Comparison of Different Innovative Technical Solutions for Voltage Regulation in Distribution Grids

Due to the increasing amount of Dispersed Generation voltage stability is becoming a more and more critical issue especially in rural distribution grids where most of the generation capacity is installed. Characteristic for these types of grid topologies, which were not designed for a huge share of energy feed-in, are the long lines and the dispersion of consumers. Due to the expansion targets of the German Government regarding renewable energies, it is taken for granted that the voltage problems already appearing in the rural areas will be worsen. In numerous research projects different kinds of technical solutions for improving the voltage deviation have been tested in practice during the last years but often without performing an analytical study of network characteristics. Moreover in most of the projects the impact of only one innovative method was tested but research about the interaction of different technologies is seldom. Thus this paper tries to analyse the benefits of different kinds of innovative equipment and the reciprocal effect of these technologies in four real medium voltage networks in the north western part of Germany. Glance at the economic costs of their implementing is also provided.