A Case Study on the Effects of Partial Solar Eclipse on Distributed Photovoltaic Systems and Management Areas

TL;DR

This case study analyzes the impact of the August 21, 2017, solar eclipse on two large grid-connected PV systems and their management areas, revealing effects on performance, power quality, and reliability.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive analysis of eclipse effects on PV systems and grid stability using real-world data and multiple analytical methods, offering insights for future high-penetration scenarios.

Findings

PV generation significantly drops during eclipse peak

Power quality issues observed at interconnection points

Reliability forecasts indicate potential grid stability concerns

Abstract

Photovoltaic (PV) systems depend on irradiance, ambient temperature and module temperature. A solar eclipse causes significant changes in these parameters, thereby impacting PV generation profile, performance, and power quality of larger grid where they connect to. This paper presents a case study to evaluate the impacts of the solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 on two real-world grid-tied PV systems (1.4MW and 355kW) in Miami and Daytona, Florida, the feeders they are connected to, and the management areas they belong to. Four types of analyses are conducted to obtain a comprehensive picture of the impacts using 1-minute PV generation data, hourly weather data, real feeder parameters, and daily reliability data. These analyses include: individual PV system performance measurement using power performance index; power quality analysis at the point of interconnection; a study on the operation of voltage regulating devices on the feeders during eclipse peak using an IEEE 8500 test case distribution feeder; and reliability study involving a multilayer perceptron framework for forecasting system reliability of the management areas. Results from this study provide a unique insight into how solar eclipses impact the behavior of PV systems and the grid, which would be of concern to electric utilities in future high penetration scenarios.