities. Extreme care has been taken to establish that these
results are not a consequence of inadequate numerical solution
within IsSPICE.
It can be concluded that care should be taken to exclude
unwanted interaction when large numbers of inverters are
connected very closely together, as with ac modules, or string
inverters, installed for example on a large building integrated
system. Applications where there is significant impedance
between the inverters themselves (not studied in this project)
will be less likely to exhibit these problems.
VI. CONCLUSIONS
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Fig. 9.
REFERENCES
Fig. 10.
David G. Infield received the B.A. degree in mathematics and physics from the
University of Lancaster PLEASE PROVIDE LOCATION and the Ph.D. degree in Applied Mathematics from the University of Kent PLEASE PROVIDE
LOCATION.
Currently, he is Director of the Centre for Renewable Energy Systems Technology (CREST) and Professor of Renewable Energy Systems with the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering at Loughborough University, Leicestershire, U.K. He worked first for the Building Services Research
and Information Association, Bracknell, U.K., on solar thermal system design,
and then for the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory PLEASE PROVIDE LOCATION from 1982 until 1993, on wind energy systems and electricity supply
modeling.
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Peter Onions received the B.Eng. (Hons.) degree in electrical and electronic
engineering from Loughborough University, Leicestershire, U.K.
Currently, he is a Freelance Electrical/Electronic Engineer. He worked first
in electrical control and distribution before joining the Centre for Renewable
Energy Systems Technology (CREST) in 1996, where he was a Researcher in
the area of grid-connected PV inverters until 2000.