FIELD TRIAL OF THREE-PHASE INLINE POWER REGULATORS ON THE LOW VOLTAGE NETWORK — Purely Creative Solutions

FIELD TRIAL OF THREE-PHASE INLINE POWER REGULATORS ON THE LOW VOLTAGE NETWORK (269)

Terese Milford 1 , Peter Kilby 1 , Michael Rushmer 2
  1. Energex, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
  2. Flexity, Sydney, NSW, Australia

Queensland has among the world’s highest penetrations of residential solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. The resulting highly variable bi-directional power flows experienced on the low voltage (LV) distribution network were not anticipated when the network was designed and can cause voltage regulation and power quality problems; Distribution Network Service Providers (DNSPs) are required to resolve these evolving challenges in the most cost-effective manner. Energex recently trialed three-phase inline power regulators on two residential LV circuits which were experiencing PV related voltage regulation problems. The equipment trialed is a pad-mounted, 150kVA power electronic device combining series-connected voltage-source and shunt-connected current-source architecture. This technology offered a high performance but lower cost solution compared with the traditional approach which involved extending the 11kV feeder and splitting the LV area by installing an additional distribution transformer. Voltage measurements recorded at the distribution transformers and at strategic locations along the LV circuits were used to quantify the performance of the regulator. The device effectively mitigated the large voltage spreads previously observed at the circuits’ extremities ensuring supply voltages downstream of the regulator were maintained within statutory limits. Fit-for-purpose cost-effective dynamic solutions which mitigate a range of power quality issues have a role to play in enabling DNSPs to better manage their network performance in the face of an increasingly variable and interactive grid edge.