Advanced Solutions for Renewable Energy Integration into the Grid Addressing Intermittencies, Harmonics and Inertial Response

Numerous countries are trying to reach almost 100\% renewable penetration. Variable renewable energy (VRE), for instance wind and PV, will be the main provider of the future grid. The efforts to decrease the greenhouse gasses are promising on the current remarkable growth of grid connected photovoltaic (PV) capacity. This thesis provides an overview of the presented techniques, standards and grid interface of the PV systems in distribution and transmission level. This thesis reviews the most-adopted grid codes which required by system operators on large-scale grid connected Photovoltaic systems. The adopted topologies of the converters, the control methodologies for active - reactive power, maximum power point tracking (MPPT), as well as their arrangement in solar farms are studied. The unique L(LCL)2 filter is designed, developed and introduced in this thesis. This study will help researchers and industry users to establish their research based on connection requirements and compare between different existing technologies. Another, major aspect of the work is the development of Virtual Inertia Emulator (VIE) in the combination of hybrid energy storage system addressing major challenges with VRE implementations. Operation of a photovoltaic (PV) generating system under intermittent solar radiation is a challenging task. Furthermore, with high-penetration levels of photovoltaic energy sources being integrated into the current electric power grid, the performance of the conventional synchronous generators is being changed and grid inertial response is deteriorating. From an engineering standpoint, additional technical measures by the grid operators will be done to confirm the increasingly strict supply criteria in the new inverter dominated grid conditions. This dissertation proposes a combined virtual inertia emulator (VIE) and a hybrid battery-supercapacitor-based energy storage system . VIE provides a method which is based on power devices (like inverters), which makes a compatible weak grid for integration of renewable generators of electricity. This method makes the power inverters behave more similar to synchronous machines. Consequently, the synchronous machine properties, which have described the attributes of the grid up to now, will remain active, although after integration of renewable energies. Examples of some of these properties are grid and generator interactions in the function of a remote power dispatch, transients reactions, and the electrical outcomes of a rotating bulk mass. The hybrid energy storage system (HESS) is implemented to smooth the short-term power fluctuations and main reserve that allows renewable electricity generators such as PV to be considered very closely like regular rotating power generators. The objective of utilizing the HESS is to add/subtract power to/from the PV output in order to smooth out the high frequency fluctuations of the PV power, which may occur due to shadows of passing cloud on the PV panels. A control system designed and challenged by providing a solution to reduce short-term PV output variability, stabilizing the DC link voltage and avoiding short term shocks to the battery in terms of capacity and ramp rate capability. Not only could the suggested system overcome the slow response of battery system (including dynamics of battery, controller, and converter operation) by redirecting the power surges to the supercapacitor system, but also enhance the inertial response by emulating the kinetic inertia of synchronous generator

Performance Optimisation of Standalone and Grid Connected Microgrid Clusters

Remote areas usually supplied by isolated electricity systems known as microgrids which can operate in standalone and grid-connected mode. This research focus on reliable operation of microgrids with minimal fuel consumption and maximal renewables penetration, ensuring least voltage and frequency deviations. These problems can be solved by an optimisation-based technique. The objective function is formulated and solved with a Genetic Algorithm approach and performance of the proposal is evaluated by exhaustive numerical analyses in Matlab

Grid Reliability Through Clean Energy

In the wake of recent high-profile power failures, policymakers and politicians have asserted that there is an inherent tension between the aims of clean energy and grid reliability. But continuing to rely on fossil fuels to avoid system outages will only exacerbate reliability challenges by contributing to increasingly extreme climate-related weather events. These extremes will disrupt the power supply, with impacts rippling far beyond the electricity sector.This Article shows that much of the perceived tension between clean energy and reliability is a failure of law and governance resulting from the United States’ siloed approach to regulating the electric grid. Energy regulation is, we argue, siloed across three dimensions: (1) across substantive responsibilities (clean energy versus reliability); (2) across jurisdictions (federal, regional, state, and sometimes local); and (3) across a public–private continuum of actors. This segmentation renders the full convergence of clean-energy and reliability goals extremely difficult. Reliability-focused organizations operating within their silos routinely counteract climate policies when making decisions about how to keep the lights on. Similarly, legal silos often cause states and regional organizations to neglect valuable opportunities for collaboration. Despite the challenges posed by this disaggregated system, conceptualizing the sphere of energy reliability as siloed across these dimensions unlocks new possibilities for reform.We do not propose upending energy law silos or making energy institutions wholly public. Rather, we argue for calibrated reforms to U.S. energy law and governance that shift authority within and among the silos to integrate the twin aims of reliability and low-carbon energy. Across the key policy areas of electricity markets, transmission planning and siting, reliability regulation, and regional grid governance, we assess changes that would integrate climate and reliability imperatives; balance state, regional, and federal jurisdiction; and reconcile public and private values. We believe this approach to energy law reform offers a holistic and realistic formula for a cleaner, more reliable grid

Grid Reliability Through Clean Energy

In the wake of recent high-profile power failures, policymakers and politicians have asserted that there is an inherent tension between the aims of clean energy and grid reliability. But continuing to rely on fossil fuels to avoid system outages will only exacerbate reliability challenges by contributing to increasingly extreme climate-related weather events. These extremes will disrupt the power supply, with impacts rippling far beyond the electricity sector. This Article shows that much of the perceived tension between clean energy and reliability is a failure of law and governance resulting from the United States’ siloed approach to regulating the electric grid. Energy regulation is, we argue, siloed across three dimensions: (1) across substantive responsibilities (clean energy versus reliability); (2) across jurisdictions (federal, regional, state, and sometimes local); and (3) across a public–private continuum of actors. This segmentation renders the full convergence of clean-energy and reliability goals extremely difficult. Reliability-focused organizations operating within their silos routinely counteract climate policies when making decisions about how to keep the lights on. Similarly, legal silos often cause states and regional organizations to neglect valuable opportunities for collaboration. Despite the challenges posed by this disaggregated system, conceptualizing the sphere of energy reliability as siloed across these dimensions unlocks new possibilities for reform. We do not propose upending energy law silos or making energy institutions wholly public. Rather, we argue for calibrated reforms to U.S. energy law and governance that shift authority within and among the silos to integrate the twin aims of reliability and low-carbon energy. Across the key policy areas of electricity markets, transmission planning and siting, reliability regulation, and regional grid governance, we assess changes that would integrate climate and reliability imperatives; balance state, regional, and federal jurisdiction; and reconcile public and private values. We believe this approach to energy law reform offers a holistic and realistic formula for a cleaner, more reliable grid

Resilient and Real-time Control for the Optimum Management of Hybrid Energy Storage Systems with Distributed Dynamic Demands

A continuous increase in demands from the utility grid and traction applications have steered public attention toward the integration of energy storage (ES) and hybrid ES (HESS) solutions. Modern technologies are no longer limited to batteries, but can include supercapacitors (SC) and flywheel electromechanical ES well. However, insufficient control and algorithms to monitor these devices can result in a wide range of operational issues. A modern day control platform must have a deep understanding of the source. In this dissertation, specialized modular Energy Storage Management Controllers (ESMC) were developed to interface with a variety of ES devices. The EMSC provides the capability to individually monitor and control a wide range of different ES, enabling the extraction of an ES module within a series array to charge or conduct maintenance, while remaining storage can still function to serve a demand. Enhancements and testing of the ESMC are explored in not only interfacing of multiple ES and HESS, but also as a platform to improve management algorithms. There is an imperative need to provide a bridge between the depth of the electrochemical physics of the battery and the power engineering sector, a feat which was accomplished over the course of this work. First, the ESMC was tested on a lead acid battery array to verify its capabilities. Next, physics-based models of lead acid and lithium ion batteries lead to the improvement of both online battery management and established multiple metrics to assess their lifetime, or state of health. Three unique HESS were then tested and evaluated for different applications and purposes. First, a hybrid battery and SC HESS was designed and tested for shipboard power systems. Next, a lithium ion battery and SC HESS was utilized for an electric vehicle application, with the goal to reduce cycling on the battery. Finally, a lead acid battery and flywheel ES HESS was analyzed for how the inclusion of a battery can provide a dramatic improvement in the power quality versus flywheel ES alone