REACTIVE POWER MANAGEMENT WITH DECENTRALIZED RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES

Reactive power management plays a crucial role in ensuring the reliable and efficient operation of power systems. With the growing integration of decentralized renewable energy resources, reactive power management has become more complex due to the intermittent nature of renewable energy sources output. This paper highlights the status and the potential of reactive power management in the presence of high distributed renewable energy sources shares. The paper at hand builds a short version of a currently set up report within the IEA PVPS Task 14. Therein, an overview of reactive power regulations across selected countries, including grid codes and frameworks that shape the requirements for connected distributed energy resources to provide reactive power control is provided. It examines how these regulations influence the operation of power systems with increasing integration of renewable energy sources. Finally, practical examples, including use cases from two countries are featured. It highlights a couple of reactive power management applications using photovoltaics and other renewables and aims to provide insights and guidance on the importance of accurate forecasting in anticipating and harnessing the potential of distribution energy sources for reactive power support.