Distributed Generation in India- Scope, Opportunities, Challenges,

and Power Quality Issues during the Integration of DG Sources.

J.P.Sridhara1, Dr. R.Prakash2
1

Assistant Professor, Dept of EEE, SJBIT, Bengaluru

Professor, Dept of EEE, Acharya I T, Bengaluru

Abstract- A conventional electrical power

can be generated at central large generating
stations and then transmitted over a long
distances to the load centres. But due to the
rapid industrialization & large population
the load demand increasing every year. To
meet the increasing load demand the main
tasks to power engineers is to generate
power from renewable energy sources to
overcome this problem and at the same time
reduce environmental impact of power
generation. Distributed Generation (DG) is
one of the new trends in power systems used
to support the increased energy-demand.
There is not a common accepted definition
of DG as the concept involves many
technologies and applications.
The
different DG technologies and impacts of
DG during the integration are explained in
this paper; and also the impact of power
quality issues arises during the integration
DG on distribution network are presented.
Index terms-Distributed Generation
I. INTRODUCTION
Distributed Generation (DG) is one of the new
trends in power systems used to support the
increased energy-demand. There is not a
common accepted definition of DG as the
concept involves many technologies and
applications. Distributed generation is
considered as an electrical source connected to
the power system, in a point very close to/or at
consumers site. DG makes use of small-scale
low carbon renewable and non-conventional

power generation technologies and the units

are usually located close to the load being
served. As the yearly electric energy demand
grows, there is a significant increase in the
penetration of distributed generation (DG) to
fulfil this increase in demand. Interconnecting
DG to an existing distribution system provides
various benefits to several entities as for
example the owner, utility and the final user.
DG provides an enhanced power quality,
higher reliability of the distribution system and
can peak shaves and fill valleys. However, the
integration of DG into existing networks has
associated several technical, economical and
regulatory questions. Penetration of a DG into
an existing distribution system has many
impacts on the system related to power quality,
security, protection and other issues related to
the power system operation.
II.SCOPE
The electrical sector in India has an installed
capacity of 258701.45 MW as of 30th January
2015 [1] which is very high as compared to
the installed capacity of 1362MW as of 31st
December 1947 [2]. Still it is anticipated that
India will face electricity shortages of 5.1% at
base loads and 12% at peak load hours during
2015 [3].With the increase in circuit
kilometres, Transmission and Distribution
losses (T&D) are also increasing, which are
accounted to 35.03% of total generation
during 2014-15 [3]. This has become one of
the main limitations for centralized power
generation. On the other hand, the increased
concern for generating electricity with low
carbon emissions (Green Power), tending
power sector to move from conventional
methods of electricity generation using fossil
fuels to alternative techniques. It is estimated

that the required installation capacity by 2030

would reach 772GW (considering 8% growth
in gross domestic product). To bridge the gap
between supply and demand by reducing
Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C)
losses and carbon emissions , there is a need to
include renewable and non-renewable (small
scale) power generations located nearer to load
centers known as distributed generation (DG).
III. Technological Opportunities
DG options can be classified either on the
basis of the prime movers used? Engines,
turbines, fuel cells? Or on the basis of fuel
resources used? Renewable and nonrenewable. In India, many renewable energy
technologies are being employed in a number
of distributed generation projects. The
technologies include biomass gasifiers, solar
thermal and photovoltaic systems, small wind
turbines (aero-generators), and small hydropower plants. The figure illustrates the
technology options for distributed power
generation.

Some of the DG technologies, which are

available at the present are: photovoltaic
systems, wind turbines, fuel cells, micro
turbines,
synchronous
and
induction
generators are introduced.
3.1 Photovoltaic Systems
A photovoltaic system, converts the light
received from the sun into electric energy. In
this system, semiconductor materials are used
in the construction of solar cells, which
transform the self-contained energy of photons
into electricity, when they are exposed to sun
light. The cells are placed in an array that is
either fixed or moving to keep tracking the sun
in order to generate the maximum power [9].
3.2 Wind Turbines
Wind turbines transform wind energy into
electricity. The wind is a highly variable
source, which cannot be stored, thus, it must
be handled according to this characteristic.
The principle of operation of a wind turbine is
characterized by two conversion steps. First
the rotor extract the kinetic energy of the
wind, changing it into mechanical torque in
the shaft; and in the second step the generation
system converts this torque into electricity.
3.3 Fuel Cells
Fuel cells operation is similar to a battery that
is continuously charged with a fuel gas with
high hydrogen content; this is the charge of the
fuel cell together with air, which supplies the
required oxygen for the chemical reaction [9].
The fuel cell utilizes the reaction of hydrogen
and oxygen with the aid of an ion conducting
electrolyte to produce an induced DC voltage.
The DC voltage is converted into AC voltage
using inverters and then is delivered to the
grid.
3.4 Micro-Turbines

Fig (1): Types of Distributed Generation

A micro-turbine is a mechanism that uses the

flow of a gas, to covert thermal energy into
mechanical energy. The combustible (usually

gas) is mixed in the combustor chamber with

air, which is pumped by the compressor. This
product makes the turbine to rotate, which at
the same time, impulses the generator and the
compressor.
3.5 Induction and Synchronous Generators
Induction and synchronous generators are
electrical machines which convert mechanic
energy into electric energy then dispatched to
the network or loads.
IV. Challenges
Distributed Generation (DG) systems have
both advantages and disadvantages in
connection with grid Power Quality (PQ).
They can increase the efficiency of the
systems by local power generation. More
reliable and uninterrupted power can be
provided to customers, with energy cost
savings. Deregulation of electricity market
may also contributes to rising the penetration
level of DG from Renewable energy sources,
and also from the perspective of
environmental protection from
harmful
emissions
from
conventional
power
generation.
The challenge is most of the DG sources
which are integrated to the grid through power
electronic interface, hence injection of
additional frequency harmonics in the system
is obvious. Therefore, additional grid
integration problems are also important related
to the grid stability. Furthermore, variable
wind speed, variation in solar radiation etc.,
are uncontrollable parameters which are bound
to affect the generated power quality.
V. Power Quality Issues in DG
Any problem manifested in voltage, current or
frequency deviation that results in failure of
customer equipment is known as power
quality problem. Low power quality affects
electricity consumers in many ways. The
increased number of power electronics based
equipments has produced a significant impact
on the quality of power supply. The lack of

quality power can cause loss of production,

damage of equipment or appliances, increased
power
losses,
interference
with
communication lines and so forth. Therefore,
it is obvious to maintain high standards of
power quality (a). The major types of power
quality problems are: Interruptions, VoltageSag, Voltage-Swell, Voltage Distortions and
Harmonics.
4.1 Interruption
An interruption occurs when the supply
voltage or load current decreases to less than
0.1 pu for a period of time that is not
exceeding 1 min. Interruptions can be results
of power system faults, equipment failures,
and control malfunction.
4.2 Voltage Sags
Voltage sag is defined as a decrease to
between 0.1 and 0.9 per unit (pu) in rms
voltage at the power frequency for durations
from 0.5 cycle to 1 min. Voltage sags are
generally related with system faults but can
also be caused by energization of heavy loads
or starting of large motors and overloaded
wiring.
4.3 Voltage Swells
A voltage swell can be defined as an increase
to between 1.1 and 1.8 pu in rms voltage or
current at the power frequency for durations
from 0.5 cycle to 1 min. The voltage swells
are usually associated with system fault
conditions, but they are not as common as
voltage sags. One way that a swell can occur is
from the temporary voltage rise on the
unfaulted phases during a single line to ground
fault. (Dugan et al., 2003). Swells can also be
caused by switching off a large load or
energizing a large capacitor bank, insulation
breakdown, sudden load reduction and open
neutral connection.
4.4 Current Harmonic Distortion
The harmonic voltage and current distortion
are strongly linked with each other because

harmonic voltage distortion is mainly due to

non-sinusoidal
load
currents.
Current
harmonic distortion requires over-rating of
series components like transformers and
cables. As the series resistance increases with
frequency, a distorted current will cause more
losses than a sinusoidal current of the same
rms value. Types of equipment that generate
current harmonics are single-phase loads,
switched mode power supplies, electronic
fluorescent
lighting
ballasts,
small
Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) units and
variable speed drives.
VI Conclusions and Future Scope
With the advancement of power electronics
and digital control technology, the renewable
energy sources are increasingly being
connected to the distribution systems. On the
other hand, with the proliferation of the power
electronics devices, nonlinear loads and
unbalanced loads have degraded the power
quality (PQ) in the power distribution
network. Custom power devices have been
proposed for enhancing the quality and
reliability of electrical power.
Custom Power devices also called as power
quality compensator employ power electronic
or static controllers in medium or low voltage
distribution systems for the purpose of
supplying a level of power quality that is
needed by electric power customers that are
sensitive to root mean square (RMS) voltage
variations and voltage transients. Custom
Power devices include static switches, power
converters, injection transformers, master
control modules and/or energy storage
modules that have the ability to perform
current interruption and voltage regulation
functions in a distribution system to improve
power quality. CP devices are generally used
for voltage regulation, active filtering, load
balancing or power factor correction.
The main objective of this paper is to analyse
the importance and Scope of Distributed
Generation to meet the growing energy
demand by Integrating DG sources by
considering the power quality issues in mind

and the lot of research is going on for possible

methods to mitigate the power Quality issues
during the integration
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M.P. Selvan, completed B.E.(Electrical

and
Electronics
Engineering) from
Manonmaniam Sundaranar University,
Tirunelveli, M.E.(Power Systems) from
National
Institute
of
Technology,
Tiruchirappalli,
Ph.D.
(Computer
Applications in Power Systems) from IIT
Madras. He has nine years of teaching
and research experience in the fi eld of
power systems. He is currently Assistant
Professor in Electrical and Electronics
Engineering
department
of
NIT
Tiruchirappalli. He has published forty fi
ve technical research papers in various
national, international conferences and
journals. His areas of interest include
computer applications to power system
analysis, distributed generators and
power quality.