Due to the fast growth of photovoltaic (PV) installations, concerns are rising about the harmonic distortion generated from PV inverters. A general model modified from the conventional control structure diagram is introduced to analyze the harmonic generation process. Causes of the current harmonics are summarized, and its relationship with output power levels is analyzed. In particular for two-stage inverter, unlike existing models that assume the direct current (DC)-link voltage is constant, the DC-link voltage ripple is identified as the source of a series of odd harmonics. The inverter is modeled as a time-varying system by considering the DC-link voltage ripple. A closed-form solution is derived to calculate the amplitude of the ripple-caused harmonics. The theoretical derivation and analysis are verified by both simulation and experimental evaluation.
Part of the book: Power System Harmonics