PV in Grid Friendly Services

As grid-tied solar photovoltaics become more affordable, the installed capacity has increased to nearly 40 gigawatts in the US alone. Even though this amount is still a small percentage of the current overall electricity supply, some are projecting it to grow to about 10% in just over a decade. The increasing solar energy penetration is now adversely impacting grid operations in certain parts of the country where variable energy-based electricity production is a sizable part of the overall mix. Ramping conditions, intermittency, lack of inertia, and the overall uncertainty involved in uncontrolled solar power generations are forcing grid operators to take different countermeasure to continue to operate in its presence. Some of those countermeasures can be expensive propositions. These conditions have led to calls for more grid-friendly operation of solar power plants in the form of virtual power plants. Such grid friendly services could include voltage and frequency support, synthetic inertia, etc. This panel will look into the various ways a solar PV farm can be integrated with minimal adverse impact on operations.