Power quality improvement of single-phase photovoltaic systems through a robust synchronization method

An increasing amount of single-phase photovoltaic (PV) systems on the distribution network requires more advanced synchronization methods in order to meet the grid codes with respect to power quality and fault ride through capability. The response of the synchronization technique selected is crucial for the performance of PV inverters. In this paper, a new synchronization method with good dynamics and accurate response under highly distorted voltage is proposed. This method uses a Multi-Harmonic Decoupling Cell (MHDC), which cancels out the oscillations on the synchronization signals due to the harmonic voltage distortion without affecting the dynamic response of the synchronization. Therefore, the accurate response of the proposed MHDC-PLL enhances the power quality of the PV inverter systems and additionally, the proper fault ride-through operation of PV systems can be enabled by the fast dynamics of the synchronization method.