Enhanced Feed-in Management in Low and Medium Voltage Distribution Grids for PV Integration and Ancillary Service Provision: Experience from a field test.

To manage the increasing volatile feed-in due to renewable energy resources while operating the distribution grids within their physical limits is one of the main challenges facing distribution system operators. In addition, due to the decreasing number of conventional power plants the importance of generation at the distribution level for overall system stability grows. This paper presents automated capacity management, enhanced power flow and voltage control methods that are implemented in a decentralized automation system, the Regional Energy Management System. It monitors the medium and low voltage grids which includes the collection and evaluation of measured data to initiate control actions automatically. Based on the results of a field test in a rural medium voltage grid section, it can be demonstrated that grid congestion can be reliably detected, and PV systems are curtailed as needed. Furthermore, enhanced methods to provide a predefined power flow at a reference point are tested and evaluated. These methods can be used to provide aggregated feed-in management to the upstream grid section or control decentralized generation as a wide area power plant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]