Power-Electronic Systems for the Grid Integration of Renewable Energy Sources

Based on: J.M. Carrasco, J.T Bialasiewicz, et al:Power-Electronic Carrasco, Bialasiewicz, al:PowerSystems for the Grid Integration of Renewable Energy Sources: A Survey, Survey, IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, VOL. 53, NO. 4, AUGUST 2006. 2006.

Zbigniew Leonowicz, PhD

Outline
New trends in power electronics for the integration of wind and photovoltaic Review of the appropriate storage-system technology Future trends in renewable energy systems based on reliability and maturity

Introduction
Increasing number of renewable energy sources and distributed generators New strategies for the operation and management of the electricity grid Improve the power-supply reliability and quality Liberalization of the grids leads to new management structures

Power-electronics technology
Plays an important role in distributed generation Integration of renewable energy sources into the electrical grid Fast evolution, due to: a. development of fast semiconductor switches b. introduction of real-time controllers

Outline (detailed)
1. Current technology and future trends in variable-speed wind turbines 2. Power-conditioning systems used in gridconnected photovoltaic (PV) 3. Research and development trends in energy-storage systems

Wind turbine technology

Wind-turbine market has been growing at over 30% a year Important role in electricity generation Germany and Spain

New technologies - wind turbines

Variable-speed technology 5% increased efficiency Easy control of active and reactive power flows Rotor acts as a flywheel (storing energy) No flicker problems Higher cost (power electronics cost 7%)

DFIG

http://www.windsimulators.co.uk/images/DFIG.gif

Variable-speed turbine with DFIG

Converter feeds the rotor winding Stator winding connected directly to the grid Small converter Low price

Simplified semi-variable speed turbine

Rotor resistance of the squirrel cage generator - varied instantly using fast power electronics

Variable-Speed Concept Utilizing FullPower Converter

Decoupled from grid

ENERCON
multipole synchronous generator reduced losses lower costs increased reliability
http://www.wwindea.org/technology/ch01/imgs/1_2_3_2_img1.jpg

Full converter
Energy storage

Energy Transfer Control of the active and reactive powers total-harmonicdistortion control

driver controlling the torque generator, using a vector control strategy

Rectifier and chopper

step-up chopper is used to adapt the rectifier voltage to the dc-link voltage of the inverter.

Semiconductor-Device Technology
Power semiconductor devices with better electrical characteristics and lower prices Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) is main component for power electronics

Integrated gated control thyristor (IGCT) - ABB

Comparison between IGCT and IGBT

IGBTs have higher switching frequency than IGCTs IGCTs are made like disk devices high electromagnetic emission, cooling problems IGBTs are built like modular devices lifetime of the device 10 x IGCT IGCTs have a lower ON-state voltage drop ONdroplosses 2x lower

Grid-Connection Standards for Wind Farms

Voltage Fault Ride-Through Capability of RideWind Turbines
a. turbines should stay connected and contribute to the grid in case of a disturbance such as a voltage dip. b. Wind farms should generate like conventional power plants, supplying active and reactive powers for frequency and voltage recovery, immediately after the fault occurred.

Requirements

Power-Quality Requirements for GridConnected Wind Turbines

- flicker + interharmonics Draft IEC-61400-21 standard for powerquality requirements for Grid Connected Wind Turbines

IEC Standard IEC-61400-21 IEC-614001. Flicker analysis 2. Switching operations. Voltage and current transients 3. Harmonic analysis (FFT) - rectangular windows of eight cycles of fundamental frequency. THD up to 50th harmonic

Other Standards
High-frequency (HF) according to the IEC harmonics and 61000-4-7 interharmonics IEC switching frequency of 61000-4-7 and IEC the inverter is not 61000-3-6 constant methods for summing Can be not multiple of harmonics and 50 Hz interharmonics in the IEC 61000-3-6 To obtain a correct magnitude of the frequency components, define window width,

Transmission Technology for the Future

Offshore installation.

HVAC
Disadvantages: High distributed capacitance of cables Limited length

HVDC
More economic > 100 km and power 200-900 MW 2001) Sending and receiving end frequencies are independent. 2) Transmission distance using dc is not affected by cable charging current. 3) Offshore installation is isolated from mainland disturbances 4) Power flow is fully defined and controllable. 5) Cable power losses are low. 6) Power-transmission capability per cable is higher.

HVDC LCC-based

Line-commutated converters Many disadvantages Harmonics

HVDC VSC based

HVDC Light HVDC Plus Several advantages- flexible power control, no reactive power compensation,

High-Power Medium-Voltage Converter Topologies

Multilevel-converter
1) multilevel configurations with diode clamps 2) multilevel configurations with bidirectional switch interconnection 3) multilevel configurations with flying capacitors 4) multilevel configurations with multiple three-phase inverters 5) multilevel configurations with cascaded single-phase H-bridge inverters.

Comparison
http://hermes.eee.nott.ac.uk/teaching/h5cpe2/
1 0.8 0.6 0.4 Amplitude 0.2 0

1 0.8

-0.2 -0.4 -0.6

0.6 0.4 Amplitude 0.2 0 -0.2 -0.4 -0.6 -0.8 -1 0 0.005 0.01 Time /s 0.015 0.02

-0.8 -1 0 0.005 0.01 Time /s 0.015 0.02

Multilevel back-to-back converter for direct connection to the grid

Low-speed permanent-magnet generators

power-electronic building block (PEBB)

Direct-Drive Technology for Wind Turbines

Reduced size Lower installation and maintenance cost Flexible control method Quick response to wind fluctuations and load variation

Axial flux machines

Future Energy-Storage Technologies in Wind Farms

Zinc bromine battery High energy density relative to lead-acid batteries 100% depth of discharge capability High cycle life of >2000 cycles at No shelf life Scalable capacities from 10kWh to over 500kWh systems The ability to store energy from any electricity generating source

Hydrogen as a vehicle fuel

Electrical energy can be produced and delivered to the grid from hydrogen by a fuel cell or a hydrogen combustion generator. The fuel cell produces power through a chemical reaction and energy is released from the hydrogen when it reacts with the oxygen in the air.

Variable-speed wind turbine with hydrogen storage system

PV Photovoltaic Technology
PV systems as an alternative energy resource Complementary Energy-resource in hybrid systems Necessary: Necessary: high reliability reasonable cost user-friendly design

PV-module connections
The standards EN61000-3-2, IEEE1547, U.S. National Electrical Code (NEC) 690 IEC61727 power quality, detection of islanding operation, grounding structure and the features of the present and future PV modules.

IEC 61000-3-2

Islanding

PV Generator

Converter AC-DC

Local Loads

Grid

Market Considerations PV
Solar-electric-energy growth consistently 20%25% per annum over the past 20 years

1) an increasing efficiency of solar cells 2) manufacturing-technology improvements manufacturing3) economies of scale

PV growth
2001, 350 MW of solar equipment was sold 2003, 574 MW of PV was installed. In 2004 increased to 927 MW Significant financial incentives in Japan, Germany, Italy and France triggered a huge growth in demand In 2008, Spain installed 45% of all photovoltaics, 2500 MW in 2008 to an drop to 375 MW in 2009

Perspectives
World solar photovoltaic (PV) installations were 2.826 gigawatts peak (GWp) in 2007, and 5.95 gigawatts in 2008 The three leading countries (Germany, Japan and the US) represent nearly 89% of the total worldwide PV installed capacity. 2012 are and 12.3GW- 18.8GW expected

Efficiency
Market leader in solar panel efficiency (measured by energy conversion ratio) is SunPower, (San Jose USA) - 23.4% market average of 12-18%. Efficiency of 42% achieved at the University of Delaware in conjunction with DuPont (concentration) in 2007. The highest efficiency achieved without concentration is by Sharp Corporation at 35.8% using a proprietary triple-junction manufacturing technology in 2009.

Design of PV-Converters
IGBT technology Inverters must be able to detect an islanding situation and take appropriate measures in order to protect persons and equipment PV cells - connected to the grid PV cells - isolated power supplies

Converter topologies
Central inverters Module-oriented or module-integrated inverters String inverters

Multistring converter
Integration of PV strings of different technologies and orientations

Review of PV Converters
S. B. Kjaer, J. K. Pedersen, F.Blaabjerg A Review of Single-Phase GridConnected Inverters for Photovoltaic Modules, IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. 41, NO. 5, SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2005

Demands Defined by the Grid - standards (slide 37) EN standard (applied in Europe) allows higher current harmonics the corresponding IEEE and IEC standards.

Islanding
Islanding is the continued operation of the inverter when the grid has been removed on purpose, by accident, or by damage Detection schemes - active and passive. 1. The passive methods -monitor grid parameters. 2. The active schemes introduce a disturbance into the grid and monitor the effect.

Grounding & ground faults

The NEC 690 standard - system grounded and monitored for ground faults Other Electricity Boards only demand equipment ground of the PV modules in the case of absent galvanic isolation Equipment ground is the case when frames and other metallic parts are connected to ground.

Power injected into grid

Decoupling is necessary p instantaneous P - average

Demands Defined by the Photovoltaic Module

Voltage in the range from 23 to 38 V at a power generation of approximate 160 W, and their open-circuit voltage is below 45 V. New technolgies - voltage range around 0.5 -1.0 V at several hundred amperes per square meter cell

Maximum Power Point Tracker

EX.: ripple voltage should be below 8.5% of the MPP voltage in order to reach a utilization ratio of 98%

Cost
Cost effectiveness using similar circuits as in single-phase power-factor-correction (PFC) circuits variable-speed drives (VSDs)

High efficiency
wide range of input voltage and input power very wide ranges as functions of solar irradiation and ambient temperature.

Meteorological data
. (a) Irradiation distribution for a reference year. (b) Solar energy distribution for a reference year. Total time of irradiation equals 4686 h per year. Total potential energy is equal to 1150 kWh=(m2 year) 130 W/m2

Reliability
long operational lifetime most PV module manufacturer offer a warranty of 25 years on 80% of initial efficiency The main limiting components inside the inverters are the electrolytic capacitors used for power decoupling between the PV module and the single-phase grid

Topologies of PV inverters
Centralized Inverters String Inverters Multi-string Inverters AC modules & AC cell technology

Centralized Inverters
PV modules as series connections (a string) series connections then connected in parallel, through string diodes Disadvantages !

String Inverters
Reduced version of the centralized inverter single string of PV modules is connected to the inverter no losses on string diodes separate MPPTs increases the overall efficiency

AC module
inverter and PV module as one electrical device No mismatch losses between PV modules Optimal adjustment of MPPT high voltageamplification necessary

Future topologies
Multi-String Inverters AC Modules AC Cells

Multi-string Inverters
Flexible Every string can be controlled individually.

AC cell
One large PV cell connected to a dcac inverter Very low voltage New converter concepts

Classification of Inverter Topologies

Single-stage inverter

Dual stage inverter Multi-string inverter

Power Decoupling
Capacitors

Transformers and Types of Interconnections

Component to avoid (line transformers= high size, weight, price) High-frequency transformers Grounding,

Types of Grid Interfaces

Inverters operating in current-source mode

Line-commutated CSI switching at twice the line frequency

Voltage-Source Inverters
standard full-bridge three-level VSI

VSI
Half-bridge diode-clamped three-level VSI

AC Modules
1. 100-W single-transistor flyback-type HFlink inverter 100 W, out 230 V, in 48 V, 96%, pf=0,955

AC modules
2. 105-W combined flyback and buckboost inverter 105 W, out 85V, in 35V, THD <5%

AC modules
3. Modified Shimizu Inverter (160W, 230, 28V, 87%)

AC modules
4. 160-W buckboost inverter in 100V out 160V

AC modules
5. 150-W flyback dcdc converter with a line-frequency dcac unfolding inverter in 44V, out 120V

AC modules
6. 100-W flyback dcdc converter with a PWM dcac inverter 30V 210 V

AC modules
110-W series-resonant dcdc converter with an HF inverter toward the grid 30-230V , 87%

AC modules
dual-stage topology Mastervolt Soladin 120 in 24-40V, out 230V, 91%, pf=0,99

String Inverters
Single-stage Dual-stage

String Inverter
a transformerless half-bridge diodeclamped three-level inverter

String Inverter
two-level VSI, interfacing two PV strings

SMA Sunny Boy 5000TL

three PV strings, each of 2200 W at 125750 V, with own MPPT

PowerLynx Powerlink PV 4.5 kW

three PV strings, each 200-500 V, 1500 W

Evaluation and Discussion

component ratings relative cost lifetime efficiency

Results
Dual-stage CSI = large electrolytic decoupling capacitor

VSI = small decoupling electrolytic capacitor.

Results - Efficiency
Low efficiency=87% C=68 QF 160V

High efficiency=93% C=2,2 mF 45V

Discussion - String Inverters

The dual-grounded multilevel inverters p.82 good solution but quite large capacitors 2x640QF 810V -> half-period loading bipolar PWM switching toward the grid p.83 & 84 (no grounding possible, large ground currents) 2x1200 QF 375 V current-fed fullbridge dcdc converters with embedded HF transformers, for each PV string p.85 3x 310 QF 400V

Resume PV Inverters
Large centralized single-stage inverters should be avoided Preferable location for the capacitor is in the dc link where the voltage is high and a large fluctuation can be allowed without compromising the utilization factor HFTs should be applied for voltage amplification in the AC module and AC cell concepts Line-frequency CSI are suitable for low power, e.g., for ac module applications. High-frequency VSI is also suitable for both lowand high-power systems, like the ac module, the string, and the multistring inverters

Converter topologies (general)

PV inverters with dc/dc converter (with or without isolation) PV inverters without dc/dc converter (with or without isolation) Isolation is acquired using a transformer that can be placed on either the grid or low frequency (LF) side or on the HF side

HF dc/dc converter
full-bridge single-inductor pushpull double-inductor pushpull

Another classification
number of cascade power processing stages -single-stage -- dual-stage -----multi-stage There is no any standard PV inverter topology

Future
very efficient PV cells roofing PV systems PV modules in high building structures

Future trends
PV systems without transformers minimize the cost of the total system cost reduction per inverter watt -make PVgenerated power more attractive AC modules implement MPPT for PV modules improving the total system efficiency plug and play systems

Research
MPPT control THD improvements reduction of current or voltage ripple

standards are becoming more and more strict

STORAGE

Energy Storage Systems

Improvement of Quality Support the Grid during Interruption Flywheels spinning mass energy (commercial application with active filters)

Flywheel-energy-storage
low-speed flywheels (< 6000 r/min) with steel rotors and conventional bearings modern high-speed flywheel systems (to 60 000 r/min) advanced composite wheels ultralow friction bearing assemblies, such as magnetic bearings

Applications of flywheels

Research
Experimental alternatives for wind farms =flywheel connected to the dc link Control strategy = regulate the dc voltage against the input power surges/sags or sudden changes in the load demand Similar approach applied to PV systems, wave energy D-static synchronous compensator (STATCOM) Frequency control using distributed flywheels

Hydrogen-storage systems
Storable transportable, highly versatile efficient clean energy carrier

fuel cells to produce electricity

Hydrogen technology
Storage
compressed or liquefied gas by using metal hydrides or carbon nanotubes

Technologies

Compressed-Air Energy Storage -CAES

Energy storage in compressed air Gas turbines

Supercapacitors
350 to 2700 F at of 2 V. modules 200 -to 400 V long life cycle suitable for short discharge applications <100 kW.

Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage (SMES)

energy in a magnetic field without resistive losses ability to release large quantities of power during a fraction of a cycle

Battery Storage
Several types of batteries Discharge rate limited by chemistry

Pumped-Hydroelectric Storage (PHS)

variable-speed drives 30 - 350 MW, efficiencies around 75%.

Conclusions
power-electronic technology plays a very important role in the integration of renewable energy sources optimize the energy conversion and transmission control reactive power minimize harmonic distortion to achieve at a low cost a high efficiency over a wide power range

Conclusions
Achieve a high reliability tolerance to the failure of a subsystem component. common and future trends for renewable energy systems have been described. Wind energy is the most advanced technology Regulations favor the increasing number of wind farms. The trend of the PV energy leads to consider that it will be an interesting alternative in the near future