  Power distribution grids with high PV generation are exposed to voltage
disturbances due to the unpredictable nature of renewable resources. Smart PV
inverters, if controlled in coordination with each other and continuously
adapted to the real-time conditions of the generation and load, can effectively
regulate nodal voltages across the feeder. This is a fairly new concept and
requires communication and a distributed control logic to realize a fair
utilization of reactive power across all PV systems. In this paper, a
collaborative reactive power optimization is proposed to minimize voltage
deviation under changing feeder conditions. The weight matrix of the
collaborative optimization is updated based on the reactive power availability
of each PV system, which changes over time depending on the cloud conditions
and feeder loading. The proposed updates allow PV systems with higher reactive
power availability to help other PV systems regulate their nodal voltage.
Proof-of-concept simulations on a modified IEEE 123-node test feeder are
performed to show the effectiveness of the proposed method in comparison with
four common reactive power control methods.
