Operational, Economic and Environmental Benefits of Smart Inverter Volt/VAr Functions in a PV Saturated Distribution System

Conservation voltage reduction (CVR) is widely adopted for energy savings and peak demand reduction through reducing the voltage level of the electrical distribution system. In this paper, we assessment the benefits of the smart inverter Volt/Var function in a distribution network with saturated PVs. A 0.4kV, 1260 households LV network populated with photovoltaics is modeled in OpenDSS and Matlab. This paper illustrated the interactions of multiple effects such as voltage fluctuations, system cost and CO2 emissions in a distributed network containing highly PV penetration. By optimization algorithm, photovoltaics were best utilized, while allowing the voltage within the saturating limit. With the advanced algorithm in planning photovoltaics and further conservation voltage regulation scheme, the generation cost and GHG emission curve were improved and avoid the disturbance to customer behaviour.