EV and PV penetration impact on grid with conservative voltage regulation and reactive voltage compensation

As global interest grows in renewable energy sources, the impact of combined Electric Vehicle (EV) and PhotoVoltaic (PV) penetration on the power grid stability requires renewed attention, to incorporate new technologies to maintain the power quality under operational constraints. Energy-saving techniques such as Conservation Voltage Reduction (CVR) allow the power utilities to transmit voltage at a lower operation limit, increasing the generation margin to absorb the peak load demands. Increased reverse PV penetration results in grid overvoltage while EV charging absorbs the reactive power causing grid instability. Both overvoltage and loss of reactive power in the grid can be reduced by using CVR and reactive power injection techniques. A power electronic secondary var controller (SVC) can dynamically inject reactive power into selected grid buses. This work compares the voltage stability of an IEEE 33 bus system operating with and without CVR. The simulation studies analyzed the effects of EV penetration level, and PV hosting capacity with SVC compensation paired with and without conservation voltage reduction technique. The analysis results demonstrate that tandem usage of CVR and SVC maintains the grid voltage under operational limits, meets load and EV demand, and increases power efficiency and PV penetration.