Context:

Electrical distribution networks have undergone several changes in the last decade. Some of these changes include incorporating distributed energy sources such as solar photovoltaic (PV) generation systems. This could modify the performance of electrical networks and lead to new challenges such as evaluating the impacts of the PV integration, the response to electrical and climatic disturbances, and the planning and restructuring of networks. Electrical network behavior with respect to PV integration could be evaluated by quantifying the variation in operation and including network resilience.

Objective:

To propose a reference framework to evaluate the resilience of LV electrical networks with PV power injection.

Methodology:

This paper addresses the framework for evaluating the performance of a low-voltage (LV) electrical network in the face of the integration of PV systems. It collects research related to evaluating the resilience of electrical networks on severe climate changes, natural disasters, and typical maneuvers, and then, it proposes a guideline to evaluate the performance of LV electrical networks with the integration of PV generation sources while including resilience. To this effect, the determination of resilience evaluation indices is proposed. These indices are obtained from a normalized transformation of the networks’ measurable electrical parameters that are the most affected by PV integration or are significant in the performance of the networks. Finally, the evaluation of a proposed resilience index for a university building’s LV network is presented as a case study.

Results:

The resilience assessment proposal is applied to a case study. When evaluating the resilience of the voltage at the common coupling point of the PV, an index of 0,84 is obtained, which is equivalent to 59,8 hours of overvoltage.

Conclusions:

It is possible to improve the resilience of the BT-LV network through management strategies. In the case study, a 29% reduction in overvoltage hours was obtained by applying a curtailment strategy to the PV system.

Financing:

ECOS-Nord, Minciencias, and Universidad Industrial de Santander.