Name: DANIEL CAMPOS POMPERMAYER
Publication date: 05/09/2024
Examining board:
Name |
Role |
|---|---|
| AUGUSTO CESAR RUEDA MEDINA | Examinador Interno |
| JUSSARA FARIAS FARDIN | Presidente |
| MÁRCIO ALMEIDA CÓ | Examinador Externo |
Summary: This master thesis discusses the degradation of the power factor of an electricity consumer unit caused by the integration of distributed generation, as well as the charges for excess reactive power that may be applied. It also preliminarily discusses the feasibility of using photovoltaic inverters to help support the reactive power flow of the consumer unit. The Goiabeiras campus of the Federal University of Espírito Santo, Brazil, was used as a case study. Real data on electricity consumption and generation from the campus were used and grouped by season and by the nature of the days: whether business days, holidays, or academic recess periods. The Johnson’s SU statistical distribution was selected to model the active energy consumption and generation, while the logistic distribution was selected to model the reactive energy consumption of the campus. Through a Monte Carlo simulation, the probability of violating the regulatory power factor at each hour of the days in 2023 was estimated, as well as the maximum probable values of charges for excess reactive power in that year. The hypothesis of the economic feasibility of using photovoltaic inverters to help support reactive power was reduced to the terms of an optimization problem, which was solved using the IPOPT solver. The results suggest that the integration of distributed generation substantially may degrade the power factor of a consumer unit, increasing the probability of regulatory violations, particularly during periods of high generation. On the other hand, the maximum probable values of charges for excess reactive power that were found typically represent less than 10% of the savings provided by the generation. The results also did not reject the hypothesis that it is feasible to use photovoltaic inverters to support the reactive power of the consumer unit. All calculations were carried out through a specially developed computer program, which is available as open-source software.
