Net Zero Energy Consumption for MW Scale Solar PV Supported Network Through Utility Grid Based Banking

Electrical networks are often connected with AC and DC loads for fulfilling the industrial and domestic requirements. The ever-growing energy demand must be satiated through utility grid supported by various power generating sources. Power Electronic converters are interfaced to match AC network load demands through renewable power generating plants. Instantaneous power and average energy demand for the loads connected to a common network can be fulfilled through the combination of traditional grid power and power-electronic converter interfaced solar PV plant. Thus, solar PV plants should be designed to not only meet the peak-load demands but also achieve net-zero energy consumption from utility grid. This paper proposes design of solar PV plant for supporting a DC load rated at 100 kW and AC load rated at 400 kW at 0.8 pf towards net-zero energy consumption. The proposed structure utilizes the DC link, regulated through the active front end converter, of solar PV plant to connect the DC Load without any additional power converter. On the other hand, AC load is connected to the utility grid in traditional way. A detailed design of solar PV system including sizing and control of power converters is presented in this paper. Computational validation based on irradiance data of Jodhpur region is performed for net-zero energy consumption. AC power converters, connected in parallel, are operated with carrier interleaving for reducing the distortion in grid-side line current. Performance of complete system is extensively validated through simulations for various operating conditions.