Open Access

ARTICLE

Centralized PV Coordination Control Strategy for Unbalanced LV Distribution Networks Based on Sensitivity Coefficient Weights

Xuming Hu¹, Nan Hu¹, Na Li¹, Xinsong Zhang², Xiaocen Xue², Xiuyong Yu^2,*
1 Nantong Electric Power Design Institute Co., Ltd., Nantong, 226000, China
2 School of Electrical Engineering and Automation, Nantong University, Nantong, 226019, China
* Corresponding Author: Xiuyong Yu. Email:

Energy Engineering https://doi.org/10.32604/ee.2025.071728

Received 11 August 2025; Accepted 24 October 2025; Published online 18 November 2025

Abstract

The dense integration of residential distributed photovoltaic (PV) systems into three-phase, four-wire low-voltage (LV) distribution networks results in reverse power flow and three-phase imbalance, leading to voltage violations that hinder the growth of rural distributed PV systems. Traditional voltage droop-based control methods regulate PV power output solely based on local voltage measurements at the point of PV connection. Due to a lack of global coordination and optimization, their efficiency is often subpar. This paper presents a centralized coordinated active/reactive power control strategy for PV inverters in rural LV distribution feeders with high PV penetration. The strategy optimizes residential PV inverter reactive and active power control to enhance voltage quality. It uses sensitivity coefficients derived from the inverse Jacobian matrix to assign adjustment weights to individual PV units and iteratively optimize their power outputs. The control sequence prioritizes reactive power increases; if the coefficients are below average or the inverters reach capacity, active power is curtailed until voltage issues are resolved. A simulation based on a real 37-node rural distribution network shows that the proposed method significantly reduces PV curtailment. Typical daily results indicate a curtailment rate of 1.47%, which is significantly lower than the 15.4% observed with the voltage droop-based control method. The total daily PV power output (measured every 15 min) increases from 5.55 to 6.41 MW, improving PV hosting capacity.

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Keywords

Low-voltage distribution network; PV inverter; voltage violation; centralized iterative optimization control; curtailment rate

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