LECTURE NOTES

RENEWABLE AND DISTRIBUTED ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES (R&DET)

(PROFESSIONAL ELECTIVE – III)

UNIT – V: Requirements of hybrid/combined use of different renewable and distributed

sources - Need of energy storage; Control of frequency and voltage of distributed generation
in Stand-alone and Grid-connected mode - use of energy storage and power electronics
interfaces for the connection to grid and loads - Design and optimization of size of renewable
sources and storages.
REQUIREMENTS OF HYBRID/COMBINED USE OF DIFFERENT RENEWABLE
AND DISTRIBUTED SOURCES

(i) Overview

Conventional power stations, such as coal-fired, gas, and nuclear powered plants, as well as
hydroelectric dams and large-scale solar power stations, are centralized and often require
electric energy to be transmitted over long distances. By contrast, DER systems are
decentralized, modular, and more flexible technologies that are located close to the load they
serve, albeit having capacities of only 10 megawatts (MW) or less. These systems can
comprise multiple generation and storage components; in this instance, they are referred to as
hybrid power systems.

DER (distributed energy resources) systems typically use renewable energy sources,
including small hydro, biomass, biogas, solar power, wind power, and geothermal power, and
increasingly play an important role for the electric power distribution system. A grid-
connected device for electricity storage can also be classified as a DER system and is often
called a distributed energy storage system (DESS). By means of an interface, DER systems
can be managed and coordinated within a smart grid. Distributed generation and storage
enables the collection of energy from many sources and may lower environmental impacts
and improve the security of supply.

Rooftop solar panels are the most common and fastest-growing type of DER, but other types
also exist, like electric vehicles (EVs), small-scale hydroelectric dams and natural gas
generators, biodigesters, and battery storage. DERs make up a small percentage of energy
generation, but they are the centerpiece of the clean and resilient energy future that many
policymakers and constituents want to see.

Advantages of DER

 DERs are a category of power generation resources defined by their size and their
location. Definitions vary, but few physical DERs would be larger than a couple of
megawatts. Diesel or natural gas generators, microturbines, run-of-the-river hydro
units, solar arrays, wind turbines, and battery energy storage units are common sub-
megawatt DERs. For more on this, check out what are Distributed Energy Resources
and how do they work.
 DERs, being smaller in size than traditional power plants, have lower permitting
requirements, use less land, and don’t involve extensive infrastructure upgrades.
 DERs can also be located close to load centers. Most people don’t want to live next to
a power plant, so historically, power plants have been built away from cities. In most
parts of the world, this has led to a power grid development model where large remote
power plants are connected to customers via long-distance transmission lines.
 DERs, in contrast, can be deployed and located in densely populated areas.
Residential energy storage units, for example, are found in population centers.
Likewise, demand-response DERs are usually provided by factories located in
industrial areas and, increasingly, by homes located in residential neighborhoods.
 DERs located within or close to cities are not subject to transmission constraints in the
same way remote power plants are.
 In some cases, it may be possible to avoid building a new transmission line entirely. If
enough DERs are deployed within a city, the DERs can potentially shave off the
peaks in the electric demand coming from the city. Battery energy storage units, back-
 up generators and demand response resources, specifically, are all great ways to
reduce peak demand.
 The result is the city overall has a flatter load profile, which is easier to support,
reducing the level of investment needed in the regional electricity grid infrastructure.
For example, this may delay or remove the need to build a new peaker power plant,
upgrade a substation or build new transmission lines.
 Some categories of DERs, for example, are great at providing fast response services
such as fast frequency control. At best, large thermal power plants take several
minutes to start up or ramp up when responding to frequency control calls. Battery
energy storage units, in contrast, can respond in milliseconds.
 Operating reserves. DERs provide operating reserve value when they can be used to
increase supply or reduce demand on the grid in place of central generators that would
otherwise be used in case of contingencies, like forced outages. Here’s looking at you,
Texas blackouts.

One of the major issues with the integration of the DER such as solar power, wind power, etc.
is the uncertain nature of such electricity resources. This uncertainty can cause a few
problems in the distribution system: (i) it makes the supply-demand relationships extremely
complex, and requires complicated optimization tools to balance the network, and (ii) it puts
higher pressure on the transmission network, and (iii) it may cause reverse power flow from
the distribution system to transmission system.

(ii) Requirements for distributed generation

Main requirements for providing flexibility (especially talking about distributed generation)
are directed to perform abrupt changes compensation and high level fluctuations of
generation compensation.

For example wind power generation changes has generation variation about -4,5 +5,5
GW/hour. Talking about solar PV generation changes could achieve 12GW/hour value and
these generation kicks happen quite often – about 10-15 times per year.

From the perspective of analysis above-mentioned information it is not unthinkable to

formulate requirements for distributed generation resources integrated in flexible grid with
maximal efficiency more in detail.

 High control ratio: Any distributed generation resource must be always ready to adapt
to voltage profile or grid frequency changes. Also as a result of high control
requirements it is necessary for resource to have highly accurate digital automatized
protection of its systems. Only sensitive wide-ranging working digital protection is
able to provide multi-plane control in accordance with abrupt appearing power
deviations or changes. Because distributed generation is really susceptible to such
changes or deviations.
 Fast initial response and switching time. That is not enough just to be ready for power
changes or fluctuations and to be highly-controlled for distributed generation
resources. To prevent emergency situations of electricity system and to maintain
power quality on appropriate level it must be expeditious. Time response is critically
important feature for whole electricity system state at power change moments. One
second time delay could be reason of false response or even malfunction of system
automatized protection hence power quality degradation or equipment breakdown
occur with high final cost of energy for consumers as a result.
  Minimal output or produced power level. Even very flexible electricity system needs
to have limited minimal output power threshold to provide stable and good working.
And to pass it over is strictly prohibited due to system disorder occurrence possibility.
Unfortunately nowadays DER do not display its own self-sustainability in this way.
Distributed generation resources often demand adding conventional generation
resources to maintain unified required minimal output power level. Or it can be
combined with other distributed generation technologies the way to compensate each
other for keeping system minimal produced power level.
 Integration level of efficiency. Distributed generation resources had already proved to
be one of the best working in isolated electricity systems. But DER integration in grid
the most efficient way remains an open question. This challenge requires taking in
account direction of distributed generation working and its influence on centralized
grid. Considering that a lot of DER work bidirectional way it apparently perplexes
DER integration in grid process in accordance with maximal efficient way aim.

(iii) Distributed energy resources and connection to grid

Examples of distributed energy resources that can be installed include:

 roof top solar photovoltaic units

 wind generating units
 battery storage
 batteries in electric vehicles used to export power back to the grid
 combined heat and power units, or tri-generation units that also utilise waste heat to
provide cooling
 biomass generators, which are fuelled with waste gas or industrial and agricultural by-
products.
 open and closed cycle gas turbines
 reciprocating engines (diesel, oil)
 hydro and mini-hydro schemes
 fuel cells.

Microgrids are modern, localized, small-scale grids, contrary to the traditional, centralized
electricity grid (macrogrid). Microgrids can disconnect from the centralized grid and operate
autonomously, strengthen grid resilience, and help mitigate grid disturbances. They are
typically low-voltage AC grids, often use diesel generators, and are installed by the
community they serve. Microgrids increasingly employ a mixture of different distributed
energy resources, such as solar hybrid power systems, which significantly reduce the amount
of carbon emitted.
In general, the sources that could be directly coupled to the grid are those that originally
produce mechanical power, such as wind power, small hydropower, and some CHP. It is then
more efficient to transfer the mechanical power into electrical power through direct machine
coupling to the grid without any intermediate stage.
The choice of the type of the machine depends on the nature of the mechanical power
supplied. For a constant mechanical power, resulting in constant rotating shaft speed, the
synchronous machine is a proper candidate, whereas for strongly variable power, the
induction machine is more suitable. This is mainly because of the inherent oscillations
damping that the induction generator provide through the slip speed difference between the
rotor and stator. Permanent magnet synchronous machines are utilized for slow rotational
speed turbines. A linear synchronous machine is used to transfer vibrational energy into
electrical energy.

The synchronous machine is used to interface small hydropower and some CHP, where the
mechanical power is controlled through controlling the speed of the shaft. Synchronous
generators can be a source of both active and reactive powers to the electrical system. They
typically require synchronizing equipment to be paralleled with the grid.

The induction machine is used to interface variable speed energy sources with the grid. The
clear example of this is wind energy sources, connected as shown in Figure 2.61. But they
generally suffer from the disadvantage of drawing reactive power from the system and also
from drawing high starting currents that may cause local flicker. Connection to the network
hence requires an extra reactive power compensator, as shown in the figure, which could be
basically a capacitor bank. Hence, induction machines for direct connection of DGs are
generally limited in size. They are restricted because of their excitation that requires reactive
power supplied basically from the grid. On the other hand, induction generators are like
induction motors, requiring no synchronizing equipment. They are less costly than
synchronous generators and the protection required is only over/undervoltage and frequency
relaying. For wind power and low-head run-of-river turbines (small hydro), the rotational
speed of the turbine is usually slow and hence the interfacing need either a gearbox or a large
multiple pole generator for energy conversion, for example a permanent magnet synchronous
generator (PMSG).

NEED OF ENERGY STORAGE

Storage can reduce demand for electricity from inefficient, polluting plants that are often
located in low-income and marginalized communities. Storage can also help smooth out
demand, avoiding price spikes for electricity customers.

For example, when there is more supply than demand, such as during the night when
continuously operating power plants provide firm electricity or in the middle of the day when
the sun is shining brightest, the excess electricity generation can be used to charge storage
devices. When demand is greater than supply, storage facilities—even those in individuals’
homes—can discharge their stored energy to the grid.

A key benefit of being able to store this energy is that it helps to prevent renewable resources
from going to waste. There are times when the amount of electricity being generated by
renewables can exceed the amount that's needed at the time.

Distributed energy resources are small, modular, energy generation and storage technologies
that provide electric capacity or energy where you need it. Typically producing less than 10
megawatts (MW) of power, DER systems can usually be sized to meet your particular needs
and installed on site. DER systems may be either connected to the local electric power grid or
isolated from the grid in stand-alone applications. DER technologies include wind turbines,
photovoltaics (PV), fuel cells, microturbines, reciprocating engines,

A distributed energy resource is not limited to the generation of electricity but may also
include a device to store distributed energy (DE). Distributed energy storage systems (DESS)
applications include several types of battery, pumped hydro, compressed air, and thermal
energy storage. Access to energy storage for commercial applications is easily accessible
through programs such as energy storage as a service (ESaaS).

PV storage

Common rechargeable battery technologies used in today's PV systems include, the valve
regulated lead-acid battery (lead–acid battery), nickel–cadmium and lithium-ion batteries.
Compared to the other types, lead-acid batteries have a shorter lifetime and lower energy
density. However, due to their high reliability, low self-discharge (4–6% per year) as well as
low investment and maintenance costs, they are currently the predominant technology used in
small-scale, residential PV systems, as lithium-ion batteries are still being developed and
about 3.5 times as expensive as lead-acid batteries. Furthermore, as storage devices for PV
systems are stationary, the lower energy and power density and therefore higher weight of
lead-acid batteries are not as critical as for electric vehicles.

However, lithium-ion batteries, such as the Tesla Powerwall, have the potential to replace
lead-acid batteries in the near future, as they are being intensively developed and lower prices
are expected due to economies of scale provided by large production facilities such as the
Gigafactory 1. In addition, the Li-ion batteries of plug-in electric cars may serve as future
storage devices, since most vehicles are parked an average of 95 percent of the time, their
batteries could be used to let electricity flow from the car to the power lines and back. Other
rechargeable batteries that are considered for distributed PV systems include, sodium–sulfur
and vanadium redox batteries, two prominent types of a molten salt and a flow battery,
respectively.

Vehicle-to-grid

Future generations of electric vehicles may have the ability to deliver power from the battery
in a vehicle-to-grid into the grid when needed. An electric vehicle network has the potential
to serve as a DESS.

Flywheels

An advanced flywheel energy storage (FES) stores the electricity generated from distributed
resources in the form of angular kinetic energy by accelerating a rotor (flywheel) to a very
high speed of about 20,000 to over 50,000 rpm in a vacuum enclosure. Flywheels can
respond quickly as they store and feed back electricity into the grid in a matter of seconds.

CONTROL OF FREQUENCY AND VOLTAGE OF DISTRIBUTED GENERATION

IN STAND-ALONE

Voltage control is performed to maintain the voltage level on the system within acceptable
limits.

Voltage control and frequency control: The voltage of the generator is proportional to the
speed and excitation (flux) of the generator. The speed is constant, the excitation is used to
control the voltage. Therefore, the voltage control system is also called an excitation control
system or automatic voltage regulator (AVR) The control of voltage and reactive power is a
major issue in power system operation. This is because of the topological differences between
distribution and transmission systems, different strategies have evolved.

Frequency Control: Frequency all over a synchronous power grid is the same in steady-state.
Maintaining a near-constant frequency (one may allow the frequency to vary over a very
narrow band) is considered an important requirement of power system operation. Frequency
in a power system is related to the electrical speed of synchronous generators. The difference
between mechanical and electrical torques governs the acceleration of a rotor of a generator.

Fig. 1. PMSG and solar based stand-alone wind turbine with energy storage, fuel cell and
dump load.

The proposed stand-alone hybrid energy system (shown in Fig. 1) consists of a permanent
magnet synchronous generator (PMSG) based variable speed wind energy conversion [6], PV
array, battery, fuel cell and dump load (i.e., aqua-electrolyzer). Both the sources i.e., wind
and solar are equipped with maximum power point tracking (MPPT) and connected to the
common dc bus. Battery is used as a storage device and is connected to dc bus through dc–dc
bidirectional converter. Wind power depends on weather conditions and during night hours
solar power is zero. Therefore under the situation of long term no-wind or low-wind
condition, battery alone cannot cater the load demand. Hence, fuel cell (FC) is integrated to
make system more sustainable. In case of high power generation from wind and solar for a
long time and the battery hits its upper limit of charge storage, the dump load (i.e., aqua-
electrolyzer) comes into effect and consumes the surplus power. The hydrogen generated
from the electrolyzer can be stored and used as input by FC. Since, life time of battery is very
less as compared to FC, the use of battery for short-term storage and use of FC for long-term
storage finds some technical and economical advantages. Hence, in this paper battery is used
in transient period and FC is used in steady state. Ac loads are connected to dc bus through
PWM based inverter. The proposed system can feed single phase as well as three phase loads.
The wind, solar, battery, fuel cell and dump load (i.e., aqua-electrolyzer) are connected to the
common dc bus. An ac load is connected to dc bus through a pulse width modulation (PWM)
based inverter. Ac voltage at load bus can be maintained at rated value by regulating dc-link
voltage (Vdc) at its reference value and by controlling modulation index of PWM inverter.

Novel control algorithms are developed to maintain Vdc at its reference voltage irrespective
of variations in wind speed, solar irradiance and load. Along with the regulation of Vdc, dc–
dc converter (connected between battery and dc-link) acts as a maximum power point tracker
(MPPT) for photovoltaic (PV) array. Hence an extra dedicated MPPT circuit is not required
to extract maximum power from PV. Control technique for the PWM inverter has been
developed to make the line voltages balanced at the point of common coupling (PCC) when
the load is unbalanced. Hence, efforts are made to supply quality voltage to the consumers
through the stand-alone power system. Detailed modeling of various components of stand-
alone system is presented. Extensive simulation results using Matlab/SIMULINK established
that the performance of the controllers is quite satisfactory under balanced as well as
unbalanced load conditions. Moreover, results with real time digital simulator (RTDS) are
presented.

The proposed stand-alone hybrid energy system is shown in Fig. 1. In stand-alone mode, the
output ac voltage is controlled in terms of amplitude and frequency. It can be achieved by
maintaining dc-link voltage constant at its reference value and keeping modulation index of
PWM inverter within a reasonably practical limit. As far as frequency of output ac voltage is
concerned, it can be maintained at specified value by choosing the frequency of sinusoidal
reference signal while generating the PWM pulses. Due to variations in the wind speed, solar
irradiation and load; dc-link voltage varies because of power mismatch between sources and
load. Hence, it is required to maintain dc-link voltage constant irrespective of variations in
wind speed, solar irradiation and load. Battery and dump load (i.e., aqua-electrolyzer) are
used to maintain the power balance of the system.

The battery is connected to the dc-link through a dc- dc bidirectional buck-boost converter.
Using bidirectional buck-boost converter, the battery voltage can be kept lower as compared
to reference dc-link voltage and hence less number of batteries need to be connected in series.
In the proposed system battery voltage is kept at about 300 V while (signal generated by
P&O algorithm). Considering voltage drop across LC filter connected after inverter, to keep
output AC voltage at 400 V rms (line–line), minimum dc voltage requirement is 640 V. As
for as maximum dc voltage is concerned generally 5% is allowable (i.e., 672 V) for the sake
of protection of dc bus and power electronic devices connected to dc bus. Hence in the design
of dc–dc converter control, limiter is connected after generating Vmpp by P&O algorithm (as
shown in Fig. 2(c)) which limits the reference voltage of dc-link (Vmpp) between 640 V and
672 V. The lower limit of dc voltage (i.e., 640 V) corresponds to 300 W/m2 irradiance.
Hence, for irradiance below 300 W/m2, P&O algorithm acts as constant voltage MPPT
algorithm. This is helpful to operate the system during night time and under nonsunny days,
because, night time irradiance is almost zero and PV cannot work. Under such situations
limiter keeps reference voltage of dc-link voltage at minimum level of 640 V. For highest
possible irradiance i.e., 1000 W/m2, corresponds to 666.6 V which is well below of higher
limit of dc voltage (i.e., 672 V).
 Fig. 3. Control of dc–dc converter connected between battery and dc-link.

CONTROL OF FREQUENCY AND VOLTAGE OF DISTRIBUTED GENERATION

IN GRID-CONNECTED MODE
Figure 2. Grid-connected inverter interfaced DER primary control consisting droop, voltage,
and current control loops

The grid-supporting inverter fits the control and hardware topology most typical of three-
phase VSI utilized in interfacing numerous DERs. It is intended to fill a variety of roles and
can export power at any specified power factor, when connected to weak grids, stiff grids and
to a low-inertia RES dominated microgrid. Figure 2 is a grid-interactive inverter system
whose output is connected to a stiff host grid. Its model can be derived in a synchronously
rotating reference frame by using the PLL phase angle. The innermost loop controls the filter
inductor current, following current references and removing cross-coupled terms caused by
the reference frame transformation. The outer loop specifies the current references
corresponding to required or specified active power and reactive power references. The VSI
and the LC filter constitute the power processing unit. The output is interfaced to the grid via
the LC filters where the L is the coupling inductor with C as the shunt capacitor. The entire
system reference is the common reference frame where the dynamics of each constituent
generating unit are transformed using the angular frequency !. Subsequently, the decoupling
of the active and reactive power is done through Park transformation (abc-dq).

Output LC Filter: The LC filter attenuates the output voltage ripple and limits the high-
frequency ripple current of power electronic switches. The LC filter circuit equations are
derived from the synchronous reference frame. Figure 2 shows filter inductance Lf and shunt
capacitance Cf. The grid impedance or transformer leakage inductance or both serve as
coupling inductor [58]. The LC filter arrangement depicted is used for the grid-connected
inverter with local load in between.

Grid Synchronization: The AC grid voltage parameters; voltage magnitude, grid frequency,
and phase angle of an inverter-basedMGare key to accurate and dynamic control of active
power and reactive power injected. Therefore, a precise estimation of these aforementioned
parameters has a significant effct on the inverter general performance. Furthermore,
continuous parameter sampling and AC grid condition monitoring are required to
dynamically decide the appropriate and optimal mode of operation. The inverter-based
microgrid synchronization using PLL ensures appropriate response during normal and
abnormal AC main grid condition. The phase angle and frequency of the main grid is closely
tracked by the synchronous reference frame PLL using equation 2,

Equation (2) transforms a three-phase instantaneous voltage from the natural abc reference
frame to a rotating synchronous dq reference frame by Park (abc-dq) transformation. In the
dq reference frame, the Equation (3) shows an angular position, which is regulated via the
feedback loop driving the voltage quadrature component vq to zero.
USE OF ENERGY STORAGE AND POWER ELECTRONICS INTERFACES FOR
THE CONNECTION TO GRID AND LOADS

a) USE OF ENERGY STORAGE

A key benefit of being able to store this energy is that it helps to prevent renewable resources
from going to waste. There are times when the amount of electricity being generated by
renewables can exceed the amount that’s needed at the time. When this happens, some
renewable generators may need to curtail their outputs in order to help the system remain
‘balanced’ – i.e. when electricity supply meets demand – meaning that an opportunity to
generate clean electricity has essentially gone to waste. Energy storage allows these
renewable energy resources to continue to generate electricity even if it’s not needed at that
particular time, as it can be stored until a later time when it’s needed.

Storage options include batteries, thermal, or mechanical systems. All of these technologies
can be paired with software that controls the charge and discharge of energy.

Batteries: There are various forms of batteries, including: lithium-ion, flow, lead acid,
sodium, and others designed to meet specific power and duration requirements. Initially used
for consumer products, lithium-ion batteries now have a range of applications including
smaller residential systems and larger systems that can store multiple megawatt hours (MWh)
and can support the entire electric grid. These systems typically house a large number of
batteries together on a rack, combined with monitoring and management units. These systems
have a small footprint for the amount of energy they store. For example, a system the size of
a small refrigerator could power an average home for several days. A utility-scale system of
100 MWh could fit on less than 0.5 acres. Lithium-ion batteries have received a lot of press
for their rapidly declining costs, due to the growing popularity of electric vehicles. A
different type of battery is a flow battery in which energy is stored and provided by two
chemicals that are dissolved in liquids and stored in tanks. These are well suited for longer
duration storage.

Thermal: Thermal systems use heating and cooling methods to store and release energy. For
example, molten salt stores solar-generated heat for use when there is no sunlight. Ice storage
in buildings reduces the need to run compressors while still providing air conditioning over a
period of several hours. Other systems use chilled water and dispatchable hot water heaters.
In all cases, excess energy charges the storage system (heat the molten salts, freeze the water,
etc.) and is later released as needed.

Flywheels: Flywheels store energy in a rapidly spinning mechanical rotor and are capable of
absorbing and releasing high power for typically 15 minutes or less, although longer duration
systems are being developed. These systems can balance fluctuations in electricity supply and
demand where they respond to a control signal adjusted every few seconds. They also
recapture braking energy from electric trains in some installations or provide short-term
power until backup generation comes online during a grid outage, such as in a critical
manufacturing process where product would be lost by a momentary electric interruption.

Pumped Hydro Power: Pumped hydroelectric facilities are the most common form of
energy storage on the grid and account for over 95% of the storage in use today. During off-
peak hours, turbines pump water to an elevated reservoir using excess electricity. When
electricity demand is high, the reservoir opens to allow the retained water to flow through
turbines and produce electricity. Siting these systems can be difficult because of the terrain
needed (an upper and lower pool of water) and large footprint.
b) POWER ELECTRONICS INTERFACES FOR THE CONNECTION TO GRID
AND LOADS

The connection point of an energy source to the grid is usually referred to as the point of
connection (PCC). Its definition depends on the ownership and utility interconnect
requirements. Two different possible definitions are shown in Figure 2.59, where typically
the interconnection relay (protection) is installed at the PCC

There are different interfacing technologies used; in common is the use of generators and
power electronics converters, as shown in Figure 2.60. The main goal of the interfacing
technology is to accommodate the energy produced to the grid requirements. Depending on
the nature of their produced power, different energy sources use different technologies to
interface/couple with the grid, as reported in Table 2.11.

The interfacing technologies are classified here into four categories: direct machine coupling,
full power electronics coupling, partial power electronics coupling, and modular or
distributed power electronics coupling. The different grid couplings are explained below in
more detail.

(i) Full Power Electronics Coupling with the Grid

The main task of the power electronics interface is to condition the energy supplied by the
DG to match the grid requirements and to improve the performance of the energy source.
Power electronics equipment has the capability to convert power from one form to another by
using controlled electronic switches, and hence called power electronics converters (or
converters in short). For instance, they are used to convert direct current (DC) power to
alternating current (AC) power that matches the grid requirements. Such converters are
referred to as DC/AC converters. With DC energy sources, the power electronics interface
may consist of one DC/AC converter or an intermediate DC/DC conversion stage can be
added to achieve a specific goal, for example, in order to regulate the output voltage so that
the maximum available power is extracted as in the case of PV systems. The same is valid for
AC sources, where they have to be adjusted to match the grid requirements by a DC
intermediate stage (see Figure 2.62). Energy storage could also be connected in the DC stage,
called the DC link, to adjust the energy injected into the utility grid in all operating
conditions.

The arrangement that consists of AC/DC and DC/AC converters is also referred to as
frequency converter, since it connects two different AC systems with possibly two different
frequencies together. The frequency converter is in a back-to-back configuration, when the
DC link is directly connecting the two converters together as shown in Figure 2.63, or an
HVDC/MVDC system configuration when there is a transmission DC cable in the DC link
for either HV or MV applications, as shown in Figure 2.64.
The back-to-back configuration in Figure 2.63 is used to interface a variable speed wind
turbine with the grid. The aerodynamic power of the turbine is set through the pitch, stall, or
active stall control. The pitch control is the most popular type for the recent generations of
wind turbines, where the pitch angle is dynamically adjusted in order to capture the
maximum wind energy belowrated wind speed. The aerodynamic power is then transformed
through a gearbox and an induction generator (IG) to electrical power. This electrical power
is then adjusted using the frequency converter to match the grid requirements. An equivalent
setup can also be found in literature, where a multipole permanent magnet synchronous
generator (PMSG) replaces the gearbox and IG set. This gearless setup results in reduced
acoustic noise and mechanical losses. Also, the PMSG inherently has higher efficiency than
the IG and does not require an external excitation. Moreover, the PMSG can be driven over a
wider range of operating speeds. Still, different design aspects are under research for such
setup.

Another example of the full power electronics interface is the photovoltaic distributed
generation shown in Figure 2.65, where central conversion is applied to extract the maximum
power of the photovoltaic array and inject it to the grid. The task of the DC/DC converter, as
mentioned before, is to adjust the operating voltage of the PV panel so that maximum power
is extracted at different temperatures (or irradiation levels).

(ii) Partial Power Electronics Coupling to the Grid

Other arrangements of power electronics coupling to the grid may implement smaller sizes of
the converter, where the converter is rated for a certain percentage of the DG apparent
power—hence, referred to as partial power electronics coupling. Two such systems are
shown in Figures 2.66 and 2.67.
In a variable speed wind turbine with double-fed induction generator, the converter feeds the
rotor winding, while the stator winding is connected directly to the grid. This converter setup,
through decoupling mechanical and electrical frequency and making variable speed operation
possible, can vary the electrical rotor frequency. This turbine cannot operate in the full range
from zero to the rated speed, but the speed range is quite sufficient. This limited speed range
is caused by the fact that a converter considerably smaller than the rated power of the
machine is used. In principle, the ratio between the size of the converter and the wind turbine
rating is half of the rotor speed span. In addition to the fact that the converter is smaller, the
losses are also lower and the control possibilities of the reactive power are similar to the full
power converter system.

A partially rated power electronics converter at the connection point of a wind farm (or any
other aggregate of sources) is usually needed to mainly provide a voltage dip ride-through
capability, which is a required feature regarding different grid codes, and possible reactive
power support. Usually a STATCOM (static var compensator), which is mainly a voltage
source converter (VSC), is used for this purpose as shown in Figure 2.67.

The voltage source converter is the main enabling technology to interface energy sources at
the front end to the grid for either full or partial power electronics interfaces. Its basic
structural feature is a capacitor at theDClink and the use of self-commutating switches to
transfer the energy to the grid in the appropriate form. To get a closer idea about how a VSC
works, a simple single-phase transistor bridge is considered, as shown in Figure 2.68. The
switches s1–s4 are represented using insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) that are
commonly used in medium-voltage applications. An IGBT is a self-commutated switch;
meaning that it can turn on and off on full current, which facilitates the use of high-frequency
switching that produces better waveforms regarding the harmonics content. In the figure, the
switches s1 and s2 are turned on at the same time, while switches s3 and s4 are off resulting
in positive DC voltage Vdc appearing on the AC side. After this the switching states are
reversed, meaning that s1 and s2 are off while s3 and s4 are on, resulting in a negative DC
voltage −Vdc appearing on the AC side. The output voltage vo is then continuously varied
between the positive and negative of the magnitude of the DC voltage.
 (iii) Distributed Power Electronics Interface

Distributed power electronics interfaces refer in this context to a number of distributed

generation that are connected to the same local grid through power electronics converters.

The module-integrated photovoltaic system, shown in Figure 2.72, is also a type of

distributed active interface structure that has been basically developed in order to increase the
efficiency and reliability of the solar power cells. This is possible since different solar cells in
an array or a cluster are exposed to different irradiation. Hence, by operating each integrated
converter at a different point that is related to the MPP results in better reliability compared to
using a central conversion. It has been found that using this structure increases the power
efficiency to about 96% in addition to providing a better power quality.

Another example is a wind farm with full power electronics-interfaced wind turbines.
Implementing a proper control architecture that makes use of the distributed controllability of
the converters makes such setup reliable, reconfigurable, and selfhealing. A possible
distributed control architecture is shown in Figure 2.73. As shown in the figure, the
supervisory control can be divided into a number of controllers. A module control is
connected to two or more supervisory controllers so that if one fails, it will be directed to the
other one. Using this concept, the module control may have its primary signal from a
supervisory controller and a backup signal from another supervisory controller in a scenario
that provides a reliable, self-organizing, and selfhealing control structure. This control
structure additionally supports the plug and play operation, where the setup can be upgraded
through plugging in a new module that instantly communicates with a supervisory controller
and other modules in order to contribute to the overall control function.

DESIGN AND OPTIMIZATION OF SIZE OF RENEWABLE SOURCES AND

STORAGES

Optimal system design and sizing are essential for maximizing energy production and
minimizing costs. By considering factors such as load profiles, resource availability and
system constraints, engineers can determine the most efficient configuration of renewable
energy components. This includes selecting the appropriate capacity of solar panels, wind
turbines, and energy storage systems to match the energy demand and achieve the desired
level of reliability. Implementing advanced control and monitoring systems enables real-time
optimization of renewable energy systems. By continuously collecting data on energy
production, consumption and environmental conditions, control algorithms can adjust system
parameters to maximize performance. Intelligent control also facilitates the integration of
multiple renewable energy sources and enables smooth grid interaction, improving stability
and power quality.
Energy storage systems play a critical role in optimizing renewable energy systems. They
enable the capture and storage of excess energy during periods of high production for later
use when production is low. Optimal sizing and management of energy storage systems,
combined with intelligent grid integration, facilitate efficient energy dispatch and enhance
system flexibility. This ensures a smooth integration of renewable energy into the existing
power grid and supports a reliable and stable energy supply. Implementing predictive
maintenance strategies can help optimize the performance and longevity of renewable energy
systems. By leveraging data analytics, machine learning and condition monitoring
techniques, potential equipment failures can be detected in advance. This enables timely
maintenance and reduces downtime, ensuring maximum system availability and minimizing
maintenance costs.

By increasing efficiency, enhancing reliability, and reducing costs, optimization strategies

unlock the full potential of renewable energy sources, making them a viable and attractive
alternative to traditional fossil fuel-based energy systems. System design and sizing, guided
by careful consideration of load profiles and resource availability, ensure that renewable
energy systems are tailored to meet specific energy demands efficiently. Predictive
maintenance strategies based on data analytics and condition monitoring techniques enable
the early detection of equipment failures, allowing for timely maintenance and minimizing
system downtime. This maximizes system availability, reduces maintenance costs, and
ensures long-term performance and longevity of renewable energy systems

Modelling requires following inputs which serve the role of decision variables.

 Electricity demand.
 Electrical power production units.
 Simulation (defining technical limitations and constraints of the components if any)
 Costs (Determining investment costs per unit, lifetime and percentage of investment
of production units).

System sizing

Major issues that arise when designing a system include that the load placed on the system is
not constant, that the amount of energy available from the renewable energy source is
variable and that technology that best suits site should be implemented. Therefore the design
has to be iterative using simulation models that can evaluate instantaneous system
performance.

Several software tools are available on the market and in research groups to optimize and
simulate hybrid energy systems, but it is sometimes difficult to assess the adequacy of these
tools to specific tasks. Also, more details are available from the system when performing
optimization than at the planning phase. According to
http://www.ecs.umass.edu/mie/labs/rerl/hy2/theory/pdf/users.pdf, use of such programs
require high expertise and financial resource hence the development of simplified
computational methods that are less costly. Also the user does not get an intuitive
understanding of the system since figures are just fed into the system, hence the development
of simpler home-made models. In the development of these homemade models the user is
able to include specific things that one needs to use. A system can be designed with a smaller
or larger solar array or battery, or may make more use of the diesel generator. The problem is
to find a system that provides an optimal combination of solar array, battery and usage of the
diesel engine.

Estimation of Electrical Load

The electrical loads can be estimated if the power used by each appliance is known. The total
energy required will depend on this power draw and the operating time of the appliance.
Overall electrical loads can be determined by drawing up a list of all items, their power use
and their average operating time per day. The total will be used in determining the size and
type of system required.

Load Profiles

The load profile has been defined by Karnavas and Papadopoulos (1999) as the power
requirements for the demand-side converters (appliance loads) over time. Once energy
conservation (demand side management) techniques are used to reduce the electrical load as
far as economically possible whilst still providing the required service, the load profile should
be determined to decide the type of hybrid system needed to provide power. The load profile
may vary by the hour, day, week, month, season, or year. The peak demand spikes can be met
from the batteries and the engine generator started and operated at a steady load when the
battery state-ofcharge drops below a pre-set level.

The most convenient method of determining the load profile of a system is by measuring
electricity demand using an energy (kilowatt / kilowatt-hour) meter, and logging the output
hourly, or more often, for at least a week, preferably a month or year (seasonal variations).
This can be done either manually if someone can read the meter at regular intervals, or a data
logger can be used, in which case much more detailed information is available. This will
reveal the daily and weekly profiles. If seasonal variations in load are suspected, longer-term
(yearly) load monitoring will be required to reveal the seasonal profile.

Photovoltaic Modules: Technician’s method

According to Klein (1977) to determine the actual required PV array output, divide the daily
energy requirement by the battery efficiency which is usually between 0.70 and 0.95 and
depends on the coulombic efficiency of the batteries in both charging and discharging.
Generally 0.95 is used for very efficient batteries installed in good conditions and 0.7 for the
least efficient batteries.

The author highlights that to work out the output from the array, it is important to know under
what conditions the output will be determined, and need to know what the inclination of the
array will be. This is measured in peak sun hours, which is dependent on latitude, season and
inclination of the array. The scenario generally chosen for solar / generator hybrid systems is
the yearly average peak sun hours. If tables of peak sun hours are not available they can be
determined from the average of daily total global radiation. To convert daily global radiation
(MJ/m2) to peak sun hours divide by 3.6. The output of the modules will be average annual
peak sun hours times the module rating.

To determine the number of modules in the array first work out the number of modules in
series so that the operating voltage is sufficient for battery charging. Divide the system
voltage by the nominal operating voltage of each module. To determine the number of
modules in parallel the array output required (Ah) is divided by the output of each module
(Ah). However this method does not apply in this research as it does not take into account
many things and in a hybrid system energy flows need to be known from hour to hour.

Sizing the Charge Controller/ Battery Charger

Generators in renewable systems are used to power the battery charger, particularly during
poor weather, or to supply heavy loads. They can be automatically or manually controlled. In
most systems, either diesel, petrol or gas driven generators are used.
A battery charger converts the AC output to DC for the purpose of battery charging. The
battery charger should be selected such that it converts the 240 volt, 50 Hz AC to DC at the
required bus voltage of the battery storage bank. It should be able to provide a direct current
up to the maximum allowable charge rate of the batteries. The two critical factors to consider
when selecting a battery charger are the system voltage and the maximum rate of charge of
the batteries. There may not be a battery charger with exactly the maximum current specified
so a charger with lower current would be chosen. The most likely available charger would be
24 Volt 60 Amps. The size of the battery charger is determined by the size of the battery bank.

A charge controller should be sized to pass the expected continuous current from the array (or
sub-array) into the battery, and should be able to withstand temporary peak currents due to
sunnier than normal conditions. It is critical that the controller be adequately sized since the
costs associated with the controller are much greater than the cost of initially installing a
slightly larger controller. A module will normally have a maximum current output which is its
rated short circuit current (when battery voltage is low). It is possible for irradiance levels to
reach 3000 watts/m²; the short circuit current is normally rated for irradiance levels of 1000
watts/ m². Charge controllers should be sized therefore, to regulate 130% of a module’s
normal short circuit current. The size of a controller can be calculated by multiplying the Isc
current of a module by the number of modules in parallel and the 1.3 safety factor. Consult
with the manufacturers to determine if they have already build a safety factor into their rating
value; oversizing by 130% may not be necessary if the controller is already designed to
handle higher than rated currents.

Inverter Power

The inverter converts DC power from the battery bank and/or PV array to AC whenever
power from diesel generator sets is not available. It changes DC energy stored within the
batteries to AC energy, suitable for the standard appliance operating voltage of 240V. An
inverter can generally only supply loads up to its kilowatt rating, although all inverters have a
surge rating for electrical peaks. This allows for motor starting, or other brief overloads.

The output power (wattage) of an inverter indicates how much power the inverter can supply
during standard operation. It is important to choose an inverter, which will satisfy a system’s
peak load requirements. Most inverters are able to exceed their rated wattage for limited
periods of time. This is necessary since appliances may require many times their rated
wattage during start up and the minimum surge requirement may be calculated by
multiplying the required wattage by three. Some Inverters have the added advantage that they
have a built-in battery charger so that when the batteries need charging from an AC source
(generator), the current can be fed into the inverter, changed to DC, and then used to charge
the batteries.