Real-time modeling, simulation and analysis of a grid connected PV system with hardware-in-loop protection

Renewable energy resources have become an integral part of the power and energy industry in the world today. Photovoltaic (PV) systems are one of the most common and established forms of renewable energy technologies. With the increased installation of PV systems both on a small and large scale, it is critical that the impacts and operations of PV systems are accurately modeled, simulated and studied. This paper focuses on introducing a real-time simulation approach to the study of renewable energy resources that are grid connected. PV systems are the main focus of this paper, introducing an approach to the study of the integration of PV to the main power grid and presenting technical solutions that mitigates current technical challenges. The real-time simulation environment presented in this paper is the Real Time Digital Simulator (RTDS). The goal is to interface a grid connected PV system model with protection relay testing equipment to simulate hardware-in-the-loop testing.