Two-Level Islanding Detection Method for Grid-Connected Photovoltaic System-Based Microgrid With Small Non-Detection Zone

This article proposes a fast and reliable two-level islanding detection method (IDM) for grid-connected photovoltaic system (GCPVS)-based microgrid. In the first level of the proposed IDM, the magnitude of the rate of change of output voltage (ROCOV) is computed. If this variable exceeds a predefined threshold, a disturbance is injected into the duty cycle of DC/DC converter after a given time delay to deviate the system operating point away of its maximum power point (MPP) condition. This leads to a substantial active power output and voltage reduction in an islanded mode. Therefore, the ROCOV and the rate of change of active power output (ROCOP) indices, measured in the second stage, pose great negative sets at the same time in islanding states. However, the variation of at least one of these variables is near-zero in non-islanding switching events. The assessment of the presented algorithm has been conducted under extensive islanding and non-islanding scenarios for a case study system with two PV power plants using hardware-in-the-loop (HiL) simulation tests. The provided results remark precise islanding classification with an eminently small non-detection zone (NDZ) within 510 ms. The presented IDM has the advantages of self-standing thresholds determination, no improper effect on the output power quality, and simple and inexpensive structure. Moreover, the fast MPP restoration of the proposed scheme after islanding identification boosts the chance of seamless reconnection and DG autonomous operation in microgrid.

Automated summary

This article introduces a fast and reliable islanding detection method for grid-connected photovoltaic systems, achieving precise islanding classification with a small non-detection zone. The system measures the rate of change of output voltage and active power output to determine islanding states, with successful results in experimental tests.