Studying the Impact of Solar PV on Power System Dynamics Using Integrated Transmission and Distribution Network Models

Integrated transmission and distribution (T&D) analysis is a new research area in power systems that has gained traction in recent years to study the impacts of rapidly growing penetration levels of distributed generation, particularly solar photovoltaics (PV), on power systems. This paper demonstrates the advantages of studying the impact of PV on power system dynamics using three phase, integrated T&D models instead of the positive-sequence transmission-only models. The three phase integrated T&D models include detailed models of substations that connect the transmission and distribution systems. It is demonstrated that by more accurately simulating disturbances as they would occur in the field, and by preserving the geographic diversity of PV generators, dynamic simulation of integrated T&D models avoids overestimation or underestimation of the impact of PV on power systems.