Summary An effective peak current‐limiting control strategy is presented in this paper, for improved dynamic performance of a grid‐connected photovoltaic (GCPV) inverter under unbalanced grid voltages. A simple analysis is developed for calculating the rated inverter power under unbalanced grid voltages without tripping the PV inverter for reliable operation. The active power oscillations induced due to the unbalance in the grid voltages are minimized by equating the active power oscillating terms to zero in the reference current generation. The prime focus of this work is on estimating the reference currents and limiting the inverter currents to rated value and providing low‐voltage ride‐through capability by judiciously balancing positive and negative sequence currents. A prototype hardware is developed in the laboratory and the proposed control scheme is implemented using dSPACE 1103 real‐time controller board. A solar simulator has been used to replicate the PV array. The simulation (MATLAB/Simulink) and the experimental results establish that the proposed controller scheme effectively minimizes the oscillation in active power and limits the inverter currents.

No abstract