European White Book on Real-Time Power Hardware in the Loop Testing : DERlab Report No. R- 005.0

The European White Book on Real-Time-Powerhardware-in-the-Loop testing is intended to serve as a reference document on the future of testing of electrical power equipment, with specifi c focus on the emerging hardware-in-the-loop activities and application thereof within testing facilities and procedures. It will provide an outlook of how this powerful tool can be utilised to support the development, testing and validation of specifi cally DER equipment. It aims to report on international experience gained thus far and provides case studies on developments and specifi c technical issues, such as the hardware/software interface. This white book compliments the already existing series of DERlab European white books, covering topics such as grid-inverters and grid-connected storag

Emerging Converter Topologies and Control for Grid Connected Photovoltaic Systems

Continuous cost reduction of photovoltaic (PV) systems and the rise of power auctions resulted in the establishment of PV power not only as a green energy source but also as a cost-effective solution to the electricity generation market. Various commercial solutions for grid-connected PV systems are available at any power level, ranging from multi-megawatt utility-scale solar farms to sub-kilowatt residential PV installations. Compared to utility-scale systems, the feasibility of small-scale residential PV installations is still limited by existing technologies that have not yet properly address issues like operation in weak grids, opaque and partial shading, etc. New market drivers such as warranty improvement to match the PV module lifespan, operation voltage range extension for application flexibility, and embedded energy storage for load shifting have again put small-scale PV systems in the spotlight. This Special Issue collects the latest developments in the field of power electronic converter topologies, control, design, and optimization for better energy yield, power conversion efficiency, reliability, and longer lifetime of the small-scale PV systems. This Special Issue will serve as a reference and update for academics, researchers, and practicing engineers to inspire new research and developments that pave the way for next-generation PV systems for residential and small commercial applications

Strujno prediktivno upravljanje mrežnim H-mosnim izmjenjivačem

This paper presents a grid-tied cascade H-bridge inverter with predictive current control technique. The proposed 15-level cascade inverter consists of three H-bridge inverters with separated DC sources. At the output of the cascade inverter an L filter is used as a grid filter. The cascade inverter is controlled by the mean of RT-Lab. The predictive current regulator and one-phase synchronous reference frame PLL are designed with help of Rapid Control Prototyping. The proposed control method uses a discrete model of the system to predict behavior of the system for each of 15 voltage levels of inverter output voltage. Verification by simulation and on a laboratory model is described.U ovom radu prikazan je kaskadni mrežni izmjenjivač u H-mostu sa strujnim prediktivnim upravljanjem. Predloženi 15-razinski kaskadni izmjenjivač sadrži tri H-mosna izmjenjivača s odvojenim DC izvorima. Na izlazu kaskadnog izmjenjivača dodan je induktivni mrežni filter. Kaskadni izmjenjivač upravlja se korištenjem RT-Lab programskog okruženja. Strujni prediktivni regulator i jednofazni PLL poravnat sa sinkronim koordinatnim sustavom dizajnirani su uz pomoć Rapid Control Prototyping metode. Predložena metoda upravljanja koristi diskretni model sustava za predikciju ponašanja sustava u svakom od 15 naponskih razina izlaznog napona izmjenjivača. Upravljanje je provjereno na simulacijskom modelu sustava i laboratorijskom postavu

Coordinated active power reduction strategy for voltage rise mitigation in LV distribution network

Integration of renewable energy systems by the utility, customers, and the third party into the electric power system, most especially in the MV and LV distribution networks grew over the last decade due to the liberalization of the electricity market, rising energy demand, and increasing environmental concern. The distributed rooftop PV system contributes to relieve the overall load, reduce losses, avoid conventional generation upgrade, and better matching of demand on the LV distribution network. Originally, the LV distribution network is designed for unidirectional current flow, that is from the substation to customers. However, a high penetration of rooftop solar PVs (with power levels typically ranging from 1 – 10 kW) may lead to the current flowing in the reverse direction and this could result in a sudden voltage rise. These negative impacts on the network have discouraged the distribution network operators (DNOs) to allow increased PV penetration in the LV distribution network because some customers load, and equipment are sensitive to voltage perturbation. Presently, the most applied voltage rise mitigation strategy for high rooftop solar PV penetration is the total disconnect from the LV distribution network when the voltage at the point of common coupling (PCC) goes above statutory voltage limits. However, the sudden disconnection of the PV system from the grid can cause network perturbation and affect the security of the network. This action may also cause voltage instability in the network and can reduce the lifetime of grid equipment such as voltage regulators, air conditioner etc. Due to this negative impact, different voltage rise mitigation strategies such as the active transformer with on load tap changers (OLTC), distributed battery energy storage system and reactive power support (D-STATCOM, etc.) have been used to curtail voltage rise in the distribution network. However, the implementation of D-STATCOM device on a radial LV distribution network results in high line current and losses. This may be detrimental to the distribution network. Therefore, in this thesis, a coordinated active power reduction (CAPR) strategy is proposed using a modified PWM PI current control strategy to ramp down the output power and voltage of a grid-tied voltage source inverter (VSI). In the proposed strategy, a reactive reference is generated based on the measured voltage level at the PCC using a threshold voltage algorithm to regulate the amplitude of the modulating signal to increase the off time of the high frequency signal which shut down the PV array momentary in an extremely short time and allow the VSI to absorb some reactive power through the freewheeling diode and reduce voltage. The proposed CAPR strategy was designed and simulated on a scaled down simple radial LV distribution network in MATLAB®/Simulink® software environment. The results show that the CAPR can ramp down the PV output power, reduce reverse power flow and reduce the sudden voltage rise at the point of common coupling (PCC) within ±5% of the standard voltage limit. The study also compares the performance of the proposed CAPR strategy to that of the distributed static compensator (D-STATCOM) and battery energy storage system (BESS) with respect to response time to curtail sudden voltage rise, losses and reverse power flow. The investigation shows that the D-STATCOM has the faster response time to curtail voltage rise. However, the voltage rise reduction is accompanied by high current, losses and reverse active power flow. The introduction of the BESS demonstrates better performance than the D- STATCOM device in terms of reverse power flow and losses. The CAPR strategy performs better than both D-STATCOM and BESS in terms of line losses and reverse power flow reduction

Power electronics technologies for renewable energy sources

Over the last decades, power grids are facing significant improvements mainly due to the integration of more and more technologies. In particular, renewable energy sources (RES) are contributing to moving from centralized energy production to a new paradigm of distributed energy production. Analyzing in more detail the requirements of the diverse technologies of RES, it is possible to identify a common and key point: power electronics. In fact, power electronics is the key technology to embrace the RES technologies towards controllability and the success of sustainability of power grids. In this context, this book chapter is focused on the analysis of diverse RES technologies from the point of view of power electronics, including the introduction and explanation of the operating principle of the most relevant RES, both in onshore and offshore scenarios. Additionally, are also presented the main topologies of power electronics converters used in the interface of RES.(undefined