Solar energy on airports: the impact of large scale PV systems
on distribution networks
3rd European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference, (2008)Abstract
Over the last two decades, many photovoltaic (PV) systems have been
connected to electricity distribution networks worldwide. Electricity
utilities are often required to promote adaptations to their distribution
systems in order to accommodate and to operate this kind of generators.
This raises the issue of penetration limits for distributed PV generation.
Airport buildings are typically large, isolated and free of shading,
and they represent a great potential for the application of large
scale PV systems. The energy demand patterns characterized by intensive
utilization of air-conditioning, airport building energy demands
correlates very good with solar generation profiles. For higher penetration
ratios of distributed PV generation, to supply the energy levels
demanded on airports, there are some concerns about voltage rise.
Depending on the network configuration, severe problems might be
faced, which would require costly grid structure upgrading. Also,
protection schemes might eventually need adaptation to bidirectional
power flows. The aim of this paper is to quantify the potential impact
in the conventional distribution network where the airports are located.
The results of the load flow analysis show that violations of the
tolerated voltage rage only occur in worst-case scenario with zero
load and maximal PV input.