Thesis work - Impact of aggregated plug-in household solar PV on low and medium voltage grids

Are you a student looking to apply your knowledge to real-world solutions that support the energy transition? With us, you will have the opportunity to complete your thesis project close to the business, working alongside experienced specialists and tackling challenges where your ideas and perspectives can make a real difference.
Vattenfall R&D is responsible for conducting business driven technical development that creates value for the company and helps us realize our strategy. We develop cost effective, safe and sustainable solutions to improve the infrastructure of Vattenfall assets including Hydro, Wind, Nuclear, SKB, Heat, and Distribution.
The connection of plug-in household PV systems and balcony solar installations has increased in recent years across many European countries, where approximately 780,000 installations have been registered. These systems typically consist of one or a few solar panels connected to the grid through a microinverter, which is then plugged directly into a customer's electrical outlet.
Although the individually connected power per customer is relatively low, widespread adoption can result in a significant amount of aggregated generation. Especially in densely populated areas, the combined production from many small-scale resources could potentially lead to power flow issues, voltage variations, instability due to unbalanced loads, and other adverse effects on the power grid. This raises the question: what impact will the connection of plug-in household solar panels have on low- and medium-voltage grids? This is the question that this thesis aims to answer.
This thesis will investigate questions such as: At what penetration level of household PV systems does grid instability occur? What effects can these installations have on both the low- and medium-voltage grid?
The analysis will be carried out using several methods, including a literature review and grid stability studies conducted in simulation software such as PowerFactory or Simulink.
This thesis work is for 1 student.
We are looking for student(s) who are about to complete their academic studies and are eager to apply their knowledge in a real-world setting through a thesis project at Vattenfall. You are someone who shares our values and identifies with our principles: Active, Open, Positive and Safety.
We see that you have:
Education – Master of Science in Electric Power Engineering, Renewable Energy or similar programs
Fluency in written and spoken English
Scope - 30 credits

Employment type
Contract

Work arrangement
No