Analysis of Harmonic Distortion in Low-voltage Distribution Network Caused by Photovoltaic Power Plants and Electric Vehicle Chargers

Modern technologies have changed the behaviour of power systems, and pose new challenges to power quality in low-voltage distribution (LV) networks. The impact of modern technologies, such as photovoltaic (PV) power plants and electrical vehicle charging stations (EVCS), on power quality in the distribution LV network is presented in this paper. Harmonic analysis is conducted for five different scenarios and results are compared based on values of Total Harmonic Distortion (THD<inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">V</inf>) on 0.4 kV busbar as a point of common coupling (PCC). Every scenario has different parameters for elements of modelled LV network based on real measurement data. The obtained results emphasize the importance of considering THD<inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">V</inf> value and keeping it below the recommended limit.