Distributed Generation - Integration & Interconnection

By Jan Bloem, KEMA Consulting

Traditional electricity networks were built to transport electrical energy generated by large, centrally placed, power production units to consumers. In this model, the generators are all connected to the transmission level. Lower level distribution networks then distribute energy to consumers. Distributed Generation (DG) units cannot be connected to the transmission level because it is uneconomic to do so and they are connected to the distribution system at either medium (MV) or low voltage (LV) level. These systems were designed for power to flow only from top to bottom – from transmission level to consumer – and can accept only a limited amount of generation without major change. Studies indicate that this level is in the region of 10-15%.

This Application Note discusses how the future wide scale adoption of DG can be accommodated in existing networks.