The California Solar Initiative (CSI) conducted research to determine optimal default settings for distributed energy resource advanced inverter controls. The inverter functions studied are aligned with those developed by the California Smart Inverter Working Group (SIWG) and those being considered by the IEEE 1547 Working Group. The advanced inverter controls examined to improve the distribution system response included power factor, volt-var (volt-ampere-reactive), and volt-watt. The advanced inverter controls examined to improve the transmission system response included frequency and voltage ride-through as well as dynamic voltage support.

This project accomplished the task of developing methods to derive distribution focused advanced inverter control settings, selecting a diverse set of feeders to evaluate the methods through detailed analysis, and evaluating the effectiveness of each method developed. Inverter settings focused on the transmission system performance were also evaluated and verified.

Based on the findings of this work, the suggested advanced inverter settings and methods to determine settings can be used to improve the accommodation of distributed energy resources (photovoltaic [PV] specifically). The voltage impact from PV can be mitigated using power factor, volt-var, or volt-watt control, while the bulk system impact can be improved with frequency and voltage ride-through. [1]