Mitigation of Solar PV Impact in Four-Wire LV Radial Distribution Feeders Through Reactive Power Management Using STATCOMs
Open accessAbstract
Australia has the highest per capita penetration of rooftop solar PV systems in the world. Integration of these systems has led to reverse power flow and associated voltage rise problems in residential low-voltage (LV) distribution networks. Furthermore, random, uncontrolled connection of single-phase solar systems can exacerbate voltage unbalance in these networks. This paper investigates the application of a Static Synchronous Compensator (STATCOM) for the improvement of voltage regulation in four-wire LV distribution feeders through reactive power management as a means of mitigating voltage regulation and unbalance challenges. To demonstrate the performance of the STATCOM with varying loads and PV output, a Q-V droop curve is applied to specify the level of reactive power injection/absorption required to maintain appropriate voltage regulation. A practical four-wire feeder from New South Wales, Australia, has been used as a case study network to analyse improvements in system performance through the use of the STATCOM. The outcomes indicate that the STATCOM has a high degree of efficacy in mitigating voltage regulation and unbalance excursions. In addition, compared to other solutions identified in the existing literature, the STATCOM-based solution requires no sophisticated communication infrastructure.
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OLTCs and voltage regulators, coordinated control of smart PV inverters, capacitor banks, distribution-level energy storage and STATCOMs have been proposed to address voltage and power-quality issues in PV-rich LV networks.
“These include on-load tap-changing transformers (OLTCs) and voltage regulators, coordinated control of smart PV inverters, capacitor banks, distribution-level energy storage and flexible AC transmission devices such as static synchronous compensators (STATCOMs) [5,8,12,13].”
From Voltage Regulation in Rooftop PV-Rich Distribution Networks: A Review and Detailed Case Study (2026) · cites this paper as [12]
The Introduction identifies OLTCs, line voltage regulators and capacitor banks as traditional voltage-regulation devices, discusses proposed battery storage, and presents STATCOMs as an LV voltage-control option. Section 3.1 also mentions Volt-VAr strategies in PV inverters, but our copy does not identify coordinated control of smart PV inverters as a proposed approach. The paper cautions that the traditional devices are often unable to keep PV-rich LV networks within voltage limits. (LLM, conf=0.86)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredAdvanced power-electronic and superconducting solutions have been investigated to support grids with high renewable penetration.
“while other work has investigated advanced power-electronic and superconducting solutions to support grids with high renewable penetration [12,14].”
From Voltage Regulation in Rooftop PV-Rich Distribution Networks: A Review and Detailed Case Study (2026) · cites this paper as [12]
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References 25 · Cited by 1
Research works printed but not linked: 24
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- Authors
- Rahman, O., Robinson, D., & Elphick, S.
- Affiliations
- University of Wollongong (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Elphick, Sean
- Venue
- Electronics
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2025-07-31
- Volume
- 14
- Issue
- 15
- Pages
- 3063
- ISSN
- 2079-9292 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W4412907328
- Cited by
- 1
- References
- 25
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1
- FWCI
- 0.23
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Electronics (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Electrical and Electronic Engineering › Optimal Power Flow Distribution
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Electrical and Electronic Engineering › Power Quality and Harmonics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Control and Systems Engineering › Microgrid Control and Optimization
- Keywords
- STATCOM, reactive power management, photovoltaic integration, radial distribution feeders, voltage regulation, voltage unbalance, reverse power flow, residential distribution networks
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