Rooftop Solar PV Penetration Impacts on Distribution Network and Further Growth Factors—A Comprehensive Review

Abstract

In order to meet the electricity needs of domestic or commercial buildings, solar energy is more attractive than other renewable energy sources in terms of its simplicity of installation, less dependence on the field and its economy. It is possible to extract solar energy from photovoltaic (PV) including rooftop, ground-mounted, and building integrated PV systems. Interest in rooftop PV system applications has increased in recent years due to simple installation and not occupying an external area. However, the negative effects of increased PV penetration on the distribution system are troublesome. The power loss, reverse power flow (RPF), voltage fluctuations, voltage unbalance, are causing voltage quality problems in the power network. On the other hand, variations in system frequency, power factor, and harmonics are affecting the power quality. The excessive PV penetration also the root cause of voltage stability and has an adverse effect on protection system. The aim of this article is to extensively examines the impacts of rooftop PV on distribution network and evaluate possible solution methods in terms of the voltage quality, power quality, system protection and system stability. Moreover, it is to present a comparison of the advantages/disadvantages of the solution methods discussed, and an examination of the solution methods in which artificial intelligence, deep learning and machine learning based optimization and techniques are discussed with common methods.