Power Quality

Electrical power is becoming one of the most dominant factors in our society. Power generation, transmission, distribution and usage are undergoing signifi cant changes that will aff ect the electrical quality and performance needs of our 21st century industry. One major aspect of electrical power is its quality and stability – or so called Power Quality. The view on Power Quality did change over the past few years. It seems that Power Quality is becoming a more important term in the academic world dealing with electrical power, and it is becoming more visible in all areas of commerce and industry, because of the ever increasing industry automation using sensitive electrical equipment on one hand and due to the dramatic change of our global electrical infrastructure on the other. For the past century, grid stability was maintained with a limited amount of major generators that have a large amount of rotational inertia. And the rate of change of phase angle is slow. Unfortunately, this does not work anymore with renewable energy sources adding their share to the grid like wind turbines or PV modules. Although the basic idea to use renewable energies is great and will be our path into the next century, it comes with a curse for the power grid as power fl ow stability will suff er. It is not only the source side that is about to change. We have also seen signifi cant changes on the load side as well. Industry is using machines and electrical products such as AC drives or PLCs that are sensitive to the slightest change of power quality, and we at home use more and more electrical products with switching power supplies or starting to plug in our electric cars to charge batt eries. In addition, many of us have begun installing our own distributed generation systems on our rooft ops using the latest solar panels. So we did look for a way to address this severe impact on our distribution network. To match supply and demand, we are about to create a new, intelligent and self-healing electric power infrastructure. The Smart Grid. The basic idea is to maintain the necessary balance between generators and loads on a grid. In other words, to make sure we have a good grid balance at all times. But the key question that you should ask yourself is: Does it also improve Power Quality? Probably not! Further on, the way how Power Quality is measured is going to be changed. Traditionally, each country had its own Power Quality standards and defi ned its own power quality instrument requirements. But more and more international harmonization efforts can be seen. Such as IEC 61000-4-30, which is an excellent standard that ensures that all compliant power quality instruments, regardless of manufacturer, will produce of measurement instruments so that they can also be used in volume applications and even directly embedded into sensitive loads. But work still has to be done. We still use Power Quality standards that have been writt en decades ago and don’t match today’s technology any more, such as fl icker standards that use parameters that have been defi ned by the behavior of 60-watt incandescent light bulbs, which are becoming extinct. Almost all experts are in agreement - although we will see an improvement in metering and control of the power fl ow, Power Quality will suff er. This book will give an overview of how power quality might impact our lives today and tomorrow, introduce new ways to monitor power quality and inform us about interesting possibilities to mitigate power quality problems. Regardless of any enhancements of the power grid, “Power Quality is just compatibility” like my good old friend and teacher Alex McEachern used to say. Power Quality will always remain an economic compromise between supply and load. The power available on the grid must be suffi ciently clean for the loads to operate correctly, and the loads must be suffi ciently strong to tolerate normal disturbances on the grid

Transformerless series dip/sag compensation with ultracapacitors

Thesis (MScIng)--University of Stellenbosch, 2004.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis covers the development of a transformerless series dip compensator. Of all known power quality problems, voltage dips are the greatest reason for concern. Series injection dip compensators offer the advantage of only having to compensate for the decrease in supply voltage during a dip. This results in significant reduction in converter ratings and energy storage requirements. The aim of this thesis was to take up previous developments and combine them with new technologies to maximize their functionality. The new design was implemented with ultracapacitors to offer a maintenance-free device lifespan of 20 years. As they are very expensive, a new topology was introduced in this thesis to maximize their use so that they become viable for industry. Furthermore, a new method of daisy chaining switches was introduced to minimize costs involved in controlling them. A single-phase compensator, with this new topology and the new way of controlling switches, was designed and built according to specifications stated by Eskom. This ultracapacitor-based dip compensator was tested with a dip generator, developed by the University of Stellenbosch for different load currents. The experimental results confirmed simulations made with identical parameters. This thesis presents a reliable and cost effective solution for dip compensation.AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie tesis dek die ontwikkeling van ’n transformatorlose duik kompenseerder. Van al die bekende toevoerkwaliteit probleme wek duike in die spanning die meeste kommer. Serie-injeksie kompenseerders het die voordeel dat hulle net kompenseer vir die verlies in die toevoerspanning tydens die duik. Dit het ’n beduidende vermindering in die omsetterkenwaardes en energiestoorvereistes tot gevolg. Hierdie tesis mik om vorige soortgelyke ontwikkelings op te volg en te verbeter met nuwe tegnologie om die funktionliteit te maksimeer. Die ontwerp is geimplementeer met ultrakapasitore wat die onderhoudsvrye toestel ‘n leeftyd van 20 jaar toelaat. Omdat ultrakapasitore so duur is moes ‘n nuwe topologie onwikkel word om die gebruik van ultrakapasitore meer ekonomies aantreklik te maak. Daar is ook ‘n nuwe manier van skakelaar beheer ontwikkel wat toelaat dat baie skakelaars oor een optise veesel beheer kan word. ‘n Enkel fase dip kompensaeerder is toe onwikkel en gebou volgens Eskom se spesifikasies. Die ultrakapasitor gebaseerde omsetter is getoets met ‘n dip generator wat deur die Universiteit van Stellenbosch ontwikkel is. Die praktiese resultate bevestig die simulasies wat gedoen is met dieselfe parameters. Hierdie tesis lei tot ‘n betroubaare en ekonomiese oplossing vir duik kompensasie

National Conference on ‘Renewable Energy, Smart Grid and Telecommunication-2023

Theme of the Conference: “The challenges and opportunities of integrating renewable energy into the grid” The National Conference on Renewable Energy, Smart Grid, and Telecommunication - 2023 is a platform for industry experts, researchers, and policymakers to come together and explore the latest advancements and challenges in the fields of renewable energy, smart grids, and telecommunication. Conference Highlights: In-depth discussions on renewable energy technologies and innovations. Smart grid integration for a sustainable future. The role of telecommunication in advancing renewable energy solutions. Networking opportunities with industry leaders and experts. Presentation of cutting-edge research papers and case studies. Conference topics: Renewable Energy Technologies and Innovations Smart Grid Development and Implementation Telecommunication for Energy Systems Energy Storage and Grid Balancing Policy, Regulation, and Market Dynamics Environmental and Social Impacts of Renewable Energy Energy Transition and Future Outlook Integration of renewable energy into the grid Microgrids and decentralized energy systems Grid cybersecurity and data analytics IoT and sensor technologies for energy monitoring Data management and analytics in energy sector Battery storage technologies and applicationshttps://www.interscience.in/conf_proc_volumes/1087/thumbnail.jp

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

Online Control of Modular Active Power Line Conditioner to Improve Performance of Smart Grid

This thesis is explored the detrimental effects of nonlinear loads in distribution systems and investigated the performances of shunt FACTS devices to overcome these problems with the following main contribution: APLC is an advanced shunt active filter which can mitigate the fundamental voltage harmonic of entire network and limit the THDv and individual harmonic distortion of the entire network below 5% and 3%, respectively, as recommended by most standards such as the IEEE-519

Development of Robust Control Schemes with New Estimation Algorithms for Shunt Active Power Filter

The widespread use of power electronics in industrial, commercial and even residential electrical equipments causes deterioration of the quality of the electric power supply with distortion of the supply voltage. This has led to the development of more stringent requirements regarding harmonic current generation, as are found in standards such as IEEE-519. Power Quality is generally meant to measure of an ideal power supply system. Shunt active power filter (SAPF) is a viable solution for Power Quality enhancement, in order to comply with the standard recommendations. The dynamic performance of SAPF is mainly dependent on how quickly and how accurately the harmonic components are extracted from the load current. Therefore, a fast and accurate estimation algorithm for the detection of reference current signal along with an effective current control technique is needed in order for a SAPF to perform the harmonic elimination successfully. Several control strategies of SAPF have been proposed and implemented. But, still there is a lot of scope on designing new estimation algorithms to achieve fast and accurate generation of reference current signal in SAPF. Further, there is a need of development of efficient robust control algorithms that can be robust in face parametric uncertainties in the power system yielding improvement in power quality more effectively in terms of tracking error reduction and efficient current harmonics mitigation. The work described in the thesis involves development of a number of new current control techniques along with new reference current generation schemes in SAPF. Two current control techniques namely a hysteresis current control (HCC) and sliding mode control (SMC) implemented with a new reference current generation scheme are proposed. This reference generation approach involves a Proportional Integral (PI) controller loop and exploits the estimation of the in phase fundamental components of distorted point of common coupling (PCC) voltages by using Kalman Filter (KF) algorithm. The KF-HCC based SAPF is found to be very simple in realization and performs well even under grid perturbations. But the slow convergence rate of KF leads towards an ineffective reference generation and hence harmonics cancellation is not perfect. Therefore, a SMC based SAPF is implemented with a faster reference scheme based on the proposed Robust Extended Complex Kalman Filter (RECKF) algorithm and the efficacy of this RECKF-SMC is compared with other variants of Kalman Filter such as KF, Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) and Extended Complex Kalman Filter (ECKF) employing simulations as well as real-time simulations using an Opal-RT Real-Time digital Simulator. The RECKF-SMC based SAPF is found to be more effective as compared to the KF-HCC, KF-SMC, EKF-SMC and ECKF-SMC. Subsequently, predictive control techniques namely Dead Beat Control (DBC) and Model Predictive Control (MPC) are proposed in SAPF along with an improved reference current generation scheme based on the proposed RECKF. This reference scheme is devoid of PI controller loop and can self-regulate the dc-link voltage. Both RECKF-DBC and RECKF-MPC approaches use a model of the SAPF system to predict its future behavior and select the most appropriate control action based on an optimality criterion. However, RECKF-DBC is more sensitive to load uncertainties. Also, a better compensation performance of RECKF-MPC is observed from the simulation as well as real-time simulation results. Moreover, to study the efficacy of this RECKF-MPC over PI-MPC, a comparative assessment has been performed using both steady state as well as transient state conditions. From the simulation and real-time simulation results, it is observed that the proposed RECKF-MPC outperforms PI-MPC. The thesis also proposed an optimal Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) with an advanced reference current generation strategy based on RECKF. This RECKF-LQR based SAPF has better tracking and disturbance rejection capability and hence RECKF-LQR is found to be more efficient as compared to RECKF-SMC, RECKF-DBC and RECKF-MPC approaches. Subsequently, two robust control approaches namely Linear Quadratic Gaussian (LQG) servo control and H∞ control are proposed in SAPF with highly improved reference generation schemes based on RECKF. These control strategies are designed with the purpose of achieving stability, high disturbance rejection and high level of harmonics cancellation. From simulation results, they are not only found to be robust against different load parameters, but also satisfactory THD results have been achieved in SAPF. A prototype experimental set up has been developed in the Laboratory with a dSPACE-1104 computing platform to verify their robustness. From both the simulation and experimentation, it is observed that the proposed RECKF-H∞ control approach to design a SAPF is found to be more robust as compared to the RECKF-LQG servo control approach in face parametric uncertainties due to load perturbations yielding improvement in power quality in terms of tracking error reduction and efficient current harmonics mitigation. Further, there is no involvement of any voltage sensor in this realization of RECKF-H∞ based SAPF resulting a more reliable and inexpensive SAPF system. Therefore, superiority of proposed RECKF-H∞ is proved amongst all the proposed control strategies of SAPF

Operation of Grid-Connected Inverter under Unbalanced Grid Conditions Using Indirect Voltage Sensoring

Abstract The grid connected voltage source inverter is now the most widely used interface for connecting renewable power generation to the grid. Control of this device is a key aspect to ensure the performance, reliability and life span of the renewable power generation system. Conventionally, the current control of the grid connected inverter is based on the measured grid side voltage. The power and the power factor at the receiving end, which is usually defined as the point of common coupling, can be controlled accurately. This controller topology has been widely used and many control methods have been developed aiming at objectives such as increasing system stability, decreasing harmonic injection, and improving transient response of the system. However, in case of the voltage measurement is not available, i.e. a faulty voltage sensor, the conventional current control topology will be disabled for lack of information of the grid voltage. This would decrease the reliability and efficiency of the system thus should be improved. voltage-sensor-less In this research, a current control system for the grid connected inverter system not relying on the information provided by the a.c. side voltage sensors will be developed with compliance to the recommendations issued to the performances of the distribution generations such as the harmonic limitations and the fault-ride-through capabilities. Three problem will be addressed and solved. Firstly, the a.c. side voltage should be acquired without the use of a.c. side voltage sensors. This is achieved by adopting an a.c. side voltage estimation algorithm. Secondly, the grid connected inverter should be able to start-up without synchronising to the grid while keep the current injected in a safe range. This is achieved by the newly designed start-up process. Thirdly, the grid connected inverter should be able to ride-through grid faults and providing support to the grid. The transient response of the grid connected inverter is the key measure to define the performance. In this study, a faster symmetrical component decomposition method is proposed to improve the transient response of the current control, without relying on grid voltage sensors. The proposed system is verified by both simulation and experimental tests, with analyses and insight aiming at general applications of the proposed method and algorithms