Compared to half-bridge based MMCs, full-bridge based systems have the advantage of blocking dc fault, but at the expense of increased power semiconductors and power losses. In view of the relationships among ac/dc voltages and currents in full-bridge based MMC with the negative voltage state, this paper provides a detailed analysis on the link between capacitor voltage variation and the maximum modulation index. A hybrid MMC, consisting of mixed half-bridge and full-bridge circuits to combine their respective advantages is investigated in terms of its pre-charging process and transient dc fault ride-through capability. Simulation and experiment results demonstrate the feasibility and validity of the proposed strategy for a full-bridge based MMC and the hybrid MMC.

This paper presents a new technique for the detection of islanding conditions in electrical power systems. This problem is especially prevalent in systems with significant penetrations of distributed renewable generation. The proposed technique is based on the application of principal component analysis (PCA) to data sets of wide-area frequency measurements, recorded by phasor measurement units. The PCA approach was able to detect islanding accurately and quickly when compared with conventional RoCoF techniques, as well as with the frequency difference and change of angle difference methods recently proposed in the literature. The reliability and accuracy of the proposed PCA approach is demonstrated using a number of test cases, which consider both islanding and non-islanding events. The test cases are based on real data, recorded from several phasor measurement units located in the UK power system.

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Wavelets introduce new classes of basis functions for timefrequency signal analysis and have properties particularly suited to the transient components and discontinuities evident in power system disturbances. Wavelet analysis involves representing signals in terms of simpler, fixed building blocks at different scales and positions. This paper examines the analysis and subsequent compression properties of the discrete wavelet and wavelet packet transforms and evaluates both transforms using an actual power system disturbance from a digital fault recorder. The paper presents comparative compression results using the wavelet and discrete cosine transforms and examines the application of wavelet compression in power monitoring to mitigate against data communications overheads.

System efficiency and cost effectiveness are of critical importance for photovoltaic (PV) systems. This paper addresses the two issues by developing a novel three-port DC-DC converter for stand-alone PV systems, based on an improved Flyback-Forward topology. It provides a compact single-unit solution with a combined feature of optimized maximum power point tracking (MPPT), high step-up ratio, galvanic isolation and multiple operating modes for domestic and aerospace applications. A theoretical analysis is conducted to analyze the operating modes followed by simulation and experimental work. The paper is focused on a comprehensive modulation strategy utilizing both PWM and phase-shifted control that satisfies the requirement of PV power systems to achieve MPPT and output voltage regulation. A 250 W converter was designed and prototyped to provide experimental verification in term of system integration and high conversion efficiency. Index Terms-DC-DC power conversion, maximum power point tracking, phase shift, photovoltaic power system, voltage control. I. INTRODUCTION OLAR energy is a primary and renewable source of energy. As the cost of photovoltaic (PV) panels is seen to reduce continuously, PV-based power generation is gaining in

Battery energy storage system (BESS) services will be of great help when operating power systems at high renewable energy penetrations. This paper demonstrates the requirements for effective frequency and inertia services. Some system operators currently apply scalars to financially reward improved performance. This paper demonstrates a method of validating and improving these scalars by considering the delay time and ramp time of the BESS. The importance of the method used to measure the rate of change of frequency is discussed in the paper. While rate of change of frequency services improve with reduced delivery times, limits are identified where further reductions produce negligible impact. This demonstrates the tangible benefits of a rapid response and that current technology could meet the criteria. A variety of BESS capacities are trialled which demonstrate consistency in performance and the occurrence of diminishing returns.

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This paper presents a new method for online determination of the Thèvenin equivalent parameters of a power system at a given node using the local PMU measurements at that node. The method takes into account the measurement errors and the changes in the system side. An analysis of the effects of changes in system side is carried out on a simple two-bus system to gain an insight of the effect of system side changes on the estimated Thévenin equivalent parameters. The proposed method uses voltage and current magnitudes as well as active and reactive powers; thus avoiding the effect of phase angle drift of the PMU and the need to synchronize measurements at different instances to the same reference. Applying the method to the IEEE 30-bus test system has shown its ability to correctly determine the Thévenin equivalent even in the presence of measurement errors and/or system side changes.