SUBSTATION AUTOMATION AND SCADA SYSTEM WITH PHOTOVOLTAIC PLANT CONTROL INTEGRATION

Due to the constant increase in energy demand and the increasingly prioritized ecological criteria in meeting these demands, in recent decades we have witnessed plans and projects for the integration of a large number of renewable energy sources, primarily solar and wind capacities. As these projects become a reality, one of the main challenges of today is the stability and regulation of the power system with diverse and highly distributed production capacities in complex market conditions. The result of such circumstances is increasingly strict connection and operational conditions, the so-called „Grid Code,“ prescribed by system operators. For this reason, it is becoming common that, already at the feasibility study stage for solar power plants with larger installed capacities, there is a need to prove the performance of the subject power plant and its compliance with the conditions prescribed by the operator. The justification for expanded requirements can also be found in practical experiences showing that the intermittency of solar power plant production, along with other potentially negative characteristics, can be overcome and even positively utilized, primarily in the interaction between the main controller of the power plant and the functionalities of the installed inverters. This paper presents an example of a solar power plant controller formed by expanding the SCADA system of the connection transformer station with functions for monitoring and managing the solar power plant. An overview of the functionalities and control algorithms that need to be implemented to achieve compliance with the current operating rules in Serbia and the region is also given. The controller from the subject power plant was further tested on a „hardware in loop“ model of the solar power plant with identical parameters and algorithms as in the actual power plant. This approach to testing the controller algorithm represents a credible test of proving the controller’s performance with the most modern tools on the market and can be used to confirm the compliance of the solar power plant’s operating parameters with the connection conditions already during the study or equipment and component selection phase of the power plant.