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Smart Inverters and Controls for Grid-Connected Renewable Energy Sources

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Advances in Control Techniques for Smart Grid Applications

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Abstract

This chapter describes the concept of smart inverters and their control strategies for the integration of renewable energy sources (RES) such as solar photovoltaic (PV), wind turbine generators, and fuel cell (FC) systems into the power grid. The necessity of an inverter in RES systems and the types of inverters according to their operational roles in grid-connected mode are described. Mathematical modeling of RES systems is described. The selection parameters criteria of the inverter, its control technique, and switching techniques are discussed. The role of smart inverters in renewable applications with the grid-support functions is reviewed. Three types of grid-interacting inverters are compared, and their control schemes are discussed. Various inner-loop controllers used at the primary control level are classified, and their operating methods are discussed. The advantages and disadvantages of the described inner-loop control techniques are summarized. The simulation diagram and results of a three-phase grid-connected solar PV system are shown in the chapter.

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Abbreviations

V :

Voltage (V)

f :

Frequency (Hz)

P :

Active power

Q :

Reactive power

V g :

Grid voltage

I g :

Grid current

t :

Time period (s)

p.u :

Per unit

P rated :

Rated active power (KW)

P max :

Maximum power

V max :

Maximum voltage

P min :

Minimum active power (W)

I rms :

Root-mean-square of the DER current

I rated :

DER unit rated current capacity

I 1 :

Fundamental current measured at the reference point

h :

Individual harmonic order

E mg :

Microgrid voltage measured at PCC

ω mg :

Microgrid frequency measured at PCC

∆E:

Error voltage

E* :

Reference voltage of the microgrid

∆ω:

Error frequency

ω* :

Reference frequency of the microgrid

upi(t):

Output response of the PI controller

upid(t):

Output response of the PID controller

upR(t):

Output response of the PR controller

K p :

Gain of the proportional controller

K i :

Gain of the integral controller

K d :

Gain of the derivative controller

PEpv:

Power error of the PV system

PEw:

Power error of the wind system

CPEpv:

Change in power error of the PV system

CPEw:

Change in power error of the wind system

P array :

Total power of the PV array

P m :

Power of each PV module

N p :

PV cells connected in parallel in an PV module

N s :

PV cells connected in series in an PV module

I ph :

Each PV module photo current

I scr :

Short circuit current of the cell

T :

Temperature in Kelvins (K)

S irrd :

Solar irradiation on the cell (mW/cm2)

K i :

Temperature coefficient of cell’s short circuit current

I rs :

PV module reverse saturation current

q :

Charge of an electron

E g :

Bandgap energy

A :

Diode ideality factor

K :

Boltzmann’s constant [J/K]

T r :

Cell referred temperature

I o :

Module saturation current

I pv :

Output current of a PV cell

V pv :

Output voltage of a PV cell

P pv :

Power of a PV cell

T pv :

Temperature of a PV cell

R se :

Series resistance of a cell

R sh :

Shunt resistance of a cell

P w :

Mechanical power of a wind turbine

A w :

Rotor blades intercepting area (m2)

V w :

Average wind speed (m/s)

ρ :

Air density (kg/m3)

λ :

Tip speed ratio

C p :

Power coefficient (or) Betz’s coefficient

ω r :

Angular speed (rad/s)

Q w :

Wind energy (KWh)

R w :

Radius of the wind turbine (m)

h ref :

Reference height of wind turbine (m)

h :

Height of the turbine to be measured

h o :

Measure of surface roughness

v(h):

Wind speed at height h (m/s)

v(href):

Wind speed at reference height h (m/s)

V Cin :

Cut-in wind speed

V Cout :

Rated wind speed

V RCout :

Rated cut-out speed

k :

Weibull form factor

ω opt :

Optimum rotor angular speed (rad/s)

λ opt :

Ideal tip speed ratio

V FC :

Output voltage of single fuel cell

E Nerst :

Standard reversible voltage

V Act :

Voltage drop due to anode and cathode activation

V Ohm :

Ohmic voltage drop

V Con :

Voltage drop due to concentration

V Cell :

Voltage of the fuel cell

n :

Number of cells in series in a fuel cell stack

∆G :

Standard Gibbs energy change (J/mol)

F :

Faraday constant

S :

Change in entropy (J/mol)

\(P_{{\text{H}}_2 }\) :

Partial pressure of hydrogen (atm)

\(P_{{\text{O}}_2 }\) :

Partial pressure of oxygen (atm)

R :

Universal gas constant (8.314 J/K mol)

T ref :

Reference temperature (K)

ξ i :

Parametric coefficients

I stack :

Cell operating current (A)

\(C_{{\text{O}}_2 }\) :

Oxygen concentration (mol/cm)

R c :

Resistance to protons passing through membrane

R m :

Resistance to the passage of electrons through membrane

ρ m :

Membrane specific resistivity for electron flow (cm)

C o :

Initial SOC point of the battery

C bat :

Battery capacity

I bat :

Battery current

η bat :

Battery efficiency of charging or discharging

σ :

Self-discharge rate of a battery

T bat :

Battery Temperature

\(C_{{\text{bat}}}^{\prime}\) :

Nominal battery capacity

P s :

PV array’s power

P w :

Wind turbine’s power

P load :

Load power

η rect :

Rectifier efficiency

η inv :

Inverter efficiency

V o :

Output voltage

V s :

Input source voltage

C p-opt :

Optimal-wind turbine power coefficient

inc:

Increment

I mppt ( k ) :

Current at MPPT at sample time k

Epv(k):

Error output of PV system at sample time k

CEpv(k):

Change in error of a PV system at sample time k

Ew(k):

Error output of wind system at sample time k

CEw(k):

Change in error of a wind system at sample time k

µ(D)i:

Duty cycle’s aggregated membership function

T m-opt :

Optimum mechanical torque

K opt :

Constant

P dc :

Inverter DC input power

η MPPT :

Efficiency of the MPPT

f r :

Filter resonant frequency

f c :

Carrier frequency

L fg :

Filter inductor on the grid side

L fi :

Filter inductor on the inverter side

C fg :

Filter capacitance

V n :

Rated line-to-neutral grid voltage

I c , max :

Maximum AC current ripple

M amp :

Amplitude modulation

M freq :

Frequency modulation

Ar:

Amplitude of the sinewave signal

Ac:

Amplitude of carrier wave

fr:

Frequency of the sinewave signal

abc:

Natural reference frame

dq :

Synchronous rotating reference

αβ :

Stationary reference frame

Vd* (or) Vtq1:

Reference voltage signal in d-coordinate

Vq* (or) Vtq1:

Reference voltage signal in q-coordinate

id*(or) idref:

Reference current signal in d-coordinate

iq*(or) iqref:

Reference current signal in q-coordinate

iq (or) iq1:

Measured current signal in q-coordinate

id (or) id1:

Measured current signal in d-coordinate

V d :

Measured voltage signal in d-coordinate

V q :

Measured voltage signal in q-coordinate

P* :

Active power reference

Q* :

Reactive power reference

V* :

Reference voltage

ω* :

Reference frequency

P gm :

Measured active power of the grid

Q gm :

Measured reactive power of the grid

P g * :

Grid active power reference

Q g * :

Grid reactive power reference

RES:

Renewable energy sources

PV:

Photovoltaic

FC:

Fuel cell

DER:

Distributed energy resources

BSS:

Battery storage systems

EPS:

Electrical power system

PCC:

Point of common coupling

Hz:

Hertz

f :

Frequency

V :

Voltage

p.u.:

Per unit

RMS:

Root mean square

THDs:

Total harmonic distortions

KW:

Kilo watt

VRT:

Voltage ride through

FRT:

Frequency ride through

UV:

Under voltage

OV:

Over voltage

OF:

Over frequency

UF:

Under frequency

DC:

Direct current

SCC:

Short circuit current

OCV:

Open circuit voltage

PWM:

Pulse width modulation

TRD:

Total rated current distortion

AC:

Alternating current

h :

Individual harmonic order

ESS:

Energy storage systems

MPPT:

Maximum power point tracker

MPP:

Maximum power point

P&O:

Perturbation and Observation

INC:

Incremental conductance

IGBTs:

Insulated gate bipolar transistors

VSI:

Voltage source inverter

CSI:

Current source inverter

VV:

Volt-Var

P–Q:

Power-reactive power

V–f:

Voltage-frequency

I–V:

Current-Voltage

P–V:

Power- Voltage

PI:

Proportional-integral

PR:

Proportional resonant

PID:

Proportional-integral derivative

FLC:

Fuzzy logic controller

ANFIS:

Adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system

NN (or) ANN:

Artificial neural networks

MF:

Membership functions

PLL:

Phase locked loop

VBD:

Voltage based droop

LQR:

Linear quadratic regulator

LQI:

Linear quadratic integrator

DB:

Deadbeat controller

VSC:

Voltage source converter

THD:

Total harmonic distortion

RC:

Repetitive controller

FL:

Fuzzy logic

PE:

Power error

CPE:

Change in power error

PSF:

Power signal feedback

OTC:

Optimal torque control

PMSG:

Permanent magnet synchronous generator

HSC:

Hill climbing search

TSR:

Tip speed ratio

SOC:

State of charge

PEM:

Proton exchange membrane

PEMFC:

Proton exchange membrane fuel cell

SPWM:

Sinusoidal Pulse width modulation

PMSG:

Permanent pole magnet synchronous generator

D:

Duty cycle

OTC:

Optimum torque control

PSF:

Power signal feedback

LF:

Low frequency

HF:

High frequency

MPC:

Model predictive controller

H∞:

H-infinity controller

FL:

Fuzzy logic

SMC:

Slider mode control

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, 38152, USA

    Mohd. Hasan Ali & Naga Lakshmi Thotakura

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Correspondence to Mohd. Hasan Ali .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechatronics Engineering, Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology, Rajshahi, Bangladesh

    Sajal Kumar Das

  2. Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences, School of Electrical, Computer and Telecommunications Engineering, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia

    Md. Rabiul Islam

  3. School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China

    Wei Xu

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Ali, M., Thotakura, N.L. (2022). Smart Inverters and Controls for Grid-Connected Renewable Energy Sources. In: Das, S.K., Islam, M.R., Xu, W. (eds) Advances in Control Techniques for Smart Grid Applications. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-9856-9_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-9856-9_8

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