Coordinated control of grid-connected photovoltaic reactive power and battery energy storage systems to improve the voltage profile of a residential distribution feeder

Increasing penetration of photovoltaic (PV), as well as increasing peak load demand, has resulted in poor voltage profile for some residential distribution networks. This paper proposes coordinated use of PV and battery energy storage (BES) to address voltage rise and/or dip problems. The reactive capability of PV inverter combined with droop-based BES system is evaluated for rural and urban scenarios (having different ${\mbi R/X}$ ratios). Results show that reactive compensation from PV inverters alone is sufficient to maintain acceptable voltage profile in an urban scenario (low-resistance feeder), whereas coordinated PV and BES support is required for the rural scenario (high-resistance feeder). Constant, as well as variable, droop-based BES schemes are analyzed. The required BES sizing and associated cost to maintain the acceptable voltage profile under both schemes are presented. Uncertainties in PV generation and load are considered, with probabilistic estimation of PV generation and randomness in load modeled to characterize the effective utilization of BES. Actual PV generation data and distribution system network data are used to verify the efficacy of the proposed method. © 2012 IEEE.