Author Archives: Administrator

About Administrator

Principal of Pterra Consulting

Transient, Temporary and Ground Fault Overvoltages at Wind Farm Installations

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Administrator

Wind farms by the nature of their design and operating characteristics are susceptible to a variety of overvoltages.  Hence it is always important to conduct studies and tests of the various levels of overvoltages and how the equipment at the … Continue reading →

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Flicker Trouble Ahead for Solar PV Inverters?

Posted on February 22, 2013 by Administrator

A small, slow-moving cloud will only affect a few panels at a time. The worst effect comes from large, fast-moving clouds that cover many panels nearly simultaneously, and then subsequently uncover them with the same speed. For these conditions, multiple inverters will respond to the same solar coverage effect, which results in the most severe levels of flicker. Continue reading →

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The PTI Song

Posted on February 18, 2013 by Administrator

Click here to play: PTI Lyrics: PTI, we sing to thee, scene of peace and harmony; Watch the mind of each PE, spouting forth technology; We will toil from dawn ‘til night that our brethren may delight; In a life of wealth and luxury, … Continue reading →

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Integrating Solar PV Power with Existing Distribution Circuits; Part 2

Posted on October 23, 2012 by Administrator

(This Blog is a continuation of an ongoing series on integrating inverter-based solar photovoltaic generation with existing electric distribution circuits.  Link to Part 1) Solar PV (shorthand for photovoltaic) generation is growing in support and implementation in part because of a supportive … Continue reading →

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Harmonics Limit Amount of PV on a Distribution Circuit

Posted on June 4, 2012 by Administrator

Harmonics is a very specialized and not widely understood topic in the electric power field which can become a major issue when inverter-based photovoltaic (“PV”) generators, (popularly referred to as solar power), are added to existing distribution circuits.  This Blog … Continue reading →

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The Future of Transient Analysis is Bright

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Administrator

Yes, or at least, it’s brightening. We make this bold observation after attending the 2012 users’ group meeting for the PSCAD/EMTDC software, held March 27-20 at a little gem of a coastal town named Castelldefels in Spain.  About 60 participants (eyeball … Continue reading →

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On Engineering Software

Posted on March 29, 2012 by Administrator

As an analytical consulting firm, Pterra regularly uses about half a dozen engineering software, and about the same number on an occasional basis, to be able to conduct its services.  The software are necessary to be able to simulate complex physics … Continue reading →

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Banking on grounding of solar and wind farms

Posted on March 6, 2012 by Administrator

One more item to add to the list of technical items to consider when interconnecting solar and wind farms is grounding.  The grounding issue often appears when (a) integrating solar power inverters or wind turbines to existing distribution circuits, or … Continue reading →

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Solar Photovoltaic Inverters and Ride-Through Capability

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Administrator

In study after study, we (Pterra) are encountering this seemingly mounting issue of ride-through capability in solar photovoltaic (“PV”) inverters. For now, the matter is isolated to frequency ride-through in small grids such as those that may be found in the Hawaiian islands. However, there is potential for this to be critical in even larger systems as the number of inverter-based PV arrays interconnecting to existing distribution and transmission systems increases. Continue reading →

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Can wind turbines and solar inverters contribute to frequency control?

Posted on February 6, 2012 by Administrator

Renewable energy resources such as solar and wind, produce power in a manner that generally does not contribute to frequency control of interconnected power systems. However, both wind turbines and solar inverters have the important characteristic of fast, programmable controls. The question then comes up: Is it possible for these power sources to participate in frequency control response of interconnections? Continue reading →

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