A Flexible Experimental Laboratory for Distributed Generation Networks Based on Power Inverters

Abstract

Abstract:In the recently deregulated electricity market, distributed generation based on renewable sources is becoming more and more relevant. In this area, two main distributed scenarios are focusing the attention of recent research: grid-connected mode, where the generation sources are connected to a grid mainly supplied by big power plants, and islanded mode, where the distributed sources, energy storage devices, and loads compose an autonomous entity that in its general form can be named a microgrid. To conduct a successful research in these two scenarios, it is essential to have a flexible experimental setup. This work deals with the description of a real laboratory setup composed of four nodes that can emulate both scenarios of a distributed generation network. A comprehensive description of the hardware and software setup will be done, focusing especially in the dual-core DSP used for control purposes, which is next to the industry standards and able to emulate real complexities. A complete experimental section will show the main features of the system.

Voltage Support Experimental Analysis of a Low-Voltage Ride-Through Strategy Applied to Grid-Connected Distributed Inverters

“…A three-phase distributed generation network composed of four voltage-sourced inverters (VSIs) and one programmable AC power source, which emulates the utility grid, has been implemented in the power network laboratory (PNL). Details on the design and implementation of the experimental test bench can be found in the literature [34]. Each generation node (DPGS) is composed of a three-phase inverter with an output LC filter connected to the network through a wye-delta transformer.…”

“…However, most of these strategies were presented for a single inverter connected to the grid. Nevertheless, some works address the issue of the operation of multiple inverter-based renewable distributed generators [28][29][30][31][32][33][34]. In the literature [28], the coordinated operation between a wind farm and a static synchronous compensator (STATCOM) in a power network is studied.…”

“…Nevertheless, the system under consideration-with a typical microgrid configuration-consists of two single-phase inverters, local loads, a bidirectional static transfer switch, and a synchronization switch. A hardware and software description of a real laboratory setup composed of four nodes is done in the literature [34]. This experimental network can emulate the two main scenarios of a dispersed generation network: (1) distributed generation sources connected to the grid and (2) microgrids in islanded mode.…”

Performance Comparison of Grid-Faulty Control Schemes for Inverter-Based Industrial Microgrids

“…It is based on reducing the amplitude and frequency of the reference voltages according to the reactive Q and active P powers delivered by the inverter [17,26,27] (26) The droop control method makes possible to operate several inverters simultaneously as voltage sources [5,8]. It is based on reducing the amplitude V re f and frequency ω re f of the reference voltages according to the reactive Q and active P powers delivered by the inverter [17,26,27] …”

“…The design guidelines provided in [17,25,30] are used to properly tune the parameters of GCCS, IVS and GCVS control schemes, respectively. In particular, the gains of the PI controllers only impact on the dynamic characteristics of the microgrid, providing a fast transient response with small overshoot when the design guidelines are observed.…”