Assessment and Mitigation of Dynamic Instabilities in Single-Stage Grid-Connected Photovoltaic Systems With Reduced DC-Link Capacitance

Single-stage utility-scale photovoltaic (PV) systems are usually interfaced with the host grid via a centralized voltage-source converter (VSC). Recently, and due to their reliability, the dc-link film capacitors are favored over electrolytic types in grid-connected applications. However, the capacitance per unit volume of film capacitors is significantly smaller than electrolytic capacitors. The overall system stability might be compromised by the reduction of the dc-link capacitance, particularly in PV systems that have a dynamic resistance that varies with operating conditions. Using a detailed small-signal model of the grid-connected PV system, it is shown in this paper that the reduction of the dc-link capacitance interferes with the dynamic resistance of the PV array, which eventually leads to instabilities. The minimum dc-link capacitance that preserves the overall system stability is determined. A simple and effective active compensator is developed to mitigate the instabilities with the reduced dc-link capacitance. Detailed time-domain simulations are presented to validate the analytical results and show the proposed compensator’s effectiveness in preserving the system stability.