Automatic voltage regulation for photovoltaic systems

1. A method of operating a photovoltaic system, the method comprising:

measuring a grid voltage delivered by a photovoltaic system at a point of interconnection (POI) with a power grid to generate a measured grid voltage;

comparing the measured grid voltage to a reference voltage, the reference voltage indicating a setpoint voltage for the POI;

generating a control signal based on a result of comparing the measured grid voltage to the reference voltage, the control signal indicating a reactive power setpoint for a photovoltaic inverter;

presenting the control signal to the photovoltaic inverter at the location of the photovoltaic inverter, the photovoltaic inverter converting direct current generated by solar cells to alternating current for delivery to the power grid; and

adjusting the control signal to respond to transient changes to the grid voltage.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein comparing the measured grid voltage to the reference voltage comprises determining an error signal based on a difference between the measured grid voltage and the reference voltage.

3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:

allowing the error signal to vary within a range without adjusting the control signal.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the control signal is generated by a compensator based on the error signal.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the compensator comprises a proportional-integral (PI) compensator.

6. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:

limiting a rate of change of the control signal.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the control signal is adjusted to cause the photovoltaic inverter to absorb reactive power when the measured grid voltage indicates that the grid voltage is above a threshold voltage.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the control signal is adjusted to cause the photovoltaic inverter to generate reactive power when the measured grid voltage indicates that the grid voltage is below a threshold voltage.

9. A photovoltaic system comprising:

a plurality of solar cells;

a photovoltaic inverter that is configured to convert direct current generated by the plurality of solar cells to alternating current; and

a plant controller configured to adjust an inverter reactive power setpoint based on a measured voltage measured at a point of interconnection (POI) of a photovoltaic system with a power grid, and to provide the inverter reactive power setpoint to the photovoltaic inverter to adjust a reactive power output of the photovoltaic inverter and respond to a changing grid voltage at the POI.

10. The photovoltaic system of claim 9 , further comprising a meter configured to measure the grid voltage at the POI.

11. The photovoltaic system of claim 9 , wherein the plant controller is configured to limit a rate of change of the inverter reactive power setpoint.

12. The photovoltaic system of claim 9 , wherein the plant controller provides the reactive power setpoint to the photovoltaic inverter in digital form over a data communications network.

13. The photovoltaic system of claim 9 , wherein the plant controller comprises a compensator that generates the inverter reactive power setpoint based on a difference between the measured voltage and a desired voltage at the POI.

14. A method of operating a photovoltaic system, the method comprising:

measuring a voltage provided by a photovoltaic system at a point of interconnection (POI) to a power grid to generate a measured voltage;

generating a control signal to control operation of a photovoltaic inverter, the control signal being generated based on the measured voltage and indicating an inverter reactive power setpoint; and

adjusting the inverter reactive power setpoint to adjust a reactive power output of the photovoltaic inverter in response to a change in the measured voltage.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the control signal is adjusted to make the photovoltaic inverter absorb or export reactive power based on a difference between the measured voltage and a predetermined desired voltage at the POI.

16. The method of claim 15 , further comprising:

using a compensator to generate the control signal based on the difference between the measured voltage and the predetermined desired voltage at the POI.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the compensator comprises a proportional-integral (PI) compensator.

18. The method of claim 16 , wherein the compensator adjusts the control signal between a minimum value and a maximum value.

19. The method of claim 14 , wherein the control signal is provided to the photovoltaic inverter at a location of the photovoltaic inverter.

20. The method of claim 14 , further comprising:

limiting a rate of change of the control signal.