International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research, Volume 6, Issue 8, August-2015 1092

ISSN 2229-5518

Control Design of Grid-Connected PV

Systems for Power Factor Correction in
Distribution Power Systems Using PSCAD
Haider Muaelou, Khaled M. Abo-Al-Ez, and Ebrhim A. Badran
Faculty of Engineering, Mansura University

Abstract: In modern electric power systems, the dependence on solar power is increasing. The grid connected
applications are very important with deficit in conventional power stations due to fuel shortage. The design of the
control strategy to connect photovoltaic (PV) systems to the electric distribution grid is a challenging issue.

This paper focuses on a controller design and its implementation in grid connected PV systems for power factor
correction in distribution power systems. The first step is modeling of the components of the PV system, mainly; the PV
source, the DC-DC converter, and the grid interface inverter with the appropriate filter. PSCAD is used for simulating
this study. The proposed controller is then designed. The proposed control strategy targets the design of the Maximum
Power Point Tracking (MPPT) algorithm, and the control of injected active and reactive power. The control of the
reactive power is addressed in this paper to equip the PV system with power factor correction capability, which
improves the overall performance at the point of common coupling (PCC). Proposed operation scenarios are
suggested to test the controller validity. The results show that the model is accepted and the proposed controller gives
the required performance.

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Keywords: Control System, PV, Renewable Energy, PFC, DistributionSystem, PSCAD

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1. Introduction
ost of the loads in distribution network tend to This paper organized as follows: Section II
M
I inductive loads such as induction motor. Those
loads need two types of power; active power for the
presents the PV grid-tied system model, the PV solar
system model and the proposed control are simulated
purpose work performing such as motion and reactive using PSCAD/EMTDC. Section III describes the
power for providing a magnetic field. Those loads absorb validation of the proposed controller at different
the reactive power from the network, reduce the power cases; and Section IV gives the conclusions drawn
factor of the network and cause many economiclosses. from this research.
Therefore, devices for power factor correction must used
such as Flexible AC Transmission System (FACTS) 2. PV GRID-TIED SYSTEM MODEL
devices, Static Var Compensator (SVC) and Static
Synchronous Compensator (STATCOM). Availability of The solar cell is a semiconductor device that
sunlight over large areas of the earth's surface converts the solar radiation directly to electrical
encourages growth of many electrical applications of PV energy, with no pollutant emission. The output from a
systems. So, the solar energy will be a promising source single cell is not suitable for practical cases. To obtain
for electric power generation due to fuel shortage [1]. In sufficient voltage the cells are connected in series. To
recent years, much more efforts have been made on the obtain sufficient current, they are connected in
integration of PV systems into the grid in order to meet parallel to form a PV module. The modules can be
the imperative demand of a clean and reliable electricity also connected in series and in parallel to form a PV
generation. Electric power generation through solar array with the required rated power [3]. The PV grid-
energy process is one of the more methods available at tied model is constructed in PSCAD including PV
the moment, during the operation of solar energy source, a DC-link capacitor, a DC-DC converter, a
systems do not generate any greenhouse gas pollution DC-DC controller with maximum power point tracking
of the environment [2]. This paper presents control (MPPT), the grid interface inverter with the
strategy of PV systems for the purpose of power factor appropriate filter and step up transformer, as shown
correction to prevent the instability of the grid voltage for in Fig. 1.
the point of common coupling (PCC).

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International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research, Volume 6, Issue 8, August-2015 1093
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G
Isc = IscR [1 + αT (Tc − TcR )] (5)
GR

The current Io in equation (4) is called the dark

current. It is a function of cell temperature only, and is
given by [2];

Tc 3 1 1 qeg
Io = IoR � � exp �� − � � (6)
TcR 3 TcR Tc nk

where IscR is the short circuit current at the reference

solar radiation GR and the reference cell
temperature TcR . The parameter αT is the
temperature coefficient of photo current, IoR is the
dark current at the reference temperature, q is the
electron charge, k is the Boltzmann constant, eg is
the bandgap energy of the solar cell material, and n is
Fig. 1. PV Grid-Tied Construction. the diode ideality factor. The constants of the above
equations are set by the manufacturers.
A. PV Source Model
B. DC Link Capacitor
The equivalent electrical circuit of a PV cell which
contains a current source anti-parallel with a diode, a This element is of great importance as it provides
shunt resistance, and a series resistance is shown in several functions. It minimizes the voltage ripple
Fig. 2 [4]. across the PV terminals which results in a ripple of
the output power [3]. The capacitor is the source for
reactive power generation. The size of the DC link

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capacitor can be determined as follows [5];
(2Pmax )
C= F (7)
[fVdc 2 (1−k2)]

where Pmax is the maximum output power from the

PV array, f is the frequency, VDC is the DC-link voltage
and K is the ripple factor. For the model used in this
paper, shown in Fig. 1, Pmax ≈ 160 kW, f =60 Hz,
VDC =500 V and K = 0.02. Then the value of the DC
Fig. 2.PV cell equivalent circuit. link capacitor is found to be 21350 µF.
The basic equation that characterizes the solar C. DC -DC Converter
cell I/V relationship can be derived after apply
Kirchhoff's current law on PV cell equivalent circuit It is known that the efficiency of the solar PV
as; module is low (about 13%) [6]. So, it is desirable to
I = Isc − Id − Ish (1) operate the module at the peak power point in order
to maximize the delivered power to the load under
I is output cell current, Isc is the short circuit varying temperature and solar radiation conditions.
current, Id is the diode current and Ish is the parallel Hence, maximization of power improves the
brance current. utilization of the solar PV module. The dc-dc
converter serves the purpose of transferring
V+IRsr maximum power from the PV module to the load by
Id = Io �exp �nkT � − 1� (2)
c ⁄q changing the duty cycle. The load impedance as
V+IRsr seen by the source is varied and matched at the point
Ish = Rsh
(3) of the peak power with the source [7]. So, the
After compensation the equation (2) and equation maximum power is transferred. The available dc-dc
(3) in equation (1) becomes the following equation converters are step down converter, step up
[2]; converter and step up-step down converter. In this
V+IRsr V+IRsr
paper, the buck converter is selectedin order to use a
I = Isc − Io �exp �nkT � − 1� − � � (4) battery with low voltage to provide power continuity at
c ⁄q Rsh
the day night. The converter is used to reduce input
Isc is a function of the solar radiation on the plane voltage when the output requires a lower voltage. It
of the solar cell G and the cell temperature Tc , as consists of a power switch that is followed by an
given by [2]; inductor, a diode and output capacitance, as shown in
Fig. 3.

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L
The mathematical description of this method is
illustrated using;
P=VI (9)
Vs D C Vo
With incremental change in current and voltage,
the modified power is given by [9];

Fig. 3. DC -DC Step down converter model. P+ΔP = (I+ΔI).(V+ΔV) (10)

The voltage across the inductor when the switch After ignoring small terms in equation (10) the
of converter is closed is given by; equation simplified to;
1 t t1
Vo = ∫0 1 Vdt = VS = ft 1 VS = DVS (8)
T T ΔP = ΔV.I +ΔI.V (11)
ton
where D = T = t on × f is the duty cycle of chopper, T
ΔP must be zero at peak point. Therefore, at peak
is the chopping period (t on+t off), and f is the chopping point equation (11) becomes;
frequency.
D. DC-DC Converter Controller as a (MPPT) dI/dV= - I/V (12)

The relationship between current and voltage of The incremental algorithm based on the following
the PV cell is non-linear. I/V curve of the solar cell is equation holds at the MPP is [8]:
shown in Fig. 4. There is an unrivaled point on the I/V
curve, called the Maximum Power Point (MPP), at dI/dV + (I/V) = 0 (13)

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which the entire PV system operates with maximum
efficiency and gives its maximum output power. The Theflow chart which describes the detailed
location of the MPP is not known, but it can be operations of theincremental algorithm is shown in
determined, either through calculation models or by Fig. 5 [10].
search algorithms in order to maintain the PV array's
operating point at its MPP.

The optimum operating point of solar cells occurs

at the knee of the I/V curve.In this paper the
incremental conductance algorithm is used. This
method tracks the peak power under fast varying
atmospheric condition. In this method the derivative
of PV output power with respect to its output voltage
is calculated (dP/dV). When dP/dV approaches zero
the maximum PV output power can be achieved [8].
The controller calculates dP/dV based on the
measured PV incremental output power and voltage.
If dP/dV is not close to zero, the controller will adjust
the PV voltage step by step until dP/dV approaches
zero, at which the PV array reaches its maximum
output.
I

Ish MPP

Voc V Fig. 5.Flow chart of the incremental MPP algorithm

[10]
Fig. 4.Typical I/V Characteristics of a PV Cell.

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E. DC-DC Converter Controller Model

The objective of the converter control is to keep
the PV voltage (Vpv) at value equals to the voltage
(Vmppt) at MPPT. The voltage output the PV system
and the reference voltage is compared, using this
difference as an enter to the Proportional Integral (PI)
controller to produce the so-called duty cycle. The
duty cycle is defined as the small part of the stage
through which the switch is onranges between 0 and
1. If the duty cycle is equale to 0.5 that means the
switch is equal in both time on and off. If the value Fig. 7.Three Phase Inverter model.
larger than 0.5 the on time of the switch is bigger, if
the of duty cycle is fewer than 0.5 that means off time G. The Inverter controller model
of the switch is bigger [11]. The pulse width
modulation (PWM) signal T1 was produced through The proposed control system uses two PI
compared the signal of the duty cycle with a triangler controllers.The first PI controller controls the active
signal with magnitude between 0 to 1, as shown in power (P) of PV by adjusting the DC bus voltage
Fig. 6. The comparator is setting to generate 1 at between the DC-DC converter and the inverter based
what time the duty cycle is larger than the triangle on [13];
signal and generate 0 otherwise creating pulses with
a magnitude of 1 and with pulse widths which depend VDC ≥ 1.633VL−L (14)
on the duty cycle.
Where VDC represents the dc link voltage and VL−L

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represents the line-line voltage at the inverter side.
The active power control model is shown in Fig. 8.

Fig. 6. D.C-to-D.C Converter Controllermodel

inPSCAD. Fig. 8.The active power control model inPSCAD.

The second PI controller controls the reactive

F. DC-AC Switch Mode Inverters powerto either zero or inject appropriate value of
reactive power (Q) from the dc link capacitor, as the
The conversion of DC output power of the PV PV solar system is only an active power source [13].
system to athree phase AC power is performed using The reactive power control model is shown in Fig. 9.
the three phaseDC-AC inverter. Switch mode
inverters produce a sinusoidal AC outputfrom a DC
input through PWM. The inverter is able to control
both the magnitude and the angle of the AC output. A
basic six switch three phase configuration is chosen
because it is simple and well documented. The
topology consists of six switches arranged in three
parallel branches, where each branch has two
switches in series. The switches, which are used to
chop the DC voltage, are chosen to be Insulated- Fig. 9.The reactive power control model in PSCAD.
Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBTs) [12]. The described
inverter is shown in Fig. 7. Controllers output of the angle and magnitude will
be also used as an input tothe firing pulse generator
of the inverter using PWM control technique. The
firing pulse generator model is shown in Fig. 10.

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Ka is desired attenuation and Wsw = 2πfsw .
The resonant frequency s determined as follows;
L1 +L2
Wsw = � (22)
L1 L2 Cf
Finally size of the R f is determined as follows;
1
Rf = (23)
3Cf Wsw
The important conditions that should be taken into
consideration at filter design are;
1. The maximum reactive power that it can absorb
by the filter capacitor should be less than 5% of
Fig. 10.The firing pulse generator model inPSCAD. the rated active power to avoid lower power factor.
2. The range of the resonant frequency Fres should
H. AC Filter Model be between ten grid frequency and half of the
The filter is used to remove the high order switching frequency.
harmonics from the voltage and current of the PV 3. The summation value of the inverter side inductor
array. In this paper, LCL filter is designed based on and grid side inductor should be around 0.1 pu to
[14] as shown in Fig.11. The size of the capacitor decrease the AC voltage drop during operation.
filter Cf is determined as follows;
Cf =0.05 Cb (15) For the model used in this paper, using 10%
Cb is the base capacitance, it is determined as allowed ripple,PWM carrier frequency fsw = 15 kHz ,
follows; Vdc =500 V and the desired attenuation K a= 20%. The
1 filter capacitance is 200 µF.The inverter’s and grid’s
Cb = (16)
2πfZb inductance are calculated as 0.0845 𝑚𝐻 and 0.00337
𝑚𝐻, respectively. The resonant frequency is found to

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be 6.251kHz. The value of damping resistance R f =
0.0419 Ω. The produced AC voltage and current with
and without filter are shown in Fig. 12.
1

(i) without filter 0

-1
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
0.5

(ii) with filter 0

Fig. 11. LCL filter model.
-0.5
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
f is the grid frequence, Zb is the base impedance,
is determine as follows; (a) The PV produced voltage
VL−L 2
Zb = pn
(17) 1

VL−L line to line voltage of inverter output and pn is

(i) without filter 0
rated active power.
The size of the inverter side inductor L1 is
determined as follows; -1
L1 = Vdc /6Fsw ∆ILmax (18) 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
1
Fsw is PWM carrier frequency and ∆ILmax is ripple
of the rated current.
(ii) with filter 0
∆ILmax =10% Imax (19)

Imax = pn √2/3Vph (20) -1

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Imax is the rated current of inverter and Vph is a
(b) The PV produced current
phase voltage of inverter output.
The size of the grid side inductor L2 is determined
as follows; Fig. 12.The Produced AC Voltage and Current
�
1
+1
without and with filter.
(Ka2 )
L2 = Cf Wsw 2
(21)

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I. The Coupling Transformer 0.2
P with MPPT
A step up transformer is used as galvanic isolation P without MPPT
between the inverter and the grid. The connection 0.15
type of the step up transformer is either ungrounded

Power (Kw)
wye winding, or delta winding at the inverter side
therefore, when any line to ground fault occur at the 0.1
AC side of the inverter, the zero sequence current
through the valves are prevented to protect the IGBT
valves. Ungrounded wye winding connection is used 0.05

at the inverter side in order to prevent zero sequence

current flow to inverter circuit and also allow zero
0
current to flow through star earthed connection at grid 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
side in order to make the grid protection system has Time (s)
the ability to detect ground faults [15]. Fig. 13.The output active power of the PV panel
without and with MPPT
3. VALIDATION OF THE PROPOSED
CONTROLLER Case 1:
It can be seen from Fig. 14 that for a load of 0.3+
The system is tested with different load values to j0.2 MVA (0.525 lagging power factor) the PCC
evaluate the power factor correction capability of the current waveform before PFC lags by 58.33° the
PV at the PCC point. A detailed discussion about the voltage waveform. Whereas, after PFC the PCC
expected range of PV cell and PV array parameters current waveform coincides with the voltage
are given in Table 1 and Table 2. waveform. This test case shows that before power

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factor correction a reactive power of 0.2 MVAr will be
Also, Fig. 13 shows the output active power from absorbed from the grid which makes a lag power
the PV panel without and with MPPT operation. factor at the PCC to be 0.525 from the grid point of
view. Whereas, for power factor correction, the
Table 1 PV Cell Parameters [2] needed load reactive power will be supplied from the
PV. So only the active power will be absorbed from
the grid and the power factor in this case is improved
to 0.997 lag.

Table 2 PV Array Parameters [2]

1 No. of modules connected in 20

series / array
2 No. of module strings in 20
parallel / array
3 No. of cells connected in 108
series / module
4 No. of cell strings in parallel / 4
module Fig. 14.Test case of (0.3+j0.2MVA)load before and
5 Reference irradiation(W/m2 ) 607.407 after power factor correction
6 Reference cell temperature 50 Case 2:
(c °) It can be seen from Fig. 15 that for a load of 0.1+
j0.1 MVA (0.447 lagging power factor) the PCC
current waveform before PFC lags by 63.44° the
voltage waveform. Whereas, after PFC the PCC
current waveform coincides with the voltage
waveform. This test case shows that before power

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International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research, Volume 6, Issue 8, August-2015 1098
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factor correction a reactive power of 0.1 MVAr will be voltage waveform. The power factor in this case is
absorbed from the grid which makes a lag power improved to 0.999 lag.
factor at the PCC to be 0.447 from the grid point of Table 3 show the active and reactive power and
view. Whereas, for power factor correction, the power factor of the grid for both before and after
needed load reactive power will be supplied from the power factor correction for all the above test cases.
PV. So only the active power will be absorbed from
the grid and the power factor in this case is improved
to 0.998 lag.

Fig. 17.Test case of (0.075+j0.051MVA)load before

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and after power factor correction

Fig. 15.Test case of load 0.1+j0.1MVA before and Table 3 Comparison between active and reactive
after power factor correction power and power factor of the grid for all test cases.
Case 3:
case 1 2 3 4
It can be seen from Fig. 16 that for a load of
0.225+ j0.17 MVA (0.34 lagging power factor) the
PCC current waveform before PFC lags by 70° the 100+100 225+170
Load (KW+KVAr) 300+200 J 75+50 J
voltage waveform. The power factor in this case is J J
improved to 0.998 lag.
Grid
-135-217 j 56-112 j -65-178 j 79.8-64 j
Before (KW+KVAr)
PFC
PF 0.525 0.447 0.34 0.78

Grid
-146-115 j 54+3 j -723-4 j 796+0.134 j
After (KW+KVAr)
PFC
PF 0.997 0.998 0.998 0.999

IV. CONCLUSION
In this paper, a proposed control design of grid
connected PV systems for power factor correction in
distribution power systems is presented. The
proposed control enables the PV system act as a
reactive power compensator during low radiation and
day night. This helps the grid to maintain voltage
stability during high reactive power loads. Also, the
PV system can supply the load reactive power during
high radiation and day morning. This decrease the
active power due to the maximum inverter current
Fig. 16.Test case of (0.225+j0.17MVA)load before limits. The proposed system is tested under different
and after power factor correction test cases. It is found that the PV system with the
Case 4: proposed control system has the capability of power
It can be seen from Fig. 17 that for a load of factor correction.
0.075+ j0.05 MVA (0.78 lagging power factor) the
PCC current waveform before PFC lags by 38.74° the

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