Orientador: Luís Carlos Origa de Oliveira / Resumo: Na busca de soluções inovadoras para atender o aumento da demanda de consumo de energia elétrica, as fontes de energia de natureza fotovoltaica tem sido um dos principais pilares deste seguimento. São fontes intrinsicamente renováveis e o impacto sobre o meio ambiente resultante dos processos de produção de energia elétrica é praticamente desprezível, contribuindo de forma inequívoca para a sustentabilidade do planeta. Neste cenário, a expansão das aplicações de geradores fotovoltaicos é notável em praticamente todas as regiões industrializadas no mundo e, em alguns casos, já representa uma parcela significativa dos insumos energéticos de países desenvolvidos e em desenvolvimento. Apesar dos benefícios proporcionados pelo crescente uso desta tecnologia, em geral, as redes elétricas de distribuição de energia em operação, não foram planejadas para incorporar esta geração distribuída, em larga escala. Estudos recentes revelam que 10% de penetração de sistemas fotovoltaicos em relação a demanda da rede já pode causar impactos relevantes sobre o comportamento do sistema elétrico, sobretudo no tocante à regulação de tensão. Neste contexto, este trabalho tem por meta investigar as condições operacionais de redes de distribuição de energia, sob a influência de sistema fotovoltaico com relação aos impactos produzidos no perfil de tensão dos alimentadores. Assim, na perspectiva dos diferentes procedimentos convencionais utilizados para adequação dos níveis de tensão, discute-se a apli... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: In the search for innovative solutions to meet the increasing demand for electricity consumption, photovoltaic energy sources have been one of the main pillars of this follow-up. They are intrinsically renewable sources and the impact on the environment resulting from the processes of electric power production is practically negligible, contributing unequivocally to the sustainability of the planet. In this scenario, the expansion of photovoltaic applications is notable in practically every industrialized region in the world, and in some cases already represents a significant share of the energy inputs of developed and developing countries. Despite the benefits provided by the growing use of this technology, in general, power distribution networks in operation were not planned to incorporate this distributed generation on a large scale. Recent studies show that 10% penetration of photovoltaic systems in relation to the demand of the grid can already have a significant impact on the behavior of the electrical system, especially in relation to voltage regulation. In this context, this work aims to investigate the operational conditions of power distribution networks under the influence of photovoltaic system in relation to the impacts produced on the voltage profile of the feeders. Thus, in the perspective of the different conventional procedures used to adjust the voltage levels, the applicability of some possible solutions is discussed, based on the R / X ratio behavior in th... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

In recent years there has been a large increase in the connection of photovoltaic generators to the low voltage distribution network in urban residential areas. In the future, it is predicted that this trend will continue and be accompanied with a rise in the uptake and connection of electric vehicles and heat pumps. Recently, monitoring trials have found widespread current unbalance in the feeders that transmit electrical energy to and from these urban residential areas. This unbalance is likely to be accentuated by the gradual and piecemeal uptake of the aforementioned devices. The combined impact of the changes and present day unbalance is likely to be more frequent thermal and voltage constraint violations unless new strategies are adopted to manage the flow of electrical energy. Here, a novel device named the 'phase switcher' that has no customer compliance requirements is proposed as a new tool for distribution network operators to manage the thermal and voltage constraints of cables. The phase switcher is shown to unlock cable ampacity and maximise voltage headroom and it achieves this through phase balancing in real time. A centralised local feeder controller is simulated to employ dynamic and scheduled phase switcher control algorithms on a real network model, and it's ability to unlock cable ampacity and reduce cable losses is quantified. Also, a small model based controller algorithm is presented and shown to perform almost as well as others despite having a very limited sensing and communication system requirement. Phase switchers are also quantified for their ability to increase feeder voltage headroom when employed to improve the balance of photovoltaic distributed generators across phases. To this end, an exhaustive offline photovoltaic capacity prediction technique is documented which shows that when phase switchers are placed explicitly to a known photovoltaic installation scenario, an almost linear relationship exists between the penetration level and maximum node voltage when PSs or phase conductor rejointing is considered as an option for implementation. Finally, a fast feeder assessment algorithm is detailed that is found to be better and more robust at estimating extreme maximum and minimum photovoltaic penetration level scenarios that cause over-voltage. All the work is presented within a new general mathematical framework that facilitates formulation of the problem and calculation of device phase connections for networks containing phase switchers.