Potential Use of DC Microgrid for Solar and Wind Power Integration in Rural Areas in India: a Review

This paper describes the possibilities of the application of DC microgrids to solve the rural areas, energy problem in the country (India). DC Microgrids open a gateway for integration of solar and wind energies which together are an efficient and cleaner way of renewable energy generation, which can be integrated into the power distribution network. They have several other advantages, which include - reduction in transmission losses, improvement in power quality & reliability, reduction in emissions and even they are cost effective. The most important characteristic is that it provides a possibility for electrification of remote villages, which are far from the reach of the conventional grid. This paper presents a detailed discussion on the possibility of application of DC microgrids for rural areas in India

Potential Use of DC Microgrid for Solar and Wind Power Integration in Rural Areas in India: A Review

This paper describes the possibilities of the application of DC microgrids to solve the rural areas, energy problem in the country (India). DC Microgrids open a gateway for integration of solar and wind energies which together are an efficient and cleaner way of renewable energy generation, which can be integrated into the power distribution network. They have several other advantages, which include - reduction in transmission losses, improvement in power quality & reliability, reduction in emissions and even they are cost effective. The most important characteristic is that it provides a possibility for electrification of remote villages, which are far from the reach of the conventional grid. This paper presents a detailed discussion on the possibility of application of DC microgrids for rural areas in India

Innovation in Energy Systems

It has been a little over a century since the inception of interconnected networks and little has changed in the way that they are operated. Demand-supply balance methods, protection schemes, business models for electric power companies, and future development considerations have remained the same until very recently. Distributed generators, storage devices, and electric vehicles have become widespread and disrupted century-old bulk generation - bulk transmission operation. Distribution networks are no longer passive networks and now contribute to power generation. Old billing and energy trading schemes cannot accommodate this change and need revision. Furthermore, bidirectional power flow is an unprecedented phenomenon in distribution networks and traditional protection schemes require a thorough fix for proper operation. This book aims to cover new technologies, methods, and approaches developed to meet the needs of this changing field

Contribution to the design and control of a hybrid renewable energy generation system based on reuse of electrical and electronics components for rural electrification in developing countries

While the Cambodia’s government is making effort to increase electricity production for its energy demand, it still remains dependent on the existing or the expansion of the centralized grid lines which have high initial investment cost. The temporally solution is to employ a distributed energy generation system which has lower life cycle cost and provides a diversity of technologies to meet the desired applications. Minimizing environmental impacts represents a major objective of sustainable development considering resources depletion and the limited capabilities of the environment to adapt. The potential of renewable energy resources has been well understood as the solutions to power rural development and to reduce the environmental impacts of energy generation. Due to advance in technologies and increasing consumer demands, there has been a vast amount of electrical and electronic waste which introduces severe impacts on the environment. The current strategies mainly rely on conventional waste collection and processing techniques for material recovery. This thesis proposed a solution of reusing discarded components in an isolated hybrid renewable energy system as the solution for electrification of rural Cambodia. This is frugal innovation, local solution with local materials for and with local people. A suitable configuration for the proposed system is a solar-hydro hybrid generation system since solar and water resources are plentiful in rural Cambodia. The components that are reused in the solution after being discarded include computer power supply units (PSUs) for the solar part, uninterruptable power supply units (UPSs) and three phase induction machines for the electrohydro part. Used auto-mobile batteries will be used for the system storage. The thesis presents in the first part the evaluation of the environmental impacts of the proposed reuse solution for rural electrification. The study of the environmental impacts is based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology which compares the life cycle impacts of the proposed solution to that of a conventional solution. Moreover, a sensitivity analysis is achieved in order to evaluate the impacts of uncertainties of the environmental impacts. The second part of this work deals with the technological aspects of the reuse solution in both theory and experimentation. The first part of this aspect is focused on the repurposing of used computer power supply units (PSUs), through limited modifications of the circuits in order to increase its range of operation. The PSU which usually contains one of a few types of isolated DC-DC converters is repurposed as charge controller with MPPT control in a cheap micro-controller with very good results. The last part of this thesis studies a new configuration of generators based on re-used three-phase induction motors. The proposed single-phase generator is based on a three-phase machine in a modified version of the coupling and with a rather uncommon supply. Modelling is highly investigated. An inverterassisted topology where two windings will be supplied separately by two inverters for excitation and the remaining winding is connected to load. A new modeling of the generator has been studied. The results of simulation were compared to experimental test results in open loop study. These results have demonstrated the advantages of the new configuration in comparison to the previously proposed inverter-assisted topology in term of efficiency and minimization of torquerippl

Modeling, Simulation and Control of Wind Diesel Power Systems

Wind diesel power systems (WDPSs) are isolated microgrids that combine diesel generators (DGs) with wind turbine generators (WTGs). Often, WDPS are the result of adding WTGs to a previous existing diesel power plant located in a remote place where there is an available wind resource. By means of power supplied by WTGs, fuel consumption and CO2 emissions are reduced. WDPSs are isolated power systems with low inertia where important system frequency and voltage variations occur. WDPS dynamic modeling and simulation allows short-term simulations to be carried out to obtain detailed electrical variable transients so that WDPS stability and power quality can be tested. This book includes papers on several subjects regarding WDPSs: the main topic of interest is WDPS dynamic modeling and simulation, but related areas such as the sizing of the different WDPS components, studies concerning the control of WDPSs or the use of energy storage systems (ESSs) in WDPSs and the benefits that ESSs provide to WDPS are also discussed. The book also deals with related AC isolated microgrids, such as wind-hydro microgrids or wind-photovoltaic-diesel microgrids

Practical Implementation of Hybrid Energy Systems for Small Loads in Rural South Africa

DissertationHybrid renewable energy systems (HRESs), are alternative off-grid methods of generating power to remote rural areas, where power lines are not economically viable. Most of the research studies on renewable hybrid systems or microgrids (MGs) in South Africa, focus mainly on the optimal sizing and optimal control of different systems, by making use of renewable energy simulation softwares, however, there is a lack of research carried out on the implementation of these hybrid systems in real time. The aim is to develop a real time control method for an isolated hybrid system submitted to a variable load, as well as resources. The first step towards achieving this aim, was to critically review available published research works, to describe recent developments in improving the optimum operating concept of microgrid controllers for stand-alone or grid-connected systems. Secondly, to investigate any real-time implementation established by either hierarchical or distributed control. Then to, analyze their reliability and functionality in practical set up of the controller, in managing power in the system to the variable load. The study provided a brief overview of microgrid prototype systems, microgrid controls, operating modes and multi-DER microgrid types built into a hybrid system, which introduces a number of strategies or techniques for managing remote rural application prototypes in an isolated or grid-connected system. However, hierarchical control was found to be more appropriate for large microgrids with multiple types of distributed energy resources (DERs), compared to distributed control, particularly when combined with energy storage systems (ESSs), in isolated mode. The rising of hybrid system controllers in real-time renewable energy for the optimum energy management system (EMS), required the design of a real-time controller to operate the entire system in real time. Increasing popularity of renewable energy (RE) has a control strategy that determined the overall efficiency of the hybrid system (HS), although the energy management system of these systems is particularly complex to be managed. The study's main contribution is to investigate the feasible controller and, later, to present an advanced control strategy for managing and controlling the flow of hybrid renewable energy with a diesel generator (DG) and battery (BT) as a backup in a rural application of SA. EMS would be implemented, using a fuzzy logic controller (FLC) in MATLAB / SIMULINK. This study analysed input and output variables for the design of a controller, with a set of rules and a three-dimension (3D) surface. Simulation results of related studies with different objectives were analysed, with the aim of sussing out an appropriate controller for the current study. Arduino Mega was used for coding and uploaded to the implementation of practical implementation of the study. The system operated successfully by supplying the load. This study finally answered the question of the feasibility of the controller in real-time applications

Microgrids/Nanogrids Implementation, Planning, and Operation

Today’s power system is facing the challenges of increasing global demand for electricity, high-reliability requirements, the need for clean energy and environmental protection, and planning restrictions. To move towards a green and smart electric power system, centralized generation facilities are being transformed into smaller and more distributed ones. As a result, the microgrid concept is emerging, where a microgrid can operate as a single controllable system and can be viewed as a group of distributed energy loads and resources, which can include many renewable energy sources and energy storage systems. The energy management of a large number of distributed energy resources is required for the reliable operation of the microgrid. Microgrids and nanogrids can allow for better integration of distributed energy storage capacity and renewable energy sources into the power grid, therefore increasing its efficiency and resilience to natural and technical disruptive events. Microgrid networking with optimal energy management will lead to a sort of smart grid with numerous benefits such as reduced cost and enhanced reliability and resiliency. They include small-scale renewable energy harvesters and fixed energy storage units typically installed in commercial and residential buildings. In this challenging context, the objective of this book is to address and disseminate state-of-the-art research and development results on the implementation, planning, and operation of microgrids/nanogrids, where energy management is one of the core issues