I am involved in the application approval of PV systems in residential and commercial areas up to 30 kW. What criteria should be considered in applying PV systems in distribution systems and what is the maximum total of PV capacity we can install in a distribution system?
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Q: I am involved in the application approval of PV systems in residential and commercial areas up to 30 kW. What criteria should be considered in applying PV systems in distribution systems and what is the maximum total of PV capacity we can install in a distribution system? Anonymous, Australia
A: Small PV installations (such as the residential and commercial systems up to 30 kW) are embedded in the low voltage (LV) distribution circuits of the home or a commercial facility. They are not stand-alone PV plants that are typically rated at much higher kW or even MW. For small PV systemsm one has to watch for the available capacity of the existing circuits, wiring ampacity, bi-directional power flow, metering, any interference issues between solar inverters and the rest of the local system, possible harmonics and EMI issues, etc. Please refer to commercial www sites like Power-One for further details. Dr. Mietek Glinkowski, P.E.
Global Head of Technology, Data Centers
and Director of Technology, Power Products ABB
