Term Paper Assignment – Solar Inverters and Grid Stability

While the increasing penetration of solar energy into the low voltage distribution grid helps with meeting the rising demand of energy in a most efficient and sustainable way, it creates anxieties that the large-scale integration of solar distributed generation would destabilize the grid. This paper reviews the ancillary services that keep the grid stable. Then solar PV inverter is reviewed before the discussion of the next generation of solar inverter known as smart inverter. The smart inverter incorporates advanced grid functions and networking interfaces in the inverter itself, allowing the utilities to dynamically modify the inverter’s autonomous behavior in real time. The technology not only allows high penetration of solar energy into the existing grid at a far more competitive Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE), but also increases the stability, efficiency and storm-resiliency of the grid.