Demand and Storage Management in a Prosumer Nanogrid Based on Energy Forecasting

Energy efficiency and consumers' role in the energy system are among the strategic research topics in power systems these days. Smart grids (SG) and, specifically, microgrids, are key tools for these purposes. This paper presents a three-stage strategy for energy management in a prosumer nanogrid. Firstly, energy monitoring is performed and time-space compression is applied as a tool for forecasting energy resources and power quality (PQ) indices; secondly, demand is managed, taking advantage of smart appliances (SA) to reduce the electricity bill; finally, energy storage systems (ESS) are also managed to better match the forecasted generation of each prosumer. Results show how these strategies can be coordinated to contribute to energy management in the prosumer nanogrid. A simulation test is included, which proves how effectively the prosumers' power converters track the power setpoints obtained from the proposed strategy.Spanish Agencia Estatal de Investigacion ; Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional

Self-tuning resonant control of a 7-leg back-to-back converter for interfacing variable speed generators to 4-wire loads

This paper considers the control of a 7-leg back-to-back Voltage Source Inverter (VSI) arrangement feeding a 4-wire load from a 3-phase Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator (PMSG) operating at variable speed. The PMSG is controlled using a sensorless Model Reference Adaptive System (MRAS) to obtain the rotor position angle. The 7-leg converter is regulated using Resonant Controllers (RCs) at the load side and self-tuning resonant controllers at the generator side. The control system is augmented by a feed-forward compensation algorithm which improves the dynamic performance during transients. Experimental results, obtained from a prototype, are presented and discussed

Survey on Photo-Voltaic Powered Interleaved Converter System

Renewable energy is the best solution to meet the growing demand for energy in the country. The solar energy is considered as the most promising energy by the researchers due to its abundant availability, eco-friendly nature, long lasting nature, wide range of application and above all it is a maintenance free system. The energy absorbed by the earth can satisfy 15000 times of today’s total energy demand and its hundred times more than that our conventional energy like coal and other fossil fuels. Though, there are overwhelming advantages in solar energy, It has few drawbacks as well such as its low conversion ratio, inconsistent supply of energy due to variation in the sun light, less efficiency due to ripples in the converter, time dependent and, above all, high capitation cost. These aforementioned flaws have been addressed by the researchers in order to extract maximum energy and attain hundred percentage benefits of this heavenly resource. So, this chapter presents a comprehensive investigation based on photo voltaic (PV) system requirements with the following constraints such as system efficiency, system gain, dynamic response, switching losses are investigated. The overview exhibits and identifies the requirements of a best PV power generation system

Optimal Control of Power Quality in Microgrids Using Particle Swarm Optimisation

Driven by environmental protection, economic factors, conservation of energy resources, and technical challenges, the microgrid has emerged as an innovative small-scale power generation network. Microgrids consist of a cluster of Distributed Generation units that encompass a portion of an electric power distribution system and may rely on different energy sources. Functionally, the microgrid is required to provide adequate levels and quality of power to meet load demands. The issue of power quality is significant as it directly affects the characteristics of the microgrid’s operation. This problem can be defined as an occurrence of short to long periods of inadequate or unstable power outputs by the microgrid. In a stand-alone operation mode, the system voltage and frequency must be established by the microgrid, otherwise the system will collapse due to the variety in the microgrid component characteristics. The harmonic distortion of the output power waveforms is also a serious problem that often occurs because of the high speed operation of the converter switches. The long transient period is a critical issue that is usually caused by changing the operation mode or the load demand. Power sharing among the Distributed Generation units is also an important matter for sharing the load appropriately, particularly given that some renewable energy resources are not available continuously. In a utility connected microgrid, the reliable power quality mainly depends on the regulation of both active and reactive power, because the microgrid’s behaviour is mostly dominated by the bulk power system. Therefore, an optimal power control strategy is proposed in this thesis to improve the quality of the power supply in a microgrid scenario. This controller comprises an inner current control loop and an outer power control loop based on a synchronous reference frame and conventional PI regulators. The power control loop can operate in two modes: voltage-frequency power control mode and active-reactive power control mode. Particle Swarm Optimisation is an intelligent searching algorithm that is applied here for real-time self-tuning of the power control parameters. The voltage-frequency power controller is proposed for an inverter-based Distributed Generation unit in an autonomous operation mode. The results show satisfactory system voltage and frequency, high dynamic response, and an acceptable harmonic distortion level. The active-reactive power controller is adopted for an inverter-based Distributed Generation unit in a utility operation mode. This controller provides excellent regulation of the active and reactive power, in particular when load power has to be shared equally between the microgrid and utility. The voltage-frequency and active-reactive power control modes are used for a microgrid configured from two DG units in an autonomous operation mode. The proposed control strategy maintains the system voltage and frequency within acceptable limits, and injects sustained output power from one DG unit during a load change. The reliability of the system’s operation is investigated through developing a small-signal dynamic model for the microgrid. The results prove that the system was stable for the given operating point and under the proposed power controller. Consequently, this research reveals that the microgrid can successfully operate as a controllable power generation unit to support the utility, thus reducing the dependency on the bulk power system and increasing the market penetration of the micro-sources

Advanced and Innovative Optimization Techniques in Controllers: A Comprehensive Review

New commercial power electronic controllers come to the market almost every day to help improve electronic circuit and system performance and efficiency. In DC–DC switching-mode converters, a simple and elegant hysteretic controller is used to regulate the basic buck, boost and buck–boost converters under slightly different configurations. In AC–DC converters, the input current shaping for power factor correction posts a constraint. But, several brilliant commercial controllers are demonstrated for boost and fly back converters to achieve almost perfect power factor correction. In this paper a comprehensive review of the various advanced optimization techniques used in power electronic controllers is presented