Noval Application of a PV Solar plant as STATCOM

during Night and Day in a Distribution Utility

Network
ABSTRACT
Pv solar farms produce power during the day are completely
idle in the nights .this paper presents utilization of a PvV solar
plants as statcom in the night for load reactive power
compensation and voltage control .this Statcom functionally wiil
also be available to a substantialdegree during daytime with
inverter capacity remaining after real power production .the
local distribution company london hydro implementingthis new
technology ,for the first time in Canada on 10Kw solar system
to be installe don the roof top of their head quarters building
.The PV solar plant inverter controller will be designed
developed and tested in the university laband will be
designed ,developed and tested in the university lab and will
be designed ,developed and tested in the university lab and
will then be installed in fied by spring 2011

Chapter-1
PHOTO VOLATIC CELLS
Photovoltaics (PV) is a method of generating electrical
power by converting solar radiation intodirect
current electricity using semiconductors that exhibit
the photovoltaic effect. Photovoltaic power generation
employs solar panels composed of a number of solar
cells containing a photovoltaic material. Materials presently
used for photovoltaics include monocrystalline
silicon,polycrystalline silicon, amorphous silicon, cadmium
telluride, and copper indium gallium selenide/sulfide. Due to
the growing demand for renewable energy sources, the
manufacturing of solar cells and photovoltaic arrays has
advanced considerably in recent years.
Solar photovoltaics is growing rapidly, albeit from a small
base, to a total global capacity of 67,400megawatts (MW) at
the end of 2011, representing 0.5% of worldwide electricity
demand. The total power output of the worlds PV capacity run
over a calendar year is equal to some 80 billion kWh of
electricity. This is sufficient to cover the annual power supply

needs of over 20 million households in the world. [5] More than

100 countries use solar PV. Installations may be groundmounted (and sometimes integrated with farming and
grazing) or built into the roof or walls of a building (buildingintegrated photovoltaics).
Driven by advances in technology and increases in
manufacturing scale and sophistication, the cost of
photovoltaics has declined steadily since the first solar cells
were manufactured

[8]

and the levelised cost of electricity

(LCOE) from PV is competitive with conventional electricity

sources in an expanding list of geographic regions.
Net metering and financial incentives, such as
preferential feed-in tariffs for solar-generated electricity, have
supported solar PV installations in many countries. [10]
Solar Cells
Photovoltaics are best known as a method for generating
electric power by using solar cells to convert energy from the
sun into a flow of electrons. The photovoltaic effect refers to
photons of light exciting electrons into a higher state of energy,
allowing them to act as charge carriers for an electric current.
The photovoltaic effect was first observed by AlexandreEdmond Becquerel in 1839. The term photovoltaic denotes the
unbiased operating mode of a photodiode in which current
through the device is entirely due to the transduced light
energy. Virtually all photovoltaic devices are some type of
photodiode.

Solar cells produce direct current electricity from sun light,

which can be used to power equipment or to recharge a
battery. The first practical application of photovoltaics was to
power orbiting satellites and other spacecraft, but today the
majority of photovoltaic modules are used for grid connected
power generation. In this case an inverter is required to convert
the DC to AC. There is a smaller market for off-grid power for
remote dwellings, boats, recreational vehicles, electric cars,
roadside emergency telephones, remote sensing, and cathodic
protection of pipelines.
Photovoltaic power generation employs solar
panels composed of a number of solar cellscontaining a
photovoltaic material. Materials presently used for
photovoltaics includemonocrystalline silicon, polycrystalline
silicon, amorphous silicon, cadmium telluride, and copper
indium gallium selenide/sulfide.
Due to the growing demand for renewable energy sources,
the manufacturing of solar cells and photovoltaic arrays has
advanced considerably in recent years.
Cells require protection from the environment and are
usually packaged tightly behind a glass sheet. When more
power is required than a single cell can deliver, cells are
electrically connected together to form photovoltaic modules,
or solar panels. A single module is enough to power an
emergency telephone, but for a house or a power plant the
modules must be arranged in multiples as arrays.

A significant market has emerged in off-grid locations for

solar-power-charged storage-battery based solutions. These
often provide the only electricity available. [14] The first
commercial installation of this kind was in 1966 on Ogami
Island in Japan to transition Ogami Lighthouse from gas torch to
fully self-sufficient electrical power.
Due to the growing demand for renewable energy sources,
the manufacture of solar cells andphotovoltaic arrays has
advanced dramatically in recent years.
Solar photovoltaics is growing rapidly, albeit from a small
base, to a total global capacity of 67,400megawatts (MW) at
the end of 2011, representing 0.5% of worldwide electricity
demand.[5]
The total power output of the worlds PV capacity run over
a calendar year is equal to some 80 billion kWh of electricity.
This is sufficient to cover the annual power supply needs of
over 20 million households in the world. [5]
More than 100 countries use solar PV. World solar PV
capacity (grid-connected) was 7.6 GW in 2007, 16 GW in 2008,
23 GW in 2009, and 40 GW in 2010. More than 100 countries
use solar PV.
Installations may be ground-mounted (and sometimes
integrated with farming and grazing) or built into the roof or
walls of a building (building-integrated photovoltaics).

Photovoltaic power capacity is measured as maximum

power output under standardized test conditions (STC) in "Wp"
(Watts peak). The actual power output at a particular point in
time may be less than or greater than this standardized, or
"rated," value, depending on geographical location, time of day,
weather conditions, and other factors. Solar photovoltaic
array capacity factors are typically under 25%, which is lower
than many other industrial sources of electricity.
The EPIA/Greenpeace Advanced Scenario shows that by
the year 2030, PV systems could be generating approximately
1.8 TW of electricity around the world. This means that,
assuming a serious commitment is made to energy efficiency,
enough solar power would be produced globally in twenty-five
years time to satisfy the electricity needs of almost 14% of the
worlds population.[21]
Current developments:
Photovoltaic panels based on crystalline silicon modules
are encountering competition in the market by panels that
employ thin-film solar cells (CdTe[22] CIGS,[23] amorphous Si,
microcrystalline Si), which had been rapidly evolving and are

[24]

expected to account for 31 percent of the global installed

power by 2013.[25] However, precipitous drops in prices for
polysilicon and their panels in late 2011 have caused some
thin-film makers to exit the market and others to experience
severely squeezed profits.[26] Other developments
include casting wafers instead of sawing,[27] concentrator
modules, 'Sliver' cells, and continuous printing processes.

The San Jose-based company Sunpower produces cells

that have an energy conversion ratio of 19.5%, well above the
market average of 1218%.[28] The most efficient solar cell so
far is a multi-junction concentrator solar cell with an efficiency
of 43.5%[29] produced by the National Renewable Energy
Laboratory in April 2011. The highest efficiencies achieved
without concentration includeSharp Corporation at 35.8% using
a proprietary triple-junction manufacturing technology in 2009,
[30]

and Boeing Spectrolab (40.7% also using a triple-layer

design). A March 2010 experimental demonstration of a design

by a Caltech group led by Harry Atwater which has an
absorption efficiency of 85% in sunlight and 95% at certain
wavelengths is claimed to have near perfect quantum
efficiency.[31] However, absorption efficiency should not be
confused with the sunlight-to-electricity conversion efficiency.

For best performance, terrestrial PV systems aim to

maximize the time they face the sun. Solar trackers achieve
this by moving PV panels to follow the sun. The increase can be
by as much as 20% in winter and by as much as 50% in
summer. Static mounted systems can be optimized by analysis
of the sun path. Panels are often set to latitude tilt, an angle
equal to the latitude, but performance can be improved by
adjusting the angle for summer or winter. Generally, as with
other semiconductor devices, temperatures above room
temperature reduce the performance of photovoltaics. [32]

The 2011 European Photovoltaic Industry Association

(EPIA) report predicted that, "The future of the PV market
remains bright in the EU and the rest of the world," the report
said. "Uncertain times are causing governments everywhere to
rethink the future of their energy mix, creating new
opportunities for a competitive, safe and reliable electricity
source such as PV. 2012 could see the installation of 2030 GW
of PV about the same as in 2011. Unfortunately, the
industry's capacity continues to expand, to perhaps as much as
38 GW. The resulting glut of supply has crushed prices and
profits.[34] By 2015, 131196 GW of photovoltaic systems could
be installed around the globe.[33]
REVENUE MODEL OF PV SOLAR PLANT

Economics:
Financial incentives for photovoltaics, such as feed-in
tariffs, have often been offered to electricity consumers to
install and operate solar-electric generating systems.
Government has sometimes also offered incentives in order to
encourage the PV industry to achieve the economies of
scale needed to compete where the cost of PV-generated
electricity is above the cost from the existing grid.

Such policies are implemented to promote national or

territorial energy independence, high tech job creation and
reduction of carbon dioxide emissions which cause global
warming. Due to economies of scale solar panels get less costly
as people use and buy more as manufacturers increase
production to meet demand, the cost and price is expected to
drop in the years to come.

NREL compilation of best research solar cell efficiencies from

1976 to 2010
According to Shi Zhengrong, in 2012 unsubsidized PV
systems already produce electricity in some parts of the world,
more cheaply than coal and gas-fired power plants. [35][36] As PV
system prices decline it's inevitable that subsidies will end.
"Rapid decline or outright disappearance has already been seen
in all the major solar markets except China and India". [36]
As of 2011, the price of PV modules per MW has fallen by
60 percent since the summer of 2008, according to Bloomberg
New Energy Finance estimates, putting solar power for the first
time on a competitive footing with the retail price of electricity
in a number of sunny countries. There has been fierce
competition in the supply chain, and further improvements in
the levelised cost of energy for solar lie ahead, posing a

growing threat to the dominance of fossil fuel generation

sources in the next few years.[37] As time progresses, renewable
energy technologies generally get cheaper, [38][39] while fossil
fuels generally get more expensive:
The less solar power costs, the more favorably it compares
to conventional power, and the more attractive it becomes to
utilities and energy users around the globe. Utility-scale solar
power can now be delivered in California at prices well below
$100/MWh ($0.10/kWh) less than most other peak generators,
even those running on low-cost natural gas. Lower solar module
costs also stimulate demand from consumer markets where the
cost of solar compares very favorably to retail electric rates. [40]
As of 2011, the cost of PV has fallen well below that of
nuclear power and is set to fall further. The average retail price
of solar cells as monitored by the Solarbuzz group fell from
$3.50/watt to $2.43/watt over the course of 2011, and a decline
to prices below $2.00/watt seems inevitable:[41]
For large-scale installations, prices below $1.00/watt are
common. In some locations, PV has reached grid parity, the
cost at which it is competitive with coal or gas-fired generation.
Photovoltaic power is also generated during a time of day that
is close to peak demand (precedes it). More generally, it is now
evident that, given a carbon price of $50/ton, which would raise
the price of coal-fired power by 5c/kWh, solar PV will be costcompetitive in most locations.
The declining price of PV has been reflected in rapidly
growing installations, totaling about 23 GW in 2011. Although

some consolidation is likely in 2012, as firms try to restore

profitability, strong growth seems likely to continue for the rest
of the decade.
Already, by one estimate, total investment in renewables
for 2011 exceeded investment in carbon-based electricity
generation.[41]

Applications
Power stations
Many solar photovoltaic power stations have been built,
mainly in Europe.[42] As of December 2011, the largest
photovoltaic (PV) power plants in the world are the Golmud
Solar Park (China, 200 MW), Sarnia Photovoltaic Power
Plant (Canada, 97 MW), Montalto di Castro Photovoltaic Power
Station (Italy, 84.2 MW), Finsterwalde Solar Park (Germany,
80.7 MW), Okhotnykovo Solar Park (Ukraine, 80 MW), Lieberose
Photovoltaic Park (Germany, 71.8 MW), Rovigo Photovoltaic
Power Plant (Italy, 70 MW), Olmedilla Photovoltaic Park (Spain,
60 MW), and the Strasskirchen Solar Park (Germany, 54 MW).[42]

There are also many large plants under construction.

The Desert Sunlight Solar Farm under construction in Riverside
County, California and Topaz Solar Farm being built in San Luis
Obispo County, California are both 550 MW solar parks that will
use thin-film solar photovoltaic modules made by First Solar.

The Blythe Solar Power Project is a 500 MW photovoltaic

station under construction in Riverside County, California.
The Agua Caliente Solar Project is a 290 megawatt photovoltaic
solar generating facility being built in Yuma County, Arizona.
The California Valley Solar Ranch (CVSR) is a
250 megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic power plant, which is
being built by SunPower in the Carrizo Plain, northeast
of California Valley.

The 230 MW Antelope Valley Solar Ranch is a First

Solar photovoltaic project which is under construction in the
Antelope Valley area of the Western Mojave Desert, and due to
be completed in 2013. The Mesquite Solar project is a
photovoltaic solar power plant being built in Arlington, Maricopa
County, Arizona, owned by Sempra Generation. Phase 1 will
have a nameplate capacity of 150 megawatts.
Many of these plants are integrated with agriculture and
some use innovative tracking systems that follow the sun's
daily path across the sky to generate more electricity than
conventional fixed-mounted systems. There are no fuel costs or
emissions during operation of the power stations.

In buildings

Photovoltaic wall at MNACTEC Terrassa in Spain

Photovoltaic arrays are often associated with buildings:
either integrated into them, mounted on them or mounted
nearby on the ground.
Arrays are most often retrofitted into existing buildings,
usually mounted on top of the existing roof structure or on the
existing walls. Alternatively, an array can be located separately
from the building but connected by cable to supply power for
the building.
In 2010, more than four-fifths of the 9,000 MW of solar PV
operating in Germany were installed on rooftops. [48] Buildingintegrated photovoltaics (BIPV) are increasingly incorporated
into new domestic and industrial buildings as a principal or
ancillary source of electrical power. [49] Typically, an array is
incorporated into the roof or walls of a building. Roof tiles with
integrated PV cells are also common.
A 2011 study using thermal imaging has shown that solar
panels, provided there is an open gap in which air can circulate
between them and the roof, provide a passive cooling effect on
buildings during the day and also keep accumulated heat in at

night. The power output of photovoltaic systems for installation

in buildings is usually described in kilowatt-peak units (kWp).
In transport
PV has traditionally been used for electric power in space.
PV is rarely used to provide motive power in transport
applications, but is being used increasingly to provide auxiliary
power in boats and cars. A self-contained solar vehicle would
have limited power and low utility, but asolar-charged
vehicle would allow use of solar power for transportation. Solarpowered cars have been demonstrated.[51]

Standalone devices

Solar parking paystation.

Until a decade or so ago, PV was used frequently to power

calculators and novelty devices. Improvements in integrated
circuits and low power liquid crystal displays make it possible to
power such devices for several years between battery changes,
making PV use less common. In contrast, solar powered remote
fixed devices have seen increasing use recently in locations
where significant connection cost makes grid power
prohibitively expensive.
Such applications include water pumps, parking meters,
emergency telephones, trash compactors, temporary traffic
signs, and remote guard posts and signals.
Rural electrification
Unlike the past decade, which saw solar solutions
purchased mainly by international donors, it is now the locals
who are increasingly opening their wallets to make the switch
from their traditional energy means. That is because solar
products prices in recent years have declined to become
cheaper than kerosene and batteries.
In Cambodia, for example, villagers can buy a solar lantern
at US$25 and use it for years without any extra costs, where
their previous spending on kerosene for lighting was about $2.5
per month, or $30 per year. In Kenya a solar kit that provides
bright light or powers a radio or cell phone costs under $30 at
retail stores. By switching to this kit Kenyans can save $120 per
year on kerosene lighting, radio batteries and cell phone
recharging fees.[57]

Developing countries where many villages are often more

than five kilometers away from grid power are increasingly
using photovoltaics. In remote locations in India a rural lighting
program has been providing solar powered LED lighting to
replace kerosene lamps. The solar powered lamps were sold at
about the cost of a few months' supply of kerosene. [58][59] Cuba
is working to provide solar power for areas that are off grid.
[60]

These are areas where the social costs and benefits offer an

excellent case for going solar though the lack of profitability

could relegate such endeavors to humanitarian goals.

Solar roadways

The 104kW solar highway along the interchange of Interstate

5 and Interstate 205 near Tualatin, Oregon in December 2008.
In December 2008, the Oregon Department of
Transportation placed in service the nations first solar
photovoltaic system in a U.S. highway right-of-way. The 104kilowatt (kW) array produces enough electricity to offset
approximately one-third of the electricity needed to light the
Interstate highway interchange where it is located. [61]
A 45 mi (72 km) section of roadway in Idaho is being used
to test the possibility of installing solar panels into the road

surface, as roads are generally unobstructed to the sun and

represent about the percentage of land area needed to replace
other energy sources with solar power. [62]
Solar Power satellites
Space-based solar power (SBSP) is the concept of
collecting solar power in space for use onEarth. It has been in
research since the early 1970s. SBSP would differ from current
solar collection methods in that the means used to collect
energy would reside on an orbiting satellite instead of on
Earth's surface.
Some projected benefits of such a system are: higher
collection rate, longer collection period, and elimination
of weather concerns. SBSP also introduces several new hurdles,
primarily the problem of transmitting energy from orbit to
Earth's surface for use.
Advantages
The 89 PW of sunlight reaching the Earth's surface is
plentiful almost 6,000 times more than the 15 TW equivalent
of average power consumed by humans. [63] Additionally, solar
electric generation has the highest power density (global mean
of 170 W/m) among renewable energies.[63]
Solar power is pollution-free during use. Production endwastes and emissions are manageable using existing pollution
controls. End-of-use recycling technologies are under
development

[64]

and policies are being produced that

encourage recycling from producers.[65]

PV installations can operate for many years with little

maintenance or intervention after their initial set-up, so after
the initial capital cost of building any solar power
plant, operating costs are extremely low compared to existing
power technologies.
Grid-connected solar electricity can be used locally thus
reducing transmission/distribution losses (transmission losses in
the US were approximately 7.2% in 1995).[66]
Compared to fossil and nuclear energy sources, very little
research money has been invested in the development of
solar cells, so there is considerable room for improvement.
Nevertheless, experimental high efficiency solar
cells already have efficiencies of over 40% in case of
concentrating photovoltaic cells

[67]

and efficiencies are

rapidly rising while mass-production costs are rapidly

falling.[68]
Disadvantages
Photovoltaic panels are specifically excluded in Europe
from RoHS (Restriction on Hazardous Substances) since 2003
and were again excluded in 2011. California has largely
adopted the RoHS standard through EWRA. Therefore, PV
panels may legally in Europe and California contain lead,
mercury and cadmium which are forbidden or restricted in all
other electronics.[69]
In some states of the United States of America, much of
the investment in a home-mounted system may be lost if the

home-owner moves and the buyer puts less value on the

system than the seller. The city of Berkeley developed an
innovative financing method to remove this limitation, by
adding a tax assessment that is transferred with the home to
pay for the solar panels.[70] Now known as PACE, Property
Assessed Clean Energy, 28 U.S. states have duplicated this
solution

Chapter-2
Solar cells
A solar cell (also called photovoltaic
cell or photoelectric cell) is a solid state electrical device that
converts the energy of light directly into electricity by
the photovoltaic effect.
Assemblies of solar cells are used to make solar
modules which are used to capture energy fromsunlight. When
multiple modules are assembled together (such as prior to
installation on a pole-mounted tracker system), the resulting
integrated group of modules all oriented in one plane is
referred to in the solar industry as a solar panel. The electrical
energy generated from solar modules, referred to as solar
power, is an example of solar energy.
Photovoltaics is the field of technology and research
related to the practical application of photovoltaic cells in
producing electricity from light, though it is often used
specifically to refer to the generation of electricity from
sunlight.
Cells are described as photovoltaic cells when the light source
is not necessarily sunlight (lamplight, artificial light, etc.). These
are used for detecting light or other electromagnetic
radiationnear the visible range, for example infrared detectors,
or measurement of light intensity.

Applications
Solar cells are often electrically connected and
encapsulated as a module. Photovoltaic modules often have a
sheet of glass on the front (sun up) side, allowing light to pass
while protecting the semiconductor wafers from abrasion and
impact due to wind-driven debris, rain, hail, etc.
Solar cells are also usually connected in series in modules,
creating an additive voltage. Connecting cells in parallel will
yield a higher current; however, very significant problems exist
with parallel connections. For example, shadow effects can shut
down the weaker (less illuminated) parallel string (a number of
series connected cells) causing substantial power loss and even
damaging excessive reverse bias applied to the shadowed cells
by their illuminated partners.
As far as possible, strings of series cells should be handled
independently and not connected in parallel, save using special
paralleling circuits. Although modules can be interconnected to
create an arraywith the desired peak DC voltage and loading
current capacity, using independent MPPTs (maximum power
point trackers) provides a better solution. In the absence of

paralleling circuits, shunt diodes can be used to reduce the

power loss due to shadowing in arrays with series/parallel
connected cells.
To make practical use of the solar-generated energy, the
electricity is most often fed into the electricity grid using
inverters (grid-connected photovoltaic systems); in stand-alone
systems, batteries are used to store the energy that is not
needed immediately. Solar panels can be used to power or
recharge portable devices.

Theory
The solar cell works in three steps:
1. Photons in sunlight hit the solar panel and are absorbed by
semiconducting materials, such as silicon.
2. Electrons (negatively charged) are knocked loose from
their atoms, causing an electric potential difference.
Current starts flowing through the material to cancel the
potential and this electricity is captured. Due to the
special composition of solar cells, the electrons are only
allowed to move in a single direction.
3. An array of solar cells converts solar energy into a usable
amount of direct current (DC) electricity.
Efficiency

The efficiency of a solar cell may be broken down into

reflectance efficiency, thermodynamic efficiency, charge carrier
separation efficiency and conductive efficiency. The overall
efficiency is the product of each of these individual efficiencies.
Due to the difficulty in measuring these parameters
directly, other parameters are measured instead:
thermodynamic efficiency, quantum efficiency, integrated
quantum efficiency, VOC ratio, and fill factor. Reflectance losses
are a portion of the quantum efficiency under "external
quantum efficiency". Recombination losses make up a portion
of the quantum efficiency, VOC ratio, and fill factor.
Resistive losses are predominantly categorized under fill
factor, but also make up minor portions of the quantum
efficiency, VOC ratio.
The fill factor is defined as the ratio of the actual
maximum obtainable power, to the product of the open circuit
voltage and short circuit current. This is a key parameter in
evaluating the performance of solar cells. Typical commercial
solar cells have a fill factor > 0.70. Grade B cells have a fill
factor usually between 0.4 to 0.7.
The fill factor is, besides efficiency, one of the most
significant parameters for the energy yield of a photovoltaic
cell.[14] Cells with a high fill factor have a low equivalent series
resistance and a high equivalent shunt resistance, so less of the
current produced by light is dissipated in internal losses.

Single p-n junction crystalline silicon devices are now

approaching the theoretical limiting power efficiency of 33.7%,
noted as the ShockleyQueisser limit in 1961. In the extreme,
with an infinite number of layers, the corresponding limit is 86%
using concentrated sunlight.[15]
Cost
The cost of a solar cell is given per unit of peak electrical
power. Manufacturing costs necessarily include the cost of
energy required for manufacture. Solar-specific feed in tariffs
vary worldwide, and even state by state within various
countries.[16] Such feed-in tariffs can be highly effective in
encouraging the development of solar power projects.

High-efficiency solar cells are of interest to decrease the

cost of solar energy. Many of the costs of a solar power plant
are proportional to the area of the plant; a higher efficiency cell
may reduce area and plant cost, even if the cells themselves
are more costly. Efficiencies of bare cells, to be useful in
evaluating solar power plant economics, must be evaluated
under realistic conditions. The basic parameters that need to be
evaluated are the short circuit current, open circuit voltage. [17]
The chart below illustrates the best laboratory efficiencies
obtained for various materials and technologies, generally this
is done on very small, i.e., one square cm, cells. Commercial
efficiencies are significantly lower.

Reported timeline of solar cell energy conversion efficiencies

(from National Renewable Energy Laboratory (USA))
Grid parity, the point at which photovoltaic electricity is
equal to or cheaper than grid power, can be reached using low
cost solar cells. It is achieved first in areas with abundant sun
and high costs for electricity such as in California and Japan.
[18]

Grid parity has been reached inHawaii and other islands that

otherwise use diesel fuel to produce electricity. George W.

Bush had set 2015 as the date for grid parity in the USA. [19]
[20]

Speaking at a conference in 2007, General Electric's Chief

Engineer predicted grid parity without subsidies in sunny parts

of the United States by around 2015.[21]
The price of solar panels fell steadily for 40 years, until
2004 when high subsidies in Germany drastically increased

demand there and greatly increased the price of purified silicon

(which is used in computer chips as well as solar panels).
The great recession of 2008 and the onset of Chinese
manufacturing caused prices to resume their decline with
vehemence.
In the four years after January 2008 prices for solar
modules in Germany dropped from 3 to 1 per peak watt.
During that same times production capacity surged with an
annual growth of more than 50%. China increased market share
from 8% in 2008 to over 55% in the last quarter of 2010.
[22]

Recently, since the middle of 2010, the price has been

dropped to $1.21.5/Wp (crystalline modules).[citation needed]

Materials
The cost of a solar cell is given per unit of peak electrical
power. Manufacturing costs necessarily include the cost of
energy required for manufacture. Solar-specific feed in tariffs

vary worldwide, and even state by state within various

countries.[16] Such feed-in tariffs can be highly effective in
encouraging the development of solar power projects.
High-efficiency solar cells are of interest to decrease the
cost of solar energy. Many of the costs of a solar power plant
are proportional to the area of the plant; a higher efficiency cell
may reduce area and plant cost, even if the cells themselves
are more costly. Efficiencies of bare cells, to be useful in
evaluating solar power plant economics, must be evaluated
under realistic conditions. The basic parameters that need to be
evaluated are the short circuit current, open circuit voltage. [17]
The chart below illustrates the best laboratory efficiencies
obtained for various materials and technologies, generally this
is done on very small, i.e., one square cm, cells. Commercial
efficiencies are significantly lower.

Reported timeline of solar cell energy conversion efficiencies

(from National Renewable Energy Laboratory (USA))
Grid parity, the point at which photovoltaic electricity is
equal to or cheaper than grid power, can be reached using low
cost solar cells. It is achieved first in areas with abundant sun
and high costs for electricity such as in California and Japan.
[18]

Grid parity has been reached inHawaii and other islands that

otherwise use diesel fuel to produce electricity. George W.

Bush had set 2015 as the date for grid parity in the USA. [19][20]
Speaking at a conference in 2007, General Electric's Chief
Engineer predicted grid parity without subsidies in sunny parts
of the United States by around 2015.[21]
The price of solar panels fell steadily for 40 years, until
2004 when high subsidies in Germany drastically increased
demand there and greatly increased the price of purified silicon
(which is used in computer chips as well as solar panels).
The great recession of 2008 and the onset of Chinese
manufacturing caused prices to resume their decline with
vehemence. In the four years after January 2008 prices for solar
modules in Germany dropped from 3 to 1 per peak watt.
During that same times production capacity surged with
an annual growth of more than 50%. China increased market
share from 8% in 2008 to over 55% in the last quarter of 2010.
[22]

Recently, since the middle of 2010, the price has been

dropped to $1.21.5/Wp (crystalline modules).[citation needed]

Manufacture

Because solar cells are semiconductor devices, they share

some of the same processing and manufacturing techniques as
other semiconductor devices such
as computer and memory chips. However, the stringent
requirements for cleanliness and quality control of
semiconductor fabrication are more relaxed for solar cells. Most
large-scale commercial solar cell factories today make screen
printed poly-crystalline or single crystalline silicon solar cells.
Poly-crystalline silicon wafers are made by wire-sawing
block-cast silicon ingots into very thin (180 to 350 micrometer)
slices or wafers. The wafers are usually lightly p-type doped.
To make a solar cell from the wafer, a surface diffusion
of n-type dopants is performed on the front side of the wafer.
This forms a p-n junction a few hundred nanometers below the
surface.
Anti-reflection coatings, to increase the amount of light
coupled into the solar cell, are typically next applied. Silicon
nitride has gradually replaced titanium dioxide as the antireflection coating, because of its excellent surface passivation
qualities. It prevents carrier recombination at the surface of the
solar cell. It is typically applied in a layer several hundred
nanometers thick using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor
deposition (PECVD). Some solar cells have textured front
surfaces that, like anti-reflection coatings, serve to increase the
amount of light coupled into the cell. Such surfaces can usually
only be formed on single-crystal silicon, though in recent years

methods of forming them on multicrystalline silicon have been

developed.
The wafer then has a full area metal contact made on the
back surface, and a grid-like metal contact made up of fine
"fingers" and larger "bus bars" are screen-printed onto the front
surface using a silver paste. The rear contact is also formed by
screen-printing a metal paste, typically aluminium. Usually this
contact covers the entire rear side of the cell, though in some
cell designs it is printed in a grid pattern. The paste is then fired
at several hundred degrees Celsius to form metal electrodes
in ohmic contact with the silicon. Some companies use an
additional electro-plating step to increase the cell efficiency.
After the metal contacts are made, the solar cells are
interconnected by flat wires or metal ribbons, and assembled
into modules or "solar panels". Solar panels have a sheet
of tempered glass on the front, and a polymer encapsulation on
the back.

Life span
Most commercially available solar panels are capable of
producing electricity for at least twenty years. [citation needed] The
typical warranty given by panel manufacturers is over 90% of
rated output for the first 10 years, and over 80% for the second
10 years. Panels are expected to function for a period of 30 to
35 years.

Chapter-3

Voltage-Source Inverter
A typical voltage-source PWM converter performs the ac to
ac conversion in two stages: ac to dc and dc to variable
frequency ac. The basic converter design is shown in figure 1.1.
The grid voltage is rectified by the line rectifier usually
consisting of a diode bridge. Presently, attention paid to power
quality and improved power factor has shifted the interest to
more supply friendly ac-to-dc converters, e.g. PWM rectifier.
This allows simultaneously active filtering of the line current as
well as regenerative motor braking schemes transferring power
back to the mains.
The dc voltage is filtered and smoothed by the capacitor C
in the dc bus (figure 1.1). The capacitor is of appreciable size
(2-20 mF) and therefore a major cost item [Bose 97].
Alternatively, the inverter can be supplied from a fixed dc
voltage. The filtered dc voltage is usually measured for control
purpose. Because of the nearly constant dc bus voltage, a
number of PWM inverters with their associated motor drives

can be supplied from one common diode bridge. The inductive

reactance L between rectifier and ac supply is used to reduce
commutation dips produced by the rectifier, to limit fault
current and to soften voltages spikes of the mains.

Neglecting the voltage drop of the inductances (current

depending) and diodes (Ud 1V if i > 0), the positive potential
of the dc bus voltage equals the highest potential of the three
phases and the negative potential equals the lowest potential
of the three phases. Since each phase owns one negative and
one positive maximum potential during one period of the net
frequency, the rectifier input voltage equals the maximum of
the positive and negative line voltages, respectively. Thus, the
rectifier input voltage traces six pulses as shown in figure 1.2
by the thick line

Figure 1.2 presents typical voltage and current waveforms

of a B6-diode bridge supplied by a stiff grid. As indicated by the
dashed lines, the rectifier current iB6 increases, if the absolute
value of a line voltage is higher than the dc voltage.
Consequently, the dc voltage increases slightly. A dc voltage
higher than the current voltage supply causes a reduction of
the rectifier input current until the current equals zero and the
diode bridge blocks the supply voltage. The rectifier current iB6
is identically reflected by the line currents.
The sign of each line current depends on the two nonblocking diodes each conducting the positive and negative
rectifier current, respectively.
During the conducting period, the difference of line and dc
voltage is active as voltage drop over the line inductances and
resistances. The higher the line inductances, the smaller the
line current peaks. However, the value of the line inductances

is limited due to economic and efficiency reasons. Furthermore,

the average dc voltage depends on the line inductances and
the inverter output power. The maximum dc voltage (no load) is
equal to the maximum amplitude of the line voltages. Due to
voltage drops of line inductances, resistances and rectifier
diodes, the dc voltage slightly decreases with increasing load.
For more details concerning the rectifier, see [Bose 97], [Dub
89] et al.
According to figure 1.1, the dc voltage is switched in a
three-phase PWM inverter by six semiconductor switches in
order to obtain pulses, forming three-phase ac voltage with the
required frequency and amplitude for motor supply. The
switching devices must be capable of being turned on as well
as turned off. During the last years, major progress has been
made in the development of new power semiconductor devices.
The simpler requirement driving the power switches and
the higher maximum switching-frequency, enabling higher
operating frequencies (higher motor speed), provide continually
rising output power. The new generation of switching devices is
capable of conducting more current and blocking higher
voltages. The alternatives at present are gate turn-off thyristor
(GTO),

MOS

controlled

thyristor

(MCT),

bipolar

junction

transistor (BJT), MOS field effect transistor (MOSFET) and

insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT).
The IGBT is a combination of power MOSFET and bipolar
transistor technology and combines the advantages of both. In
the same way as a MOSFET, the gate of the IGBT is isolated and

its driving power is very low. However, the conducting voltage

is similar to that of a bipolar transistor. Presently, IGBTs
dominate the medium-power range of variable speed drives.
Since the maximal current rating of IGBT modules is around 1
kA and the voltage rating is approximately 3 kV, they will
gradually replace GTOs at higher power levels [Vas 99].
Parallel to the power switches, reverse recovery diodes are
placed conducting the current depending on the switching
states and current sign. These diodes are required, since
switching off an inductive load current generates high voltage
peaks probably destroying the power switch. Exemplary for one
inverter leg, figure 1.3 presents the basic configuration and the
inverter output voltage depending on the switching state and
current sign. The basic configuration of one inverter output
phase consists of upper and lower power devices T1 and T4,
and reverse recovery diodes D1 and D4.

When transistor T1 is on, a voltage Udc is applied to the

load. Considering an inductive load, the current increases
subsequently. If the load draws positive current, it will flow
through T1 and supply energy to the load. To the contrary, if
the load current ia is negative, the current flows back through
D1 and returns energy to the dc source.

Figure 1.3: Basic configuration of a half-bridge inverter and

center-tapped inverter output voltage.
Left: Switching states and current direction. Right: Output
voltage and line current. Similarly if T4 is on, which is equal to
T1 off, a voltage - Udc is applied to the load and the current
decreases. If iis positive, the current flows through D4 returning
energy to the dc source. A negative current yields T4
conductinand supplying energy to the load.
According to figure 1.3, with T1 on and drawing positive
load current ia, the output voltage ua0 will be less than Udc
by the on-state voltage drop of T1. When the load current
reverses, the output voltage will be higher than Udc by the
voltage drop across D1. Similarly, the output voltage is slightly
changed by the voltage drop of the lower devices T4 and D4.

Normally, the on-state voltage and diode drops (1 V) are

ignored and the center-tapped inverter is represented as
generating the voltage Udc and - Udc, respectively.
Neglecting additionally the dead-time interval dead, the
behavior of the power devices together with the reverse
recovery diode is equally described by ideal two-position
switche

Chapter-4
POWER FACTOR CORRECTION.

Capacitive Power Factor correction is applied to circuits

which include induction motors as a means of reducing the
inductive component of the current and thereby reduce the
losses in the supply. There should be no effect on the operation
of the motor itself.
An induction motor draws current from the supply, that is
made up of resistive components and inductive components.
The resistive components are:
1) Load current.
2) Loss current. and the inductive components
are:
3) Leakage reactance.
4) Magnetizing current.
The current due to the leakage reactance is dependant on
the total current drawn by the motor, but the magnetizing
current is independent of the load on the motor. The
magnetizing current will typically be between 20% and 60% of
the rated full load current of the motor. The magnetizing
current is the current that establishes the flux in the iron and is
very

necessary if the motor

is going to

operate.

The

magnetizing current does not actually contribute to the actual

work output of the motor. It is the catalyst that allows the
motor to work properly. The magnetizing current and the
leakage reactance can be considered passenger components of
current that will not affect the power drawn by the motor, but

will contribute to the power dissipated in the supply and

distribution system.
Take for example a motor with a current draw of 100
Amps and a power factor of 0.75 The resistive component of
the current is 75 Amps and this is what the KWh meter
measures. The higher current will result in an increase in the
distribution losses of (100 x 100) /(75 x 75) = 1.777 or a 78%
increase in the supply losses.
In the interest of reducing the losses in the distribution
system, power factor correction is added to neutralize a portion
of the magnetizing current of the motor. Typically, the corrected
power factor will be 0.92 - 0.95 Some power retailers offer
incentives for operating with a power factor of better than 0.9,
while others penalize consumers with a poor power factor.
There are many ways that this is metered, but the net
result is that in order to reduce wasted energy in the
distribution system, the consumer will be encouraged to apply
power factor correction.
Power factor correction is achieved by the addition of
capacitors in parallel with the connected motor circuits and can
be applied at the starter, or applied at the switchboard or
distribution panel. The resulting capacitive current is leading
current and is used to cancel the lagging inductive current
flowing from the supply.
Capacitors connected at each starter and controlled by
each starter is known as "Static Power Factor Correction" while

capacitors connected at a distribution board and controlled

independently from the individual starters is known as "Bulk
Correction".

3.1 BULK CORRECTION:

The Power factor of the total current supplied to the
distribution board is monitored by a controller which then
switches capacitor banks In a fashion to maintain a power
factor better than a preset limit. (Typically 0.95) Ideally, the
power factor should be as close to unity as possible. There is no
problem with bulk correction operating at unity.
3.2 Static Correction:
As a large proportion of the inductive or lagging current on
the supply is due to the magnetizing current of induction
motors, it is easy to correct each individual motor by
connecting the correction capacitors to the motor starters. With
static correction, it is important that the capacitive current is
less than the inductive magnetizing current of the induction
motor. In many installations employing static power factor
correction, the correction capacitors are connected directly in
parallel with the motor windings. When the motor is Off Line,
the capacitors are also Off Line. When the motor is connected
to the supply, the capacitors are also connected providing

correction at all times that the motor is connected to the

supply.
This removes the requirement for any expensive power
factor monitoring and control equipment. In this situation, the
capacitors remain connected to the motor terminals as the
motor slows down. An induction motor, while connected to the
supply, is driven by a rotating magnetic field in the stator which
induces current into the rotor. When the motor is disconnected
from the supply, there is for a period of time, a magnetic field
associated with the rotor. As the motor decelerates, it
generates voltage out its terminals at a frequency which is
related to it's speed.
The capacitors connected across the motor terminals,
form a resonant circuit with the motor inductance. If the motor
is critically corrected, (corrected to a power factor of 1.0) the
inductive reactance equals the capacitive reactance at the line
frequency and therefore the resonant frequency is equal to the
line frequency. If the motor is over corrected, the resonant
frequency will be below the line frequency. If the frequency of
the voltage generated by the decelerating motor passes
through the resonant frequency of the corrected motor, there
will be high currents and voltages around the motor/capacitor
circuit. This can result in severe damage to the capacitors and
motor. It is imperative that motors are never over corrected or
critically corrected when static correction is employed.

Static power factor correction should provide capacitive

current equal to 80% of the magnetizing current, which is
essentially the open shaft current of the motor.
The magnetizing current for induction motors can vary
considerably. Typically, magnetizing currents for large two pole
machines can be as low as 20% of the rated current of the
motor while smaller low speed motors can have a magnetizing
current as high as 60% of the rated full load current of the
motor. It is not practical to use a "Standard table" for the
correction of induction motors giving optimum correction on all
motors. Tables result in under correction on most motors but
can result in over correction in some cases. Where the open
shaft current can not be measured, and the magnetizing
current is not quoted, an approximate level for the maximum
correction that can be applied can be calculated from the half
load characteristics of the motor. It is dangerous to base
correction on the full load characteristics of the motor as in
some cases, motors can exhibit a high leakage reactance and
correction to 0.95 at full load will result in over correction under
no load, or disconnected conditions.
Static correction is commonly applied by using on e
contactor to control both the motor and the capacitors. It is
better practice to use two contactors, one for the motor and
one for the capacitors. Where one contactor is employed, it
should be up sized for the capacitive load. The use of a second
contactor eliminates the problems of resonance between the
motor and the capacitors.

3.3 INVERTER:
Static Power factor correction must not be used when the
motor is controlled by a variable speed drive or inverter. The
connection of capacitors to the output of an inverter can cause
serious damage to the inverter and the capacitors due to the
high frequency switched voltage on the output of the inverters.
The current drawn from the inverter has a poor power
factor, particularly at low load, but the motor current is isolated
from the supply by the inverter. The phase angle of the current
drawn by the inverter from the supply is close to zero resulting
in very low inductive current irrespective of what the motor is
doing. The inverter does not however, operate with a good
power factor. Many inverter manufacturers quote a cos of
better than 0.95 and this is generally true, however the current
is non sinusoidal and the resultant harmonics cause a power
factor (KW/KVA) of closer to 0.7 depending on the input design
of the inverter.
Inverters with input reactors and DC bus reactors will
exhibit a higher true power factor than those without.
The connection of capacitors close to the input of the
inverter can also result in damage to the inverter. The
capacitors tend to cause transients to be amplified, resulting in
higher voltage impulses applied to the input circuits of the
inverter, and the energy behind the impulses is much greater
due to the energy storage of the capacitors. It is recommended
that capacitors should be at least 75 Meters away from inverter

inputs to elevate the impedance between the inverter and

capacitors and reduce the potential damage caused.
Switching capacitors, Automatic bank correction etc, will
cause voltage transients and these transients can damage the
input circuits of inverters. The energy is proportional to the
amount of capacitance being switched. It is better to switch lots
of small amounts of capacitance than few large amounts.
3.4 SOLID STATE SOFT STARTER:
Static Power Factor correction capacitors must not be
connected to the output of a solid state soft starter. When a
solid state soft starter is used, the capacitors must be
controlled by a separate contactor, and switched in when the
soft starter output voltage has reached line voltage. Many soft
starters provide a "top of ramp" or "bypass contactor control"
which can be used to control the power factor correction
capacitors.
The connection of capacitors close to the input of the soft
starter can also result in damage to the soft starter if an
isolation contactor is not used.

The capacitors tend to cause transients to be amplified,

resulting in higher voltage impulses applied to the SCRs of the
Soft Starter, and the energy behind the impulses is much
greater due to the energy storage of the capacitors. It is
recommended that capacitors should be at least 50 Meters

away from Soft starters to elevate the impedance between the

inverter and capacitors and reduce the potential damage
caused.
Switching capacitors, Automatic bank correction etc, will
cause voltage transients and these transients can damage the
SCRs of Soft Starters if they are in the Off state without an input
contactor. The energy is proportional to the amount of
capacitance being switched. It is better to switch lots of small
amounts of capacitance than few large amounts.
3.5 CAPACITOR SELECTION:
Static Power factor correction must neutralize no more
than 80% of the magnetizing current of the motor. If the
correction is too high, there is a high probability of over
correction which can result in equipment failure with severe
damage to the motor and capacitors. Unfortunately, the
magnetizing current of induction motors varies considerably
between different motor designs.
The magnetizing current is almost always higher than
20% of the rated full load current of the motor, but can be as
high as 60% of the rated current of the motor. Most power
factor correction is too light due to the selection based on
tables which have been published by a number of sources.
These tables assume the lowest magnetizing current and quote
capacitors for this current. In practice, this can mean that the
correction is often less than half the value that it should be, and
the consumer is unnecessarily penalized.

Power factor correction must be correctly selected based

on the actual motor being corrected. The Electrical Calculations
software provides two methods of calculating the correct value
of KVAR correction to apply to a motor. The first method
requires the magnetizing current of the motor. Where this figure
is available, then this is the preferred method. Where the
magnetizing current is not available, the second method is
employed and is based on the half load power factor and
efficiency of that motor. These figures are available from the
motor data sheets.

FOR EXAMPLE:
Motor A is a 200 KW 6 pole motor with a magnetizing
current of 124A. From tables, the correction applied would be
37KVAR. From the calculations, this would require a correction
of 68.7 KVAR Motor B is a 375KW 2 pole motor with a half load
efficiency of 93.9% and a half load power factor of 0.805, the
correction recommended by the tables is 44 KVAR while the
calculations reveal that the correction should be 81.3KVAR
Electrical Calculations is a shareware program which means
that you can try it before you buy it. You can freely distribute
copies to anyone you please, but if you find it to be useful, as
I'm sure you will, then you must purchase it at $NZ35.00
Registered copies of Busbar will be eligible for continued
updates, and registered users will be advised of all major
upgrades as they become available.

Static Power factor correction can be calculated from

known motor characteristics for any given motor, either the
magnetizing current and supply voltage (method 1) or half load
efficiency and half load power factor(method 2), or, as a last
resort, table values can be used. These will almost always
result in under correction.
Bulk power factor correction can be calculated from known
existing power factor, required new powerfactor, line voltage
and line current.
3.6 SUPPLY HARMONICS:
Harmonics on the supply cause a higher current to flow in
the capacitors. This is because the impedance of the capacitors
goes down as the frequency goes up. This increase in current
flow through the capacitor will result in additional heating of the
capacitor and reduce it's life. The harmonics are caused bu
many non linear loads, the most common in the industrial
market

today,

are

the

variable

speed

controllers

and

switchmode power supplies. Harmonic voltages can be reduced

by the use of a harmonic compensator, which is essentially a
large inverter that cancells out the harmonics. This is an
expensive option. Passive harmonic filters comprising resistors,
inductors and capacitors can also be used to reduce harmonic
voltages.

This

is

also

an

expensive

exersize.

In order to reduce the damage caused to the capacitors by the

harmonic currents, it is becomming common today to install
detuning reactors in series with the power factor correction
capacitors. These reactors are designed to make the correction
circuit inductive to the higher frequency harmonics. Typically, a
reactor would be designed to create a resonant circuit with the
capacitors above the third harmonic, but sometimes it is below.
(Never tuned to a harmonic frequency!!) Adding the inductance
in

series

with

the

cpacitors

will

reduce

their

effective

capacitance at the supply frequency. Reducing the resonant or

tuned frequency will reduce the the effective capacitance
further. The object is to make the circuit look as inductive as
possible at the 5th harmonic and higher, but as capacitive as
possible at the fundemental frequency. Detuning reactors will
also reduce the chance of the tuned circuit formed by the
capacitors and the inductive supply being resonant on a supply
harmonic frequency, thereby reducing damage due to supply
resonances amplifying harmonic voltages caused by non linear
loads.
3.7 DETUNING REACTORS:
Detuning reactors are connected in series with power
factor correction capacitors to reduce harmonic currents and to
ensure that the series resonant frequency does not occur at a
harmonic of the supply frequency. The reactors are usually
chosen and rated as either 5% or 7% reactors. This means that

at the line frequency, the capacitive reactance is reduced by

5% or 7%.
Using detuning reactors results in a lower KVAR, so the
capacitance will need to be increased for the same level of
correction. When detuning reactors are used in installations
with high harmonic voltages, there can be a high resultant
voltage across the capacitors. This necessitates the use of
capacitors that are designed to operate at a high sustained
voltage. Capacitors designed for use at line voltage only,
should not be used with detuning reactors. Check the suitability
of the capacitors for use with line reactors before installation.
The detuning reactors can dissipate a lot of heat. The enclosure
must be well ventillated, typically forced air cooled. The
detuning reactor must be specified to match the KVAR of the
capacitance selected. The reactor would typically be rated as
12.5KVAR 5% meaning that it is a 5% reactor to connect to a
12.5KVAR capacitor.

3.8 SUPPLY RESONANCE:

Capacitive Power factor correction connected to a supply
causes resonance between the supply and the capacitors. If the
fault current of the supply is very high, the effect of the
resonance will be minimal, however in a rural installation where
the supply is very inductive and can be a high impedance, the
resonances can be very severe resulting in major damage to
plant and equipment. Voltage surges and transients of several

times the supply voltage are not uncommon in rural areas with
weak supplies, especially when the load on the supply is low. As
with any resonant system, a transient or sudden change in
current will result in the resonant circuit ringing, generating a
high voltage. The magnitude of the voltage is dependant on the
'Q' of the circuit which in turn is a function of the circuit loading.
One of the problems with supply resonance is that the 'reaction'
is often well removed from the 'stimulus' unlike a pure voltage
drop problem due to an overloaded supply. This makes fault
finding very difficult and often damaging surges and transients
on the supply are treated as 'just one of those things'.
To minimize supply resonance problems, there are a few steps
that can be taken, but they do need to be taken by all on the
particular supply.
1) Minimize

the

amount

of

power

factor

correction,

particularly when the load is light. The power factor

correction minimizes losses in the supply. When the supply
is lightly loaded, this is not such a problem.
2) Minimize switching transients. Eliminate open transition
switching - usually associated with generator plants and
alternative

supply

switching,

and

with

some

electromechanical starters such as the star/delta starter.

3) Switch capacitors on to the supply in lots of small steps
rather

than

few

large

steps.

4) Switch capacitors on o the supply after the load has been

applied and switch off the supply before or with the load
removal.

Harmonic Power Factor correction is not applied to circuits that

draw either discontinuous or distorted current waveforms.
Most electronic equipment includes a means of creating a
DC supply. This involves rectifying the AC voltage, causing
harmonic currents. In some cases, these harmonic currents are
insignificant relative to the total load current drawn, but in
many installations, a large proportion of the current drawn is
rich in harmonics. If the total harmonic current is large enough,
there will be a resultant distortion of the supply waveform
which can interfere with the correct operation of other
equipment. The addition of harmonic currents results in
increased losses in the supply.
Power factor correction for distorted supplies can not be
achieved by the addition of capacitors. The harmonics can be
reduced by designing the equipment using active rectifiers, by
the addition of passive filters (LCR) or by the addition of
electronic power factor correction inverters which restore the
waveform back to its undistorted state. This is a specialist area
requiring

either

major

design

changes,

or

specialized

equipment to be used.
3.9 Benefits of Power Factor Correction
Most people associate electricity and energy with kilowatts
(kW). In fact, kW only makes up a part of the overall energy
usage in a home, commercial building or an industrial
manufacturing plant. In the world of AC power, there are
actually three

types of power:

Apparent Power (measured in Volt-Amps)

Real Power (measured in Watts)

Reactive Power (measured in VARs)

The relationship between Apparent Power and the other

two is influencedby what is called Power Factor (PF). The PF

can be thought of as a measure of electrical efficiency ina
power system.
Numerous benefits can be derived by providing power factor
correction to a facility.
Benefit: Reduced Utility Bills
Utilities have several different rate structures that may be
used for billing.

kVA Billing straight charges for all apparent power

consumed

kVAr Billing additional charges for reactive power

Power Factor Penalty charges based on the customers

actual power factor

Adjusted kW Demand the real power demand is

adjusted by a formula and is based on the customers
actual power factor In all cases, the power factor of a
customer will become a direct or indirect factor in the
utility bill.

Power bills may be reduced by introducing capacitors to the

facility, which can reduce the need for kVAr required from the
utility. Capacitors have the added effect of reducing line losses
which can reduce the amount
of kW hours required by a facility. Additional benefits of
reducing linelosses will be discussed later in this document.
Benefit: Electrical System
Capacity Capacitors in a facility produce reactive energy
that motors require to produce magnetizing current for
induction motors and transformers. This reduces the overall
current needed from the power supply. This translates into
reduced loads on both transformers and feeder circuits.
Capacitors Provide Reactive Power

Reduced loads on transformers can have a variety of positive

impacts that include but are not limited to: less maintenance,
reduced breaker trips, and higher full-load capacity.
Benefit: Improved Voltage Levels

Low voltage may be caused by a lack of reactive energy.

Additionally, voltage drops are often caused by dynamic load
changes. In both cases, the effects can be harmful. In facilities
with motors, low voltage reduces motor efficiency and can
cause overheating. Interference may be introduced by low
voltage in lighting and other electrical instruments (i.e.
Computers). Welding plants in particular, may suffer from
voltage drops. The quality of a weld is directly proportional to
the voltage. These voltage drops can cause bad welds which
translate into scrap or possible product recalls if allowed to
persist. Real-time capacitor systems (<1 cycle) have the
capability of providing fast compensation to a dynamic load
that cannot typically be seen by other conventional capacitor
banks. It can help to raise and stabilize voltage across a facility
by providing reactive energy, thus improving overall
production.
Benefit: Reduced Line Losses
Differences exist between DC resistances of various
conducting elements and actual apparent AC resistances of
those same elements. There are many different phenomena
present in electrical systems which, when combined, can create
substantial energy losses. Reducing the current used in a
facility as well as properly minimizing harmonics can have a
significant effect on reducingline losses.Capacitors can help a
system by.

Chapter-6
OVERVIEW OF FLEXIBLE AC TRANSMISSION
SYSTEMS, FACTS
Introduction
The term FACTS (Flexible AC Transmission Systems)
covers several power electronics based systems used for AC
power transmission and distribution. Given the nature of power
electronics equipment, FACTS solutions will be particularly
justifiable in applications requiring one or more of the following
qualities:
-Rapid dynamic response
-Ability for frequent variations in output
-Smoothly adjustable output.
FACTS are a family of devices which can be inserted into
power grids in series, in shunt, and in some cases, both in
shunt and series. Important applications in power transmission
and distribution involve devices such as SVC (Static Var
Compensators), Fixed Series Capacitors (SC) as well as
Thyristor-Controlled Series Capacitors (TCSC) and STATCOM.
SVC and SC have been utilized for a long time. The first SC
installations came on line in the early 1950s. Among the
pioneering countries are USA and Sweden. SVCs have been
available for commercial purposes since the 1970s. Over the
years, more than a thousand SVCs and SCs have been installed
all over the world.

FACTS mainly find applications in the following areas:

Power transmission
Power quality
Railway grid connection
Wind power grid connection
Cable systems
With FACTS, the following benefits can be attained in AC
systems:
Improved power transmission capability
Improved system stability and availability
Improved power quality
Minimized environmental impact
Minimized transmission losses
Power transmission under optimum conditions
A frequently occurring situation in a power system is the
need to transmit more power over the system than it was
originally designed for. In cases where there is a need to
transmit more power, it is often a safe way out simply to build
new transmission lines. This, however, may not at all be the
best solution. Adding new lines may be too costly and timeconsuming. Concessions for right-of-ways may be hard or
impossible to come by. And last but not least, environmental
aspects are much more important now than they used to be,

and need to be properly addressed in conjunction with

transmission development.
Availability
With FACTS, availability and efficiency of power grids are
improved, for existing just as well as new grids. When we say
availability, of course, one comes to think of the several large
and more or less dramatic blackouts in various parts of the
world in recent years.
The obvious question to be asked then is: can FACTS help
to prevent similar things to happen in the future? The answer is
that it will definitely play a role, and an important one, at that.
And for sure, since blackouts in the majority of cases are
caused by a deficit of reactive power, FACTS comes into the
picture as a remedy in a natural way.
Power quality
Getting as much active power as possible over the grid
with a minimum of transmission lines, and a minimum of
losses, are crucial tasks, of course. There are other things that
need to be looked after, as well, however: the power which
eventually reaches the consumer must also be of sufficient
quality. With this we mean that when we turn on the light at
home, the voltage coming out of the socket should be
fluctuation-free and free from harmonics, to make the flow of
light smooth and comfortable, and free from intensity
fluctuations. This, too, is a key task for FACTS to maintain. It is
particularly important for residents living more or less close to

heavy industrial plants such as steel works, because such

plants emit a lot of disturbances which spread over the
nelectrical grid, unless, as said, remedied by FACTS.
FACTS and Reactive Power
FACTS has a lot to do with reactive power compensation,
and indeed, that used to be the term utilized for the
technology in the old days. Reactive power appears in all
electric power systems, due to the laws of nature. Contrary to
active power, which is what we really want to transmit over our
power system, and which performs real work, such as keeping
a lamp lit or a motor running, reactive power does not perform
any such work.
Consequently, in a way one can say that the presence of
reactive power in a grid makes it heavier for it to perform its
task, i.e. transmit power from A to B (Figure 1), and
consequently less efficient than would otherwise be possible.
We can also refer to Lenz law, formulated already in the
nineteenth century: Every change in an electrical system
induces a counter-reaction opposing its origin. So, as a
consequence, if we can minimize the flow of reactive power
over the transmission system, we can make the system more
efficient and put it to better and more economical use.
There are two typical cases in this discussion:
1) Greenfield projects: a need to build new infrastructure, and
then do it as economically as possible, both from an investment
point of view, and from an environmental point of view. This

means as few transmission lines as we can possibly get away

with, without compromising our transmission goals.
2) Alleviation of transmission congestion: we need to build
away bottlenecks in existing transmission systems. This is very
much on the EU agenda now, with the Energy Directive, which
stipulates that each EU country should have the capacity to
transmit at least 10% of its installed power to its neighbour
countries (and even 20% in a certain perspective), to pave the
way for the EU goal of free exchange of services and
commodities inside the EU. In this discussion, of course, electric
energy is treated as a commodity among others. In either case,
there is a lot to be gained, in economical terms just as well as
environmental, if we can minimize the amount of transmission
lines running through the countryside. This is exactly where
FACTS is coming inWe cannot altogether do without reactive
power, though, because it is intimately linked with grid voltage
(500 kV, 400 kV, 220 kV, etc).
To get the correct grid voltage, we need the right amount of
reactive power in the system. If there is not enough reactive
power, the voltage will sag. And vice versa, if there is too much
of it, the voltage will be too high. So, to have it in the right
amounts at all times, and in the right places of the grid, that is
the task to be performed by means of Reactive Power
Compensation. Reactive power balance is important also from
another point of view: it ensures that valuable space in
transmission lines and equipment such as transformers is not
occupied by idle reactive power, but rather available for a
maximum of useful, active power (Fig. 2)

Here it should be pointed out that a reactive power

compensator needs to be fast, i.e. fast response is a key
characteristic of the device. This is particularly crucial in
situations where some fault appears in the grid. In such a
situation, it will often be a matter of milliseconds for the
Reactive Power Compensator, i.e. the FACTS device, to go into
action and help restore the stability, and the voltage of the grid,
in order to prevent, or mitigate, a voltage collapse. Quite in
general, there is a tendency for a deficit of reactive power close
to large, electricity consuming areas, as well as close to large,
electricity consuming industry enterprises, such as steel works,
petrochemical complexes, and large mine complexes.
That means that in such cases, reactive power needs to
be added. Vice versa, there is usually a surplus of reactive
power at the end of long, lightly loaded transmission lines and
cables. Here, reactive power may need to be compensated
away. In either case, and particularly when the reactive power
is fluctuating with time, FACTS is the solution.
Losses Maintaining proper balance of reactive power in
the grid is important also from another point of view: too much

reactive power flowing in the grid also gives rise to losses, and
losses cost money which is always, at the end, charged to the
customer. To prevent such losses, it is important that reactive
power is not permitted to flow over long distances, because
losses grow with the distance that the reactive power is flowing
over. Instead, reactive power should be inserted where it is
needed, i.e. close to large cities and/or large industry
enterprises.
This, too, is a task for FACTS. Technology underlying FACTS
SVCAn SVC is based on thyristor controlled reactors (TCR),
thyristor switched capacitors (TSC), and/or Fixed Capacitors
(FC) tuned to Filters. A TCR consists of a fixed reactor in series
with a bi-directional thyristor valve. TCR reactors are as a rule
of air core type, glass fibre insulated, epoxy resin impregnated.

A TSC consists of a capacitor bank in series with a bidirectional thyristor valve and a damping reactor which also
serves to de-tune the circuit to avoid parallel resonance with
the network. The thyristor switch acts to connect or disconnect
the capacitor bank for an integral number of half-cycles of the
applied voltage. A complete SVC based on TCR and TSC may

be designed in a variety of ways, to satisfy a number of criteria

and requirements in its operation in the grid. Two very
common design types, both having each their specific merits,
are shown in Fig. 3a and 3b.
Series Capacitors (SC)
Of course, a series capacitor is not just a capacitor in
series with the line. For proper functioning, series
compensation requires control, protection and supervision
facilities to enable it to perform as an integrated part of a
power system. Also, since the series capacitor is working at the
same voltage level as the rest of the system, it needs to be
fully insulated to ground. The main circuit diagram of a state of
the art series capacitor is shown in Fig. 4.
The main protective device is a varistor, usually of ZnO
type, limiting the voltage across the capacitor to safe values in
conjunction with system faults giving rise to large short circuit
currents flowing through the line. A spark gap is utilized in
many cases, to enable by-pass of the series capacitor in
situations where the varistor is not sufficient to absorb the
excess current during a fault sequence.
There are various bypass solutions available today like
spark gap, high power plasma switch, power electronic device,
etc. Finally, a circuit breaker is incorporated in the scheme to
enable bypassing of the series capacitor for more extended
periods of time as need may be.

It is also needed for extinguishing the spark gap, or, in

the absence of a spark gap, for by-passing the varistor in
conjunction with faults close to the series capacitor (so-called
internal faults).

Controllable series compensation

Though very useful indeed, conventional series capacitors
are still limited in their flexibility due to their fixed ratings. By
introducing control of the degree of compensation, additional
benefits are gained. State of the art controllable series
compensation is shown in Fig. 5. Here, the introduction of
thyristor technology has enabled strong development of the
concept of series compensation. Added benefits are dynamic
power flow control, possibility for power oscillation damping, as
well as mitigation of sub-synchronous resonance (SSR), should
this be an issue.

STATCOM
A Static Compensator consists of a voltage source
converter, a coupling transformer and controls (Fig. 6). In Fig. 6,
Iq is the converter output current and is perpendicular to the
converter voltage Vi. The magnitude of the converter voltage
and thus the reactive output of the converter (Q) is controllable.
If V V i T> , the STATCOM supplies reactive power to the ac
system. If V V i T< , the STATCOM absorbs reactive power.
State of the art for STATCOM is by the use of IGBT
(Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors). By use of high frequency
Pulse Width Modulation (PWM), it has become possible to use a
single converter connected to a standard power transformer via
air-core phase reactors. The core parts of the plant are located
inside a prefabricated building. The outdoor equipment is
limited to heat exchangers, phase reactors and the power
transformer. For extended range of operation, additional fixed
capacitors, thyristor switched capacitors or an assembly of
more than one converter may be used.

The semiconductor valves in a STATCOM respond almost

instantaneously to a switching order. Therefore the limiting
factor for the comple plant speed of response is determined by
the time needed for voltage measurements and the control
system data processing. A high gain controller can be used and
a response time shorter than a quarter of a cycle is obtained.
The high switching frequency used in the IGBT based STATCOM
concept results in an inherent capability to produce voltages at
frequencies well above the fundamental one. This property can
be used for active filtering of harmonics already present in the
network.
The STATCOM then injects harmonic currents into the
network with proper phase and amplitude to counteract the
harmonic voltages. By adding storage capacity to the DC side
of STATCOM, it becomes possible not only to control reactive
power,
but also active power. As storage facility, various kinds of
battery cells can be used, depending on the requirements on

the storage facility. The result, STATCOM with energy storage

(Fig. 7), is expected to come into use in years to come as
dynamic storage facility particularly of renewable energy (wind,
solar).

Impact of FACTS in interconnected networks

The benefits of power system interconnection are well
established. It enables the participating parties to share the
benefits of large power systems, such as optimization of power
generation, utilization of differences in load profiles and pooling
of reserve capacity.
From this follows not only technical and economical
benefits, but also environmental, when for example surplus of
clean hydro resources from one region can help to replace
polluting fossil-fuelled generation in another. For
interconnections to serve their purpose, however, available
transmission links must be powerful enough to safely transmit

the amounts of power intended. If this is not the case, from a

purely technical point of view it can always be remedied by
building additional lines in parallel with the existing, or by
uprating the existing system(s) to a higher voltage.

This, however, is expensive, time-consuming, and calls for

elaborate procedures for gaining the necessary permits. Also, in
many cases, environmental considerations, popular opinion or
other impediments will render the building of new lines as well
as uprating to ultra-high system voltages impossible in
practice. This is where FACTS is coming in. Examples of
successful implementation of FACTS for power system
interconnection can be found among others between the Nordic
Countries and between Canada and the United States. In such
cases, FACTS helps to enable mutually beneficial trade of
electric energy between the countries. Other regions in the
world where FACTS is emerging as a means for AC bulk power
interchange between regions can be found in South Asia as well
as in Africa and Latin America. In fact, AC power corridors
equipped with SVC and/or SC transmitting bulk power over
distances of more than 1.000 km are a reality today.

Chapter-7
PV SOLAR PLANT CONTROL CIRCUIT

Chapter-8
INTRODUCTION TO MATLAB

MATLAB is a software package for computation in engineering,

science, and applied mathematics.

It offers a powerful programming language, excellent

graphics, and a wide range of expert knowledge. MATLAB is
published by and a trademark of The MathWorks, Inc.

The focus in MATLAB is on computation, not mathematics:

Symbolic expressions and manipulations are not possible

(except through the optional Symbolic Toolbox, a clever

interface to maple). All results are not only numerical but
inexact, thanks to the rounding errors inherent in computer
arithmetic. The limitation to numerical computation can be
seen as a drawback, but its a source of strength too: MATLAB is
much preferred to Maple, Mathematical, and the like when it
comes to numerics.

On the other hand, compared to other numerically

oriented languages like C++ and FORTRAN,
MATLAB is much easier to use and comes with a huge standard
library.1 the unfavorable comparison here is a gap in execution
speed. This gap is not always as dramatic as popular lore has it,
and it can often be narrowed or closed with good MATLAB
programming. Moreover, one can link other codes into MATLAB,
or vice versa, and MATLAB now optionally supports parallel
computing. Still, MATLAB is usually not the tool of choice for
maximum-performance Computing.
The MATLAB niche is numerical computation on workstations
for non-experts in computation.

This is a huge nicheone way to tell is to look at the

number of MATLAB-related books on mathworks.com. Even for
supercomputer users, MATLAB can be a valuable environment
in which to explore and fine-tune algorithms before more
laborious coding in another language.
Most

successful

computing

languages

and

environments

acquire a distinctive character or culture.

In

MATLAB,

that

culture

contains

several

elements:

an

experimental and graphical bias, resulting from the interactive

environment and compression of the write-compile-link-execute
analyze cycle; an emphasis on syntax that is compact and
friendly to the interactive mode, rather than tightly constrained
and

verbose;

kitchen-sink

mentality

for

providing

functionality; and a high degree of openness and transparency

(though not to the extent of being open source software).

The fifty-cent tour

When you start MATLAB, you get a multipaneled desktop.
The layout and behavior of the desktop and its components are
highly customizable (and may in fact already be customized for
your site).
The component that is the heart of MATLAB is called the
Command Window, located on the 1Here and elsewhere I am
thinking of the old FORTRAN, FORTRAN 77. This is not a
commentary on the usefulness of FORTRAN 90 but on my
ignorance of it.

INTRODUCTION

Right by default. Here you can give MATLAB commands

typed at the prompt, >>. Unlike FORTRAN and other compiled
computer languages, MATLAB is an interpreted environment
you give a command, and MATLAB tries to execute it right away
before asking for another.

At the top left you can see the Current Directory. In

general MATLAB is aware only of files in the current directory
(folder) and on its path, which can be customized. Commands
for working with the directory and path include cd, what,
addpath, and editpath (or you can choose File/Set path. . .
from the menus). You can add files to a directory on the path
and thereby add commands to MATLAB; we will return to this
subject in section 3.
Next to the Current Directory tab is the Workspace tab. The
workspace shows you what variable names are currently
defined and some information about their contents. (At start-up
it is, naturally, empty.) This represents another break from
compiled environments: variables created in the workspace
persist for you to examine and modify, even after code
execution

stops.

Below

the

CommandWindow/Workspace

window is the Command History window. As you enter

commands, they are recorded here. This record persists across

different MATLAB sessions, and commands or blocks of
commands can be copied from here or saved to files.

As you explore MATLAB, you will soon encounter some

toolboxes. These are individually packaged sets of capabilities
that provide in-depth expertise on particular subject areas.
There is no need to load them explicitlyonce installed, they
are always available transparently. You may also encounter
Simulink, which is a semi-independent graphical controlengineering package not covered in this document.
Graphical versus command-line usage

MATLAB

was

originally

entirely

environment, and it retains that orientation.

command-line

But

it

is

now

possible to access a great deal of the functionality from

graphical

interfacesmenus,

buttons,

and

so

on.

These

interfaces are especially useful to beginners, because they lay

out the available choices clearly.2 As a rule, graphical
interfaces can be more natural for certain types of interactive
work, such as annotating a graph or debugging a program,
whereas typed commands remain better for complex, precise,
repeated, or reproducible tasks. One does not always need to
make a choice, though; for instance, it is possible to save a
figures styles as a template that can be used with different
data by pointing and clicking. Moreover, you can package code

you want to distribute with your own graphical interface, one

that itself may be designed with a combination of graphical and
command-oriented tools. In the end, an advanced MATLAB user
should be able to exploit both modes of work to be productive.

That said, the focus of this document is on typed

commands. In many (most?) cases these have graphical
interface equivalents, even if I dont explicitly point them out.
In particular, feel free to right-click (on Control-click on a Mac)
on various objects to see what you might be able to
do to them.
WHAT IS SIMULINK

Simulink (Simulation and Link) is an extension of MATLAB

by Math works Inc. It works with MATLAB to offer modeling,
simulating, and analyzing of dynamical systems under a
graphical user interface (GUI) environment. The construction of
a model is simplified with click-and-drag mouse operations.
Simulink includes a comprehensive block library of toolboxes
for both linear and nonlinear analyses. Models are hierarchical,
which allow using both top-down and bottom-up approaches. As
Simulink is an integral part of MATLAB, it is easy to switch back
and forth during the analysis process and thus, the user may
take full advantage of features offered in both environments.
This tutorial presents the basic features of Simulink and is

focused on control systems as it has been written for students

in my control systems .

Getting Started
To start a Simulink session, you'd need to bring up Matlab
program first. From Matlab command window, enter:
>> simulink
Alternately, you may click on the Simulink icon located on the
toolbar as shown

To see the content of the blockset, click on the "+" sign at the
beginning of each toolbox.
To start a model click on the NEW FILE ICON as shown in
the screenshot above.
Alternately, you may use keystrokes CTRL+N.
A new window will appear on the screen. You will be
constructing your model in this window. Also in this window the
constructed model is simulated. A screenshot of a typical
working (model) window that looks like one shown below:

To become familiarized with the structure and the environment

of Simulink, you are encouraged to explore the toolboxes and
scan their contents.

You may not know what they are all about but perhaps you
could catch on the organization of these toolboxes according to
the category. For instant, you may see Control System Toolbox
to consist of the Linear Time Invariant (LTI) system library and
the MATLAB functions can be found under Function and Tables

of the Simulink main toolbox. A good way to learn Simulink (or

any computer program in general) is to practice and explore.
Making mistakes is a part of the learning curve. So, fear not,
you should be.

A simple model is used here to introduce some basic

features of Simulink. Please follow the steps below to construct
a simple model.

STEP 1: CREATING BLOCKS.

From BLOCK SET CATEGORIES section of the SIMULINK LIBRARY

BROWSER window, click on the "+" sign next to the Simulink
group to expand the tree and select (click on) Sources.

A set of blocks will appear in the BLOCKSET group. Click on

the Sine Wave blockand drag it to the workspace window (also
known as model window)

A set of blocks will appear in the BLOCKSET group. Click on

the Sine Wave blockand drag it to the workspace window (also
known as model window)

I am going to save this model under the filename:

"simexample1". To save a model, you may click on the floppy
diskette icon. Or from FILE menu, select Save or CTRL+S. All
Simulink model file will have an extension ".mdl". Simulink
recognizes file with .mdl extension as a simulation model
(similar to how MATLAB recognizes files with the extension .m
as an MFile).

Continue to build your model by adding more components

(or blocks) to your model window. We'll continue to add a Scope
from Sinks library, an Integrator block from Continuous library,
and a Mux block from Signal Routing library.

NOTE: If you wish to locate a block knowing its name, you may
enter the name in the SEARCH WINDOW (at Find prompt) and
Simulink will bring up the specified block.

To move the blocks around, simply click on it and drag it to

a desired location.
Once all the blocks are dragged over to the work space should
consist of the following components:

You may remove (delete) a block by simply clicking on it

once to turn on the "select mode" (with four corner boxes) and
use the DEL key or keys combination CTRL-X.

STEP 2: MAKING CONNECTIONS

To establish connections between the blocks, move the cursor
to the output port represented by ">" sign on the block. Once
placed at a port, the cursor will turn into a cross "+" enabling
you to make connection between blocks.
To make a connection: left-click while holding down the control
key (on your keyboard) and drag from source port to a
destination port.

The connected model is shown below.

A sine signal is generated by the Sine Wave block (a

source) and is displayed by the scope. The integrated sine
signal is sent to scope for display along with the original signal
from the source via the Mux, whose function is to multiplex
signals in form of scalar, vector, or matrix into a bus.

STEP 3: RUNNING SIMULATION

You now can run the simulation of the simple system

above by clicking on the play button (alternatively, you may
use key sequence CTRL+T, or choose Start submenu under
Simulation menu).

Double click on the Scope block to display of the scope.

INTRODUCTION

SimPowerSystems and other products of the Physical

Modeling product family work together with Simulink to
model electrical, mechanical, and control systems.

SimPowerSystems operates in the Simulink environment.

Therefore, before starting this users guide, you should be
familiar with Simulink. For help with Simulink, see the Simulink
documentation. Or, if you apply Simulink to signal processing
and communications tasks (as opposed to control system
design

tasks),

see

the

Signal

Processing

Block

set

documentation.

The Role of Simulation in Design

Electrical power systems are combinations of electrical

circuits

and

electromechanical

devices

like

motors

and

generators. Engineers working in this discipline are constantly

improving the performance of the systems.
Requirements for drastically increased efficiency have forced
power system designers to use power electronic devices and
sophisticated control system concepts that tax traditional
analysis

tools

and

techniques.

Further

complicating

the

analysts role is the fact that the system is often so nonlinear

that the only way to understand it is through simulation.

Land-based power generation from hydroelectric, steam,

or other devices is not the only use of power systems. A
common attribute of these systems is their use of power
electronics and control systems to achieve their performance
objectives.

What Is SimPowerSystems
SimPowerSystems is a modern design tool that allows
scientists and engineers to rapidly and easily build models that
simulate power systems.
SimPowerSystems uses the Simulink environment, allowing you
to build a model using simple click and drag procedures. Not
only can you draw the circuit topology rapidly, but your analysis
of the circuit can include its interactions with mechanical,
thermal, control, and other disciplines. This is possible because
all the electrical parts of the simulation interact with the
extensive Simulink modeling library. Since Simulink uses
MATLAB as its computational engine, designers can also use
MATLAB toolboxes and Simulink block sets. SimPowerSystems
and Sim Mechanics share a special
Physical Modeling block and connection line interface.

SimPowerSystems Libraries

You can rapidly put SimPowerSystems to work. The

libraries contain models of typical power equipment such as
transformers, lines, machines, and power electronics. These
models are proven ones coming from textbooks, and their
validity is based on the experience of the Power Systems
Testing and Simulation Laboratory of Hydro-Qubec, a large

North American utility located in Canada, and also on the

experience of cole de Technologie Suprieure and Universit
Laval.
The capabilities of SimPowerSystems for modeling a
typical electrical system are illustrated in demonstration files.
And for users who want to refresh their knowledge of power
system theory, there are also self-learning case studies.
The SimPowerSystems main library, power lib, organizes
its blocks into libraries according to their behavior. The power
lib library window displays the block library icons and names.
Double-click a library icon to open the library and access the
blocks. The main SimPowerSystems power lib library window
also contains the Powergui block that opens a graphical user
interface for the steady-state analysis of electrical circuits.

Nonlinear Simulink Blocks for SimPowerSystems Models

The nonlinear Simulink blocks of the power lib library are
stored in a special\block library named powerlib_models. These
masked Simulink models are used by SimPowerSystems to
build the equivalent Simulink model of your circuit. See Chapter
3, Improving Simulation Performance for a description of the
powerlib_models library

You

must have the following products installed to

SimPowerSystems:

use

 MATLAB
Simulink

3.4. PULSE WIDTH MODULATION TECHNIQUE:

The advent of the transformerless multilevel inverter

topology has brought forth various pulse width modulation
(PWM) schemes as a means to control the switching of the
active devices in each of the multiple voltage levels in the
inverter. The most efficient method of controlling the output
voltage is to incorporate pulse width modulation control (PWM
control) within the inverters. In this method, a fixed d.c. input
voltage is supplied to the inverter and a controlled a.c. output
voltage is obtained by adjusting the on andoff periods of the
inverter devices. Voltage-type PWM inverters have been applied
widely to such fields as power supplies and motor drivers. This
is because: (1) such inverters are well adapted to high-speed
self turn-off switching devices that, as solid-state power
converters, are provided with recently developed advanced
circuits; and (2) they are operated stably and can be controlled
well.

The PWM control has the following advantages:

(i)

The output voltage control can be obtained without

any additional components.

(ii)

With this type of control, lower order harmonics can be

eliminated or minimized along with its output voltage
control. The filtering requirements are minimized as
higher order harmonics can be filtered easily.

The commonly used PWM control techniques are:

(a)

Sinusoidal pulse width modulation (sin PWM)

(b)

Space vector PWM

The performance of each of these control methods is

usually judged based on the following parameters: a) Total
harmonic distortion (THD) of the voltage and current at the
output of the inverter, b) Switching losses within the inverter, c)
Peak-to-peak ripple in the load current, and d) Maximum
inverter output voltage for a given DC rail voltage.

From the above all mentioned PWM control methods, the

Sinusoidal pulse width modulation (sinPWM) is applied in the
proposed inverter since it has various advantages over other
techniques. Sinusoidal PWM inverters provide an easy way to
control amplitude, frequency and harmonics contents of the
output voltage.

SINUSOIDAL PULSE WIDTH MODULATION

In the Sinusoidal pulse width modulation scheme, as the
switch is turned on and off several times during each half-cycle,
the width of the pulses is varied to change the output voltage.
Lower order harmonics can be eliminated or reduced by
selecting the type of modulation for the pulse widths and the
number of pulses per half-cycle. Higher order harmonics may
increase, but these are of concern because they can be
eliminated easily by filters. The SPWM aims at generating a
sinusoidal inverter output voltage without low-order harmonics.
This is possible if the sampling frequency is high compared to
the fundamental output frequency of the inverter.
Sinusoidal pulse width modulation is one of the primitive
techniques, which are used to suppress harmonics presented in
the quasi-square wave.
SAMPLING TECHNIQUE
In this method of modulation, several pulses per half-cycle
are used. Instead of maintaining the width of all pulses, the
width of each pulse is varied proportional to the amplitude of a
sin-wave evaluated at the centre of the same pulse. By
comparing a sinusoidal reference signal with a triangular carrier
wave, the gating signals are generated. The frequency of
reference signal determine the inverter output frequency and
its peak amplitude, controls the modulation index, M, and then
in turn the RMS output voltage. Fig.3.2 shows the more

common carrier technique, the conventional sinusoidal pulse

width modulation (SPWM) technique, which is based on the
principle of comparing a triangular carrier signal with a
sinusoidal reference waveform (natural sampling).

The figure below gives the sinusoidal pulse width modulation.

(a)

(b)

(c)

(a) Modulating/reference and carrier waveform .

(b) Line-to-neutral switching pattern.
(c) Line-to-line output waveform.
Graph. 3.1 (a), (b), (c) Sinusoidal Pulse Width Modulation
(SPWM).

By varying the modulation index M, the RMS output

voltage can be varied. It can be observed that the area of each
pulse corresponds approximately to the area under the sinewave between the adjacent midpoints of off periods on the
gating signals.
The phase voltage can be described by the following
expressions:

where wm is the angular frequency of modulating or sinusoidal

signal.

wc is the angular frequency of the carrier signal.

M is modulation index

E is the dc supply voltage. f is the displacement angle between

modulating and carrier signals.
and Jo and Jn are Bessel functions of the first kind.
The amplitude of the fundamental frequency components
of the output is directly proportional to the modulation depth.
The second term of the equation gives the amplitude of the
component of the carrier frequency and the harmonics of the
carrier frequency. The magnitude of this term decreases with
increased modulation depth. Because of the presence of sin(m
/2), even harmonics of the carrier are eliminated. Term 3 gives
the amplitude of the harmonics in the sidebands around each
multiple of the carrier frequency. The presence of sin((m+n) /

2) indicated that, for odd harmonics of the carrier, only evenorder sidebands exist, and for even harmonics of the carrier
only oddorder sidebands exist. In addition, increasing carrier or
switching frequency does not decrease the amplitude of the
harmonics, but the high amplitude harmonic at the carrier
frequency

is

shifted

to

higher

frequency.

Consequently,

requirements of the output filter can be improved. However, it

is not possible to improve the total harmonic distortion without
using output filter circuits. In multilevel case, SPWM techniques
with three different disposed triangular carriers were proposed
as follows:

1. All the carriers are alternatively in opposition (APO

disposition)
2. All the carriers above the zero value reference are in
phase among them, but in opposition with those
below (PO disposition)
3. All the carriers are in phase (PH disposition)
4. Multi carrier modulation technique
In

the

proposed

inverter

circuit

modulation technique is employed.

PROPOSED MODULATION TECHNIQUE:

3.5.1 MULTICARIER MODULATION

the

multi

carrier

This technique involves the carrier based PWM

3.5.2 CARRIER BASED PWM
These are the classical and most widely used methods of
pulse width modulation. They have as common characteristic
subcycles of constant time duration, a subcycle being defined
as the total duration Ts during which an active inverter leg
assumes two consecutive switching states of opposite voltage
polarity. Operation at subcycles of constant duration is reflected
in the harmonic spectrum by two salient sidebands, centered
around the carrier frequency, and additional frequency bands
around integral multiples of the carrier.
The multi carrier modulation technique is very suitable for a
multilevel inverter circuit. By employing this technique along
with the multilevel topology, the low THD output waveform
without any filter circuit is possible. Switching devices, in
addition, turn on and off only one time per cycle. That can
overcome the switching loss problem, as well as EMI problem.
The PWM switching pattern developed for the proposed inverter
is given below.

INTRODUCTION TO MATLAB:
MATLAB is a high performance interactive software
package
MATLAB

for

scientific

integrates

and

engineering

numerical

computation.

analysis,

matrix

computation, signal processing and graphics in an easy-to-

use environment where problems and solutions are

expressed just as they are written mathematically.
To start MATLAB on our system just type matlab in a
terminal window or find the Matlab icon in the panel.
SIMULINK BASICS:
Simulink is a software package for modeling, simulating
and analyzing dynamical systems. It supports linear and
nonlinear systems, modeled in continuous time, sampled
time, or a hybrid of the two.
Simulink offers a friendly, graphical environment, in which
you can model systems in the form of block diagrams, by
simply clicking and dragging blocks into a model window.
Simulink has a comprehensive block library of sinks,
sources, subsystems (linear, nonlinear, and time-varying

Simulation out puts

During day time

Volage & currents at bus 2

Voltage & currents at bus1

Voltage ,currents ,active & reactive power magnitude

waveforms

During night time

Voltage & currents at bus 2

Voltage & currents at bus1

Voltage ,currents ,active & reactive power magnitude

waveforms

CONCLUSSION
This papernovel application of a 10kw PV solar system as a
STATCOM in the network of local distribution company London
hydro .This paper has presented the EMTDC/PSCAD simulation
studioes with the dsigned controller the actual PV system ith
the novel control will be tested inlab environ ment and the
installed in the utility network in spring 2011 .This will bethe
first when suc a technology will beshowed in Canada
The proposednew control onpv solar sytem will help
scomplshing following objects