Boston Community Energy Study - Zonal Analysis for Urban Microgrids

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-03-01

ordinarily rural systems that have generation assets such as wind turbines (WTs) [14] or photovoltaic (PV) panels [15] that power loads such as lights and...movers powered by internal combustion engines, diesel engines, microturbines, geothermal systems, hydro systems, or wind turbines ; they also could include...can have on urban areas such as New York City. While flooding and wind damaged or destroyed some of the energy infrastructure, all installed

Impacts of P-f & Q-V Droop Control on MicroGrids Transient Stability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao-xia, Xiao; Hong-wei, Fang

Impacts of P-f & Q-V droop control on MicroGrid transient stability was investigated with a wind unit of asynchronous generator in the MicroGrid. The system frequency stability was explored when the motor load starts and its load power changes, and faults of different types and different locations occurs. The simulations were done by PSCAD/EMTDC.

Smart Microgrid Energy Management Controls for Improved Energy Efficiency and Renewables Integration at DoD Installations

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-04-01

products for energy generation, including solar, wind , and gas turbines , energy storage, power conversion, grid integration, and software for...potential security advantages over centralized systems • DER promote fuel diversity (e.g., biomass, landfill gas, flare gas, wind , solar) and...therefore reduce overall energy price volatility • Renewable DER such as wind and solar photovoltaics provide emissions-free energy • DER offer a quicker

Microgrid Optimal Scheduling With Chance-Constrained Islanding Capability

DOE PAGES

Liu, Guodong; Starke, Michael R.; Xiao, B.; ...

2017-01-13

To facilitate the integration of variable renewable generation and improve the resilience of electricity sup-ply in a microgrid, this paper proposes an optimal scheduling strategy for microgrid operation considering constraints of islanding capability. A new concept, probability of successful islanding (PSI), indicating the probability that a microgrid maintains enough spinning reserve (both up and down) to meet local demand and accommodate local renewable generation after instantaneously islanding from the main grid, is developed. The PSI is formulated as mixed-integer linear program using multi-interval approximation taking into account the probability distributions of forecast errors of wind, PV and load. With themore » goal of minimizing the total operating cost while preserving user specified PSI, a chance-constrained optimization problem is formulated for the optimal scheduling of mirogrids and solved by mixed integer linear programming (MILP). Numerical simulations on a microgrid consisting of a wind turbine, a PV panel, a fuel cell, a micro-turbine, a diesel generator and a battery demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheduling strategy. Lastly, we verify the relationship between PSI and various factors.« less

Energy management of an experimental microgrid coupled to a V2G system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mendes, Paulo R. C.; Isorna, Luis Valverde; Bordons, Carlos; Normey-Rico, Julio E.

2016-09-01

This paper presents an algorithm for economic optimization of a laboratory microgrid. The microgrid incorporates a hybrid storage system composed of a battery bank and a hydrogen storage and it has a connection with the external electrical network and a charging station for electric vehicles. To study the impact of use of renewable energy power systems, the microgrid has a programmable power supply that can emulate the dynamic behavior of a wind turbine and/or a photovoltaic field. The system modeling was carried out using the Energy Hubs methodology. A hierarchical control structure is proposed based on Model Predictive Control and acting in different time scales, where the first level is responsible for maintaining the microgrid stability and the second level has the task of performing the management of electricity purchase and sale to the power grid, maximize the use of renewable energy sources, manage the use of energy storages and perform the charge of the parked vehicles. Practical experiments were performed with different weather conditions of solar irradiation and wind. The results show a reliable operation of the proposed control system.

Optimal Energy Management for Microgrids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Zheng

Microgrid is a recent novel concept in part of the development of smart grid. A microgrid is a low voltage and small scale network containing both distributed energy resources (DERs) and load demands. Clean energy is encouraged to be used in a microgrid for economic and sustainable reasons. A microgrid can have two operational modes, the stand-alone mode and grid-connected mode. In this research, a day-ahead optimal energy management for a microgrid under both operational modes is studied. The objective of the optimization model is to minimize fuel cost, improve energy utilization efficiency and reduce gas emissions by scheduling generations of DERs in each hour on the next day. Considering the dynamic performance of battery as Energy Storage System (ESS), the model is featured as a multi-objectives and multi-parametric programming constrained by dynamic programming, which is proposed to be solved by using the Advanced Dynamic Programming (ADP) method. Then, factors influencing the battery life are studied and included in the model in order to obtain an optimal usage pattern of battery and reduce the correlated cost. Moreover, since wind and solar generation is a stochastic process affected by weather changes, the proposed optimization model is performed hourly to track the weather changes. Simulation results are compared with the day-ahead energy management model. At last, conclusions are presented and future research in microgrid energy management is discussed.

Smart Microgrid Energy Management Controls for Improved Energy Efficiency and Renewables Integration at DoD Installations

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-05-01

flare gas, wind , solar) and can reduce overall energy price volatility; • Renewable DER such as wind and solar PV cells provide emissions-free energy...infrastructure which uses both Ethernet and Wireless media. Ethernet is easily extendable and supports multiple protocols, accommodating a broad range of...by faults or switching events. Remote resources are also integrated into the microgrid network using wireless network currently existing in the Base

Developing a stability assessment method for power electronics-based microgrids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Austin, Peter M.

Modern microgrids with microsources and energy storage are dependent on power electronics for control and regulation. Under certain circumstances power electronics can be destabilizing to the system due to an effect called negative incremental impedance. A careful review of the theory and literature on the subject is presented. This includes stability criteria for both AC and DC systems, as well as a discussion on the limitations posed by the analysis. A method to integrate stability assessment with higher-level microgrid architectural design is proposed. Crucial to this is impedance characterization of individual components, which was accomplished through simulation. DC and AC impedance measurement blocks were created in Matlab simulink to automate the process. A detailed switching-level model of a DC microgrid was implemented in simulink, including wind turbine microsource, battery storage, and three phase inverter. Maximum power point tracking (MPPT) was included to maximize the efficiency of the turbine and was implemented through three rectifier alternatives and control schemes. The stability characteristics of each was compared in the final analysis. Impedance data was collected individually from the components and used to assess stability in the system as a whole. The results included the assessment of stability, margin, and unstable operating points to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed approach.

Modeling and Optimizing Green Microgrids at Remote U.S. Navy Islands

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-12-01

storage, and controls. All of these components work together as a system solution to serve a nearby load, such as a wind turbine and a storage battery...includes five diesel generators of varying capacities and seven 100kW wind turbines . The diesel genset specifics are shown in Table 1. They typically...run at only 30% of nominal capacity, while they are most efficient at 70% (Anderson et al. 2017). The wind turbines are all Northwind 100 kW models

A Game Changer: Electrifying Remote Communities by Using Isolated Microgrids

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lu, Xiaonan; Wang, Jianhui

Microgrids, as self-contained entities, are of increasing interest in modern electric grids. Microgrids provide a sustainable solution to aggregate distributed energy resources (DERs) [e.g., photovoltaics (PVs), wind turbines], energy storage, and loads in a localized manner, especially in distribution systems. As a controllable unit, a microgrid can manage and balance the source and load power inside it to ensure stable and reliable operation. Moreover, through coordination with upper-level control systems, it can be dispatched and respond to the control commands issued by the central controller in the distribution system-in other words, a system that is effectively a distribution management systemmore » (DMS).« less

Performance Guaranteed Inertia Emulation forDiesel-Wind System Feed Microgrid via ModelReference Control

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Melin, Alexander M.; Zhang, Yichen; Djouadi, Seddik

In this paper, a model reference control based inertia emulation strategy is proposed. Desired inertia can be precisely emulated through this control strategy so that guaranteed performance is ensured. A typical frequency response model with parametrical inertia is set to be the reference model. A measurement at a specific location delivers the information of disturbance acting on the diesel-wind system to the referencemodel. The objective is for the speed of the diesel-wind system to track the reference model. Since active power variation is dominantly governed by mechanical dynamics and modes, only mechanical dynamics and states, i.e., a swing-engine-governor system plusmore » a reduced-order wind turbine generator, are involved in the feedback control design. The controller is implemented in a three-phase diesel-wind system feed microgrid. The results show exact synthetic inertia is emulated, leading to guaranteed performance and safety bounds.« less

Microgrid Control Strategy Utlizing Thermal Energy Storage With Renewable Solar And Wind Power Generation

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-06-01

13 Figure 6. Vertical Axis Wind Turbines and Photovoltaic Solar Panels ....................15 Figure 7. Solar Sunny Boy Inverter...16 Figure 8. Wind Turbine Inverters...1. Comparison of Energy Storage. Adapted from [16], [18], [19]. ................10 Table 2. DC Operating Voltage of Wind Turbine Inverters

Supply and Demand Control of Distributed Generators in a Microgrid for New Energy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shimakage, Toyonari; Sumita, Jiro; Uchiyama, Noriyuki; Kato, Takeyoshi; Suzuoki, Yasuo

We report the operational results of distributed generators (DGs) in a microgrid and present the effects after incorporating photovoltaic power generation (PV) systems into the microgrid for electric power system. The microgrid was constructed at the EXPO 2005 Aichi site as part of a demonstration promoted by NEDO. A solution is needed to problems where instability in the DGs that utilize natural energy such as solar light and wind force negatively influence existing electric power systems. So, we developed energy control system and controlled DGs output to reduce the fluctuation at the grid connected point caused by PV system's instability output. Our microgrid consists of DGs such as PV systems, fuel cells, and NaS batteries, and these DGs are controlled by an energy control system. We verified practical effectiveness of the installing the microgrid as follows. (1) 99.5% of the power imbalance in the supply and demand over 30 minutes was within a range of ±3% under normal operating conditions, (2) the microgrid contributes to the load leveling, (3) energy control system smoothes the power flow fluctuation of PV system output at the grid connected point, (4) in the future, installing a microgrid will help reduce the additional LFC (Load Frequency Control) capacity.

Research | Wind | NREL

Science.gov Websites

the background. Distributed Wind A photo of a man and woman looking at a monitor that shows microgrid integration. Grid Integration A photo of a man wearing a helmet and safety glasses using a large wrench to

Bidding strategy for microgrid in day-ahead market based on hybrid stochastic/robust optimization

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Liu, Guodong; Xu, Yan; Tomsovic, Kevin

In this paper, we propose an optimal bidding strategy in the day-ahead market of a microgrid consisting of intermittent distributed generation (DG), storage, dispatchable DG and price responsive loads. The microgrid coordinates the energy consumption or production of its components and trades electricity in both the day-ahead and real-time markets to minimize its operating cost as a single entity. The bidding problem is challenging due to a variety of uncertainties, including power output of intermittent DG, load variation, day-ahead and real-time market prices. A hybrid stochastic/robust optimization model is proposed to minimize the expected net cost, i.e., expected total costmore » of operation minus total benefit of demand. This formulation can be solved by mixed integer linear programming. The uncertain output of intermittent DG and day-ahead market price are modeled via scenarios based on forecast results, while a robust optimization is proposed to limit the unbalanced power in real-time market taking account of the uncertainty of real-time market price. Numerical simulations on a microgrid consisting of a wind turbine, a PV panel, a fuel cell, a micro-turbine, a diesel generator, a battery and a responsive load show the advantage of stochastic optimization in addition to robust optimization.« less

Bidding strategy for microgrid in day-ahead market based on hybrid stochastic/robust optimization

DOE PAGES

Liu, Guodong; Xu, Yan; Tomsovic, Kevin

2016-01-01

In this paper, we propose an optimal bidding strategy in the day-ahead market of a microgrid consisting of intermittent distributed generation (DG), storage, dispatchable DG and price responsive loads. The microgrid coordinates the energy consumption or production of its components and trades electricity in both the day-ahead and real-time markets to minimize its operating cost as a single entity. The bidding problem is challenging due to a variety of uncertainties, including power output of intermittent DG, load variation, day-ahead and real-time market prices. A hybrid stochastic/robust optimization model is proposed to minimize the expected net cost, i.e., expected total costmore » of operation minus total benefit of demand. This formulation can be solved by mixed integer linear programming. The uncertain output of intermittent DG and day-ahead market price are modeled via scenarios based on forecast results, while a robust optimization is proposed to limit the unbalanced power in real-time market taking account of the uncertainty of real-time market price. Numerical simulations on a microgrid consisting of a wind turbine, a PV panel, a fuel cell, a micro-turbine, a diesel generator, a battery and a responsive load show the advantage of stochastic optimization in addition to robust optimization.« less

Secure Automated Microgrid Energy System (SAMES)

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-12-01

with embedded algorithm to share power between each other; • Wind Turbine (WT) Simulator, max 80 kW (4×20 kW), 480 V, Running Wind Generation...Temp, Rain, Wind ........................ 39 Figure 22. Point Loma, Box and Whisker Plot, Hourly Sum of Consumption ............................ 40...Figure 27. Coronado, Consumption vs Average Daily SD Temp, Rainfall, Wind ....................... 44 Figure 28. Naval Base Point Loma, One Line, Solar

Research on Integrated Control of Microgrid Operation Mode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, ZhiPing; Gao, JinFeng; Li, HangYu

2018-03-01

The mode switching control of microgrid is the focus of its system control. According to the characteristics of different control, an integrated control system is put forward according to the detecting voltage and frequency deviation after switching of microgrid operating mode. This control system employs master-slave and peer-to-peer control. Wind turbine and photovoltaic(PV) adopt P/Q control, so the maximum power output can be achieved. The energy storage will work under the droop control if the system is grid-connected. When the system is off-grid, whether to employ droop control or P/f control is determined by system status. The simulation has been done and the system performance can meet the requirement.

dc Arc Fault Effect on Hybrid ac/dc Microgrid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fatima, Zahra

The advent of distributed energy resources (DER) and reliability and stability problems of the conventional grid system has given rise to the wide spread deployment of microgrids. Microgrids provide many advantages by incorporating renewable energy sources and increasing the reliability of the grid by isolating from the main grid in case of an outage. AC microgrids have been installed all over the world, but dc microgrids have been gaining interest due to the advantages they provide over ac microgrids. However the entire power network backbone is still ac and dc microgrids require expensive converters to connect to the ac power network. As a result hybrid ac/dc microgrids are gaining more attention as it combines the advantages of both ac and dc microgrids such as direct integration of ac and dc systems with minimum number of conversions which increases the efficiency by reducing energy losses. Although dc electric systems offer many advantages such as no synchronization and no reactive power, successful implementation of dc systems requires appropriate protection strategies. One unique protection challenge brought by the dc systems is dc arc faults. A dc arc fault is generated when there is a gap in the conductor due to insulation degradation and current is used to bridge the gap, resulting in an arc with very high temperature. Such a fault if it goes undetected and is not extinguished can cause damage to the entire system and cause fires. The purpose of the research is to study the effect of the dc arc fault at different locations in the hybrid ac/dc microgrid and provide insight on the reliability of the grid components when it is impacted by arc faults at various locations in the grid. The impact of dc arc fault at different locations on the performance of the PV array, wind generation, and constant power loads (CPL) interfaced with dc/dc converters is studied. MATLAB/Simulink is used to model the hybrid ac/dc microgrid and arc fault.

SMES application for frequency control during islanded microgrid operation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, A.-Rong; Kim, Gyeong-Hun; Heo, Serim; Park, Minwon; Yu, In-Keun; Kim, Hak-Man

2013-01-01

This paper analyzes the operating characteristics of a superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES) for the frequency control of an islanded microgrid operation. In the grid-connected mode of a microgrid, an imbalance between power supply and demand is solved by a power trade with the upstream power grid. The difference in the islanded mode is a critical problem because the microgrid is isolated from any power grid. For this reason, the frequency control during islanded microgrid operation is a challenging issue. A test microgrid in this paper consisted of a wind power generator, a PV generation system, a diesel generator and a load to test the feasibility of the SMES for controlling frequency during islanded operation as well as the transient state varying from the grid-connected mode to the islanded mode. The results show that the SMES contributes well for frequency control in the islanded operation. In addition, a dual and a single magnet type of SMES have been compared to demonstrate the control performance. The dual magnet has the same energy capacity as the single magnet, but there are two superconducting coils and each coil has half inductance of the single magnet. The effectiveness of the SMES application with the simulation results is discussed in detail.

Optimal scheduling of micro grids based on single objective programming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Yue

2018-04-01

Faced with the growing demand for electricity and the shortage of fossil fuels, how to optimally optimize the micro-grid has become an important research topic to maximize the economic, technological and environmental benefits of the micro-grid. This paper considers the role of the battery and the micro-grid and power grid to allow the exchange of power not exceeding 150kW preconditions, the main study of the economy to load for the goal is to minimize the electricity cost (abandonment of wind), to establish an optimization model, and to solve the problem by genetic algorithm. The optimal scheduling scheme is obtained and the utilization of renewable energy and the impact of the battery involved in regulation are analyzed.

Edward Settle | NREL

Science.gov Websites

projects. Research Interests Energy project finance Energy project tax matters Microgrids Resiliency School of Mines Executive MBA, University of Denver Featured Publications Wind Energy Finance in the

Modeling and Simulation of a DG-Integrated Intelligent Microgrid

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-02-01

17. The I-V curve from the manufacturer for BP-4175 175W PV module...........................32   Fig. 18. Wind turbine model...33   Fig. 19. Electrical outputs of wind turbine... PMSG : Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator PLL : Phase Lock Loop PV : Photovoltaic PWM : Pulse Width Modulation TOU : Time of Use VTES

Resilient Renewable Energy Microgrids

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Anderson, Katherine H; DiOrio, Nicholas A; Butt, Robert S

This presentation for the Cable-Tec Expo 2017 offers information about how renewable microgrids can be used to increase resiliency. It includes information about why renewable energy battery diesel hybrids microgrids should be considered for backup power, how to estimate economic savings of microgrids, quantifying the resiliency gain of microgrids, and where renewable microgrids will be successful.

Dynamic Energy Management System for a Smart Microgrid.

PubMed

Venayagamoorthy, Ganesh Kumar; Sharma, Ratnesh K; Gautam, Prajwal K; Ahmadi, Afshin

2016-08-01

This paper presents the development of an intelligent dynamic energy management system (I-DEMS) for a smart microgrid. An evolutionary adaptive dynamic programming and reinforcement learning framework is introduced for evolving the I-DEMS online. The I-DEMS is an optimal or near-optimal DEMS capable of performing grid-connected and islanded microgrid operations. The primary sources of energy are sustainable, green, and environmentally friendly renewable energy systems (RESs), e.g., wind and solar; however, these forms of energy are uncertain and nondispatchable. Backup battery energy storage and thermal generation were used to overcome these challenges. Using the I-DEMS to schedule dispatches allowed the RESs and energy storage devices to be utilized to their maximum in order to supply the critical load at all times. Based on the microgrid's system states, the I-DEMS generates energy dispatch control signals, while a forward-looking network evaluates the dispatched control signals over time. Typical results are presented for varying generation and load profiles, and the performance of I-DEMS is compared with that of a decision tree approach-based DEMS (D-DEMS). The robust performance of the I-DEMS was illustrated by examining microgrid operations under different battery energy storage conditions.

Microgrids and distributed generation systems: Control, operation, coordination and planning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Che, Liang

Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) which include distributed generations (DGs), distributed energy storage systems, and adjustable loads are key components in microgrid operations. A microgrid is a small electric power system integrated with on-site DERs to serve all or some portion of the local load and connected to the utility grid through the point of common coupling (PCC). Microgrids can operate in both grid-connected mode and island mode. The structure and components of hierarchical control for a microgrid at Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) are discussed and analyzed. Case studies would address the reliable and economic operation of IIT microgrid. The simulation results of IIT microgrid operation demonstrate that the hierarchical control and the coordination strategy of distributed energy resources (DERs) is an effective way of optimizing the economic operation and the reliability of microgrids. The benefits and challenges of DC microgrids are addressed with a DC model for the IIT microgrid. We presented the hierarchical control strategy including the primary, secondary, and tertiary controls for economic operation and the resilience of a DC microgrid. The simulation results verify that the proposed coordinated strategy is an effective way of ensuring the resilient response of DC microgrids to emergencies and optimizing their economic operation at steady state. The concept and prototype of a community microgrid that interconnecting multiple microgrids in a community are proposed. Two works are conducted. For the coordination, novel three-level hierarchical coordination strategy to coordinate the optimal power exchanges among neighboring microgrids is proposed. For the planning, a multi-microgrid interconnection planning framework using probabilistic minimal cut-set (MCS) based iterative methodology is proposed for enhancing the economic, resilience, and reliability signals in multi-microgrid operations. The implementation of high-reliability microgrids requires proper protection schemes that effectively function in both grid-connected and island modes. This chapter presents a communication-assisted four-level hierarchical protection strategy for high-reliability microgrids, and tests the proposed protection strategy based on a loop structured microgrid. The simulation results demonstrate the proposed strategy to be an effective and efficient option for microgrid protection. Additionally, microgrid topology ought to be optimally planned. To address the microgrid topology planning, a graph-partitioning and integer-programming integrated methodology is proposed. This work is not included in the dissertation. Interested readers can refer to our related publication.

System and method for controlling microgrid

DOEpatents

Bose, Sumit [Niskayuna, NY; Achilles, Alfredo Sebastian [Bavaria, DE; Liu, Yan [Ballston Lake, NY; Ahmed, Emad Ezzat [Munich, DE; Garces, Luis Jose [Niskayuna, NY

2011-07-19

A system for controlling a microgrid includes microgrid assets and a tieline for coupling the microgrid to a bulk grid; and a tieline controller coupled to the tieline. At least one of the microgrid assets comprises a different type of asset than another one of the microgrid assets. The tieline controller is configured for providing tieline control signals to adjust active and reactive power in respective microgrid assets in response to commands from the bulk grid operating entity, microgrid system conditions, bulk grid conditions, or combinations thereof.

Customized electric power storage device for inclusion in a collective microgrid

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Robinett, III, Rush D.; Wilson, David G.; Goldsmith, Steven Y.

An electric power storage device is described herein, wherein the electric power storage device is included in a microgrid. The electric power storage device has at least one of a charge rate, a discharge rate, or a power retention capacity that has been customized for a collective microgrid. The collective microgrid includes at least two connected microgrids. The at least one of the charge rate, the discharge rate, or the power retention capacity of the electric power storage device is computed based at least in part upon specified power source parameters in the at least two connected microgrids and specifiedmore » load parameters in the at least two connected microgrids.« less

A decentralised multi-agent approach to enhance the stability of smart microgrids with renewable energy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rahman, M. S.; Pota, H. R.; Mahmud, M. A.; Hossain, M. J.

2016-05-01

This paper presents the impact of large penetration of wind power on the transient stability through a dynamic evaluation of the critical clearing times (CCTs) by using intelligent agent-based approach. A decentralised multi-agent-based framework is developed, where agents represent a number of physical device models to form a complex infrastructure for computation and communication. They enable the dynamic flow of information and energy for the interaction between the physical processes and their activities. These agents dynamically adapt online measurements and use the CCT information for relay coordination to improve the transient stability of power systems. Simulations are carried out on a smart microgrid system for faults at increasing wind power penetration levels and the improvement in transient stability using the proposed agent-based framework is demonstrated.

Coordinated control of micro-grid based on distributed moving horizon control.

PubMed

Ma, Miaomiao; Shao, Liyang; Liu, Xiangjie

2018-05-01

This paper proposed the distributed moving horizon coordinated control scheme for the power balance and economic dispatch problems of micro-grid based on distributed generation. We design the power coordinated controller for each subsystem via moving horizon control by minimizing a suitable objective function. The objective function of distributed moving horizon coordinated controller is chosen based on the principle that wind power subsystem has the priority to generate electricity while photovoltaic power generation coordinates with wind power subsystem and the battery is only activated to meet the load demand when necessary. The simulation results illustrate that the proposed distributed moving horizon coordinated controller can allocate the output power of two generation subsystems reasonably under varying environment conditions, which not only can satisfy the load demand but also limit excessive fluctuations of output power to protect the power generation equipment. Copyright © 2018 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Microgrid Design Toolkit (MDT) User Guide Software v1.2.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Eddy, John P.

2017-08-01

The Microgrid Design Toolkit (MDT) supports decision analysis for new ("greenfield") microgrid designs as well as microgrids with existing infrastructure. The current version of MDT includes two main capabilities. The first capability, the Microgrid Sizing Capability (MSC), is used to determine the size and composition of a new, grid connected microgrid in the early stages of the design process. MSC is focused on developing a microgrid that is economically viable when connected to the grid. The second capability is focused on designing a microgrid for operation in islanded mode. This second capability relies on two models: the Technology Management Optimizationmore » (TMO) model and Performance Reliability Model (PRM).« less

Advanced Microgrid Concepts and Technologies Workshop

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-04-01

number of wind turbines (2)  Battery charge/discharge rates  Max instantaneous load (600 kW)  Required duration of energy storage (10-day episode...for components that have developed methods (gearbox, generator, sensors , small gas turbines , or reciprocating engines, etc.) o The health information...Force), superconducting wind turbine generators (DOE ARPA-E), and thermoelectric waste-heat recovery for vehicles (DOE EERE and NSF). 111 1145

Customized electric power storage device for inclusion in a microgrid

DOEpatents

Goldsmith, Steven Y.; Wilson, David; Robinett, III, Rush D.

2017-08-01

An electric power storage device included in a microgrid is described herein. The electric power storage device has at least one of a charge rate, a discharge rate, or a power retention capacity that has been customized for the microgrid. The at least one of the charge rate, the discharge rate, or the power retention capacity of the electric power storage device is computed based at least in part upon specified power source parameters in the microgrid and specified load parameters in the microgrid.

Computing architecture for autonomous microgrids

DOEpatents

Goldsmith, Steven Y.

2015-09-29

A computing architecture that facilitates autonomously controlling operations of a microgrid is described herein. A microgrid network includes numerous computing devices that execute intelligent agents, each of which is assigned to a particular entity (load, source, storage device, or switch) in the microgrid. The intelligent agents can execute in accordance with predefined protocols to collectively perform computations that facilitate uninterrupted control of the .

Multi-time Scale Coordination of Distributed Energy Resources in Isolated Power Systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mayhorn, Ebony; Xie, Le; Butler-Purry, Karen

2016-03-31

In isolated power systems, including microgrids, distributed assets, such as renewable energy resources (e.g. wind, solar) and energy storage, can be actively coordinated to reduce dependency on fossil fuel generation. The key challenge of such coordination arises from significant uncertainty and variability occurring at small time scales associated with increased penetration of renewables. Specifically, the problem is with ensuring economic and efficient utilization of DERs, while also meeting operational objectives such as adequate frequency performance. One possible solution is to reduce the time step at which tertiary controls are implemented and to ensure feedback and look-ahead capability are incorporated tomore » handle variability and uncertainty. However, reducing the time step of tertiary controls necessitates investigating time-scale coupling with primary controls so as not to exacerbate system stability issues. In this paper, an optimal coordination (OC) strategy, which considers multiple time-scales, is proposed for isolated microgrid systems with a mix of DERs. This coordination strategy is based on an online moving horizon optimization approach. The effectiveness of the strategy was evaluated in terms of economics, technical performance, and computation time by varying key parameters that significantly impact performance. The illustrative example with realistic scenarios on a simulated isolated microgrid test system suggests that the proposed approach is generalizable towards designing multi-time scale optimal coordination strategies for isolated power systems.« less

Novel optimization technique of isolated microgrid with hydrogen energy storage.

PubMed

Beshr, Eman Hassan; Abdelghany, Hazem; Eteiba, Mahmoud

2018-01-01

This paper presents a novel optimization technique for energy management studies of an isolated microgrid. The system is supplied by various Distributed Energy Resources (DERs), Diesel Generator (DG), a Wind Turbine Generator (WTG), Photovoltaic (PV) arrays and supported by fuel cell/electrolyzer Hydrogen storage system for short term storage. Multi-objective optimization is used through non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm to suit the load requirements under the given constraints. A novel multi-objective flower pollination algorithm is utilized to check the results. The Pros and cons of the two optimization techniques are compared and evaluated. An isolated microgrid is modelled using MATLAB software package, dispatch of active/reactive power, optimal load flow analysis with slack bus selection are carried out to be able to minimize fuel cost and line losses under realistic constraints. The performance of the system is studied and analyzed during both summer and winter conditions and three case studies are presented for each condition. The modified IEEE 15 bus system is used to validate the proposed algorithm.

Dispatchable Renewable Energy Model for Microgrid Power System

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chiou, Fred; Gentle, Jake P.; McJunkin, Timothy R.

2017-04-01

Over the years, many research projects have been performed and focused on finding out the effective ways to balance the power demands and supply on the utility grid. The causes of the imbalance could be the increasing demands from the end users, the loss of power generation (generators down), faults on the transmission lines, power tripped due to overload, and weather conditions, etc. An efficient Load Frequency Control (LFC) can assure the desired electricity quality provided to the residential, commercial and industrial end users. A simulation model is built in this project to investigate the contribution of the modeling ofmore » dispatchable energy such as solar energy, wind power, hydro power and energy storage to the balance of the microgrid power system. An analysis of simplified feedback control system with proportional, integral, and derivative (PID) controller was performed. The purpose of this research is to investigate a simulation model that achieves certain degree of the resilient control for the microgrid.« less

Novel optimization technique of isolated microgrid with hydrogen energy storage

PubMed Central

Abdelghany, Hazem; Eteiba, Mahmoud

2018-01-01

This paper presents a novel optimization technique for energy management studies of an isolated microgrid. The system is supplied by various Distributed Energy Resources (DERs), Diesel Generator (DG), a Wind Turbine Generator (WTG), Photovoltaic (PV) arrays and supported by fuel cell/electrolyzer Hydrogen storage system for short term storage. Multi-objective optimization is used through non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm to suit the load requirements under the given constraints. A novel multi-objective flower pollination algorithm is utilized to check the results. The Pros and cons of the two optimization techniques are compared and evaluated. An isolated microgrid is modelled using MATLAB software package, dispatch of active/reactive power, optimal load flow analysis with slack bus selection are carried out to be able to minimize fuel cost and line losses under realistic constraints. The performance of the system is studied and analyzed during both summer and winter conditions and three case studies are presented for each condition. The modified IEEE 15 bus system is used to validate the proposed algorithm. PMID:29466433

Microgrid Controls | Grid Modernization | NREL

Science.gov Websites

Systems Integration Facility. Microgrid Controller Interaction with Distribution Management Systems This project investigates the interaction of distribution management systems with local controllers, including microgrid controllers. The project is developing integrated control and management systems for distribution

Networked control of microgrid system of systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mahmoud, Magdi S.; Rahman, Mohamed Saif Ur; AL-Sunni, Fouad M.

2016-08-01

The microgrid has made its mark in distributed generation and has attracted widespread research. However, microgrid is a complex system which needs to be viewed from an intelligent system of systems perspective. In this paper, a network control system of systems is designed for the islanded microgrid system consisting of three distributed generation units as three subsystems supplying a load. The controller stabilises the microgrid system in the presence of communication infractions such as packet dropouts and delays. Simulation results are included to elucidate the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy.

Design of a residential microgrid in Lagos del Cacique, Bucaramanga, Colombia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bellon, D.; González Estrada, O. A.; Martínez, A.

2017-12-01

In this paper is presented a model that analyses the options to provide energy to an interconnected house in Lagos del Cacique, Bucaramanga, Colombia. Three power supplies were considered: photovoltaic, 1 kW wind turbine, and a 2.6kW gasoline generator, as well as a battery for energy storage. The variables considered for the sensitivity analysis correspond to the price of gasoline and the variation in loads. The simulation results suggest an optimal configuration of microgrids in generator-photovoltaic panel-battery. Sensitivity variables were specified in order to evaluate the effect of uncertainty. The simulation was done through the Homer software and the results of the combinations of sources are suggestions of the same.

Isolated Operation at Hachinohe Micro-Grid Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takano, Tomihiro; Kojima, Yasuhiro; Temma, Koji; Simomura, Masaru

To meet the global warming, renewable energy sources like wind, solar and biomass generations are dramatically increasing. Cogeneration systems are also ever-growing to save consumers' energy costs among factories, buildings and homes where lots of thermal loads are expected. According to these dispersed generators growth, their negative impacts to commercial power systems quality become non-negligible, because their unstable output causes network voltage and frequency fluctuation. Micro-grid technology comes to the front to solve the problem and many demonstrative field tests are now going all over the world. This paper presents the control paradigm and its application to Hachinohe micro-gird project, especially focusing on the power quality at isolated operation on which strict condition is imposed.

Analysis of the Multi Strategy Goal Programming for Micro-Grid Based on Dynamic ant Genetic Algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qiu, J. P.; Niu, D. X.

Micro-grid is one of the key technologies of the future energy supplies. Take economic planning. reliability, and environmental protection of micro grid as a basis for the analysis of multi-strategy objective programming problems for micro grid which contains wind power, solar power, and battery and micro gas turbine. Establish the mathematical model of each power generation characteristics and energy dissipation. and change micro grid planning multi-objective function under different operating strategies to a single objective model based on AHP method. Example analysis shows that in combination with dynamic ant mixed genetic algorithm can get the optimal power output of this model.

Modeling Load Dynamics to Support Resiliency-based Operations in Low-Inertia Microgrids

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tuffner, Francis K.; Schneider, Kevin P.; Hansen, Jacob

Microgrids have repeatedly demonstrated the ability to provide uninterrupted service to critical end-use loads during normal outages, severe weather events, and natural disasters. While their ability to provide critical services is well documented, microgrids present a more dynamic operational environment than grid-connected distribution systems. The electrodynamics of a microgrid are commonly driven by the high inertia of rotating generators, which are common in many microgrids. In such high-inertia systems, the impact of end-use load electromechanical dynamics are often not examined. However, with the increased penetration of inverter-based generation with little or no inertia, it is necessary to consider the impactmore » that the dynamics of the end-use loads have on the operations of microgrids, particularly for a resiliency-based operation. These operations include, but are not limited to, switching operations, loss of generating units, and the starting of induction motors. This paper examines the importance of including multi-state electromechanical dynamic models of the end-use load when evaluating the operations of low inertia microgrids, and shows that by properly representing their behavior, it is possible to cost effectively size equipment while supporting resilient operations of critical end-use loads.« less

Modeling Load Dynamics to Support Resiliency-based Operations in Low-Inertia Microgrids

DOE PAGES

Tuffner, Francis K.; Schneider, Kevin P.; Hansen, Jacob; ...

2018-03-07

Microgrids have repeatedly demonstrated the ability to provide uninterrupted service to critical end-use loads during normal outages, severe weather events, and natural disasters. While their ability to provide critical services is well documented, microgrids present a more dynamic operational environment than grid-connected distribution systems. The electrodynamics of a microgrid are commonly driven by the high inertia of rotating generators, which are common in many microgrids. In such high-inertia systems, the impact of end-use load electromechanical dynamics are often not examined. However, with the increased penetration of inverter-based generation with little or no inertia, it is necessary to consider the impactmore » that the dynamics of the end-use loads have on the operations of microgrids, particularly for a resiliency-based operation. These operations include, but are not limited to, switching operations, loss of generating units, and the starting of induction motors. This paper examines the importance of including multi-state electromechanical dynamic models of the end-use load when evaluating the operations of low inertia microgrids, and shows that by properly representing their behavior, it is possible to cost effectively size equipment while supporting resilient operations of critical end-use loads.« less

Implementation of a Publish-Subscribe Protocol in Microgrid Islanding and Resynchronization with Self-Discovery

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Starke, M.; Herron, A.; King, D.

Communications systems and protocols are becoming second nature to utilities operating distribution systems. Traditionally, centralized communication approaches are often used, while recently in microgrid applications, distributed communication and control schema emerge offering several advantages such as improved system reliability, plug-and-play operation and distributed intelligence. Still, operation and control of microgrids including distributed communication schema have been less of a discussion in the literature. To address the challenge of multiple-inverter microgrid synchronization, a publish-subscribe protocol based, Data Distribution Service (DDS), communication schema for microgrids is proposed in this paper. The communication schema is discussed in details for individual devices such asmore » generators, photovoltaic systems, energy storage systems, microgrid point of common coupling switch, and supporting applications. In conclusion, islanding and resynchronization of a microgrid are demonstrated on a test-bed utilizing this schema.« less

Implementation of a Publish-Subscribe Protocol in Microgrid Islanding and Resynchronization with Self-Discovery

DOE PAGES

Starke, M.; Herron, A.; King, D.; ...

2017-08-24

Communications systems and protocols are becoming second nature to utilities operating distribution systems. Traditionally, centralized communication approaches are often used, while recently in microgrid applications, distributed communication and control schema emerge offering several advantages such as improved system reliability, plug-and-play operation and distributed intelligence. Still, operation and control of microgrids including distributed communication schema have been less of a discussion in the literature. To address the challenge of multiple-inverter microgrid synchronization, a publish-subscribe protocol based, Data Distribution Service (DDS), communication schema for microgrids is proposed in this paper. The communication schema is discussed in details for individual devices such asmore » generators, photovoltaic systems, energy storage systems, microgrid point of common coupling switch, and supporting applications. In conclusion, islanding and resynchronization of a microgrid are demonstrated on a test-bed utilizing this schema.« less

Energy management and multi-layer control of networked microgrids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zamora, Ramon

Networked microgrids is a group of neighboring microgrids that has ability to interchange power when required in order to increase reliability and resiliency. Networked microgrid can operate in different possible configurations including: islanded microgrid, a grid-connected microgrid without a tie-line converter, a grid-connected microgrid with a tie-line converter, and networked microgrids. These possible configurations and specific characteristics of renewable energy offer challenges in designing control and management algorithms for voltage, frequency and power in all possible operating scenarios. In this work, control algorithm is designed based on large-signal model that enables microgrid to operate in wide range of operating points. A combination between PI controller and feed-forward measured system responses will compensate for the changes in operating points. The control architecture developed in this work has multi-layers and the outer layer is slower than the inner layer in time response. The main responsibility of the designed controls are to regulate voltage magnitude and frequency, as well as output power of the DG(s). These local controls also integrate with a microgrid level energy management system or microgrid central controller (MGCC) for power and energy balance for. the entire microgrid in islanded, grid-connected, or networked microgid mode. The MGCC is responsible to coordinate the lower level controls to have reliable and resilient operation. In case of communication network failure, the decentralized energy management will operate locally and will activate droop control. Simulation results indicate the superiority of designed control algorithms compared to existing ones.

Village microgrids: The Chile project

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Baring-Gould, E.I.

1997-12-01

This paper describes a village application in Chile. The objective was to demonstrate the technical, economic and institutional viability of renewable energy for rural electrification, as well as to allow local partners to gain experience with hybrid/renewable technology, resource assessment, system siting and operation. A micro-grid system is viewed as a small village system, up to 1200 kWh/day load with a 50 kW peak load. It can consist of components of wind, photovoltaic, batteries, and conventional generators. It is usually associated with a single generator source, and uses batteries to cover light day time loads. This paper looks at themore » experiences learned from this project with regard to all of the facets of planning and installing this project.« less

Real-time pricing strategy of micro-grid energy centre considering price-based demand response

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Zhiheng; Zhang, Yongjun; Wang, Gan

2017-07-01

With the development of energy conversion technology such as power to gas (P2G), fuel cell and so on, the coupling between energy sources becomes more and more closely. Centralized dispatch among electricity, natural gas and heat will become a trend. With the goal of maximizing the system revenue, this paper establishes the model of micro-grid energy centre based on energy hub. According to the proposed model, the real-time pricing strategy taking into account price-based demand response of load is developed. And the influence of real-time pricing strategy on the peak load shifting is discussed. In addition, the impact of wind power predicted inaccuracy on real-time pricing strategy is analysed.

CERTS Microgrid Laboratory Test Bed - PIER Final Project Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Eto, Joseph H.; Eto, Joseph H.; Lasseter, Robert

2008-07-25

The objective of the CERTS Microgrid Laboratory Test Bed project was to enhance the ease of integrating small energy sources into a microgrid. The project accomplished this objective by developing and demonstrating three advanced techniques, collectively referred to as the CERTS Microgrid concept, that significantly reduce the level of custom field engineering needed to operate microgrids consisting of small generating sources. The techniques comprising the CERTS Microgrid concept are: 1) a method for effecting automatic and seamless transitions between grid-connected and islanded modes of operation; 2) an approach to electrical protection within the microgrid that does not depend on highmore » fault currents; and 3) a method for microgrid control that achieves voltage and frequency stability under islanded conditions without requiring high-speed communications. The techniques were demonstrated at a full-scale test bed built near Columbus, Ohio and operated by American Electric Power. The testing fully confirmed earlier research that had been conducted initially through analytical simulations, then through laboratory emulations, and finally through factory acceptance testing of individual microgrid components. The islanding and resychronization method met all Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 1547 and power quality requirements. The electrical protections system was able to distinguish between normal and faulted operation. The controls were found to be robust and under all conditions, including difficult motor starts. The results from these test are expected to lead to additional testing of enhancements to the basic techniques at the test bed to improve the business case for microgrid technologies, as well to field demonstrations involving microgrids that involve one or mroe of the CERTS Microgrid concepts.« less

Energy Systems Integration News | Energy Systems Integration Facility |

Science.gov Websites

Control of Power Electronics in AC Systems and Microgrids. These courses will be part of a Professional Master's Program in Power Electronics offered through the university. Get more information on the program Scheme for the Voltage Control of a DFIG-Based Wind Power Plant, IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics

Smart Inverter Control and Operation for Distributed Energy Resources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tazay, Ahmad F.

The motivation of this research is to carry out the control and operation of smart inverters and voltage source converters (VSC) for distributed energy resources (DERs) such as photovoltaic (PV), battery, and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV). The main contribution of the research includes solving a couple of issues for smart grids by controlling and implementing multifunctions of VSC and smart inverter as well as improving the operational scheme of the microgrid. The work is mainly focused on controlling and operating of smart inverter since it promises a new technology for the future microgrid. Two major applications of the smart inverter will be investigated in this work based on the connection modes: microgrid at grid-tied mode and autonomous mode. In grid-tied connection, the smart inverter and VSC are used to integrate DER such as Photovoltaic (PV) and battery to provide suitable power to the system by controlling the supplied real and reactive power. The role of a smart inverter at autonomous mode includes supplying a sufficient voltage and frequency, mitigate abnormal condition of the load as well as equally sharing the total load's power. However, the operational control of the microgrid still has a major issue on the operation of the microgrid. The dissertation is divided into two main sections which are: 1. Low-level control of a single smart Inverter. 2. High-level control of the microgrid. The first part investigates a comprehensive research for a smart inverter and VSC technology at the two major connections of the microgrid. This involves controlling and modeling single smart inverter and VSC to solve specific issues of microgrid as well as improve the operation of the system. The research provides developed features for smart inverter comparing with a conventional voltage sourced converter (VSC). The two main connections for a microgrid have been deeply investigated to analyze a better way to develop and improve the operational procedure of the microgrid as well as solve specific issues of connecting the microgrid to the system. A detailed procedure for controlling VSC and designing an optimal operation of the controller is also covered in the first part of the dissertation. This section provides an optimal operation for controlling motor drive and demonstrates issues when motor load exists at an autonomous microgrid. It also provides a solution for specific issues at operating a microgrid at autonomous mode as well as improving the structural design for the grid-tied microgrid. The solution for autonomous microgrid includes changing the operational state of the switching pattern of the smart inverter to solve the issue of a common mode voltage (CMV) that appears across the motor load. It also solves the issue of power supplying to large loads, such as induction motors. The last section of the low-level section involves an improvement of the performance and operation of the PV charging station for a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) at grid-tied mode. This section provides a novel structure and smart controller for PV charging station using three-phase hybrid boost converter topology. It also provides a form of applications of a multifunction smart inverter using PV charging station. The second part of the research is focusing on improving the performance of the microgrid by integrating several smart inverters to form a microgrid. It investigates the issue of connecting DER units with the microgrid at real applications. One of the common issues of the microgrid is the circulating current which is caused by poor reactive power sharing accuracy. When more than two DER units are connected in parallel, a microgrid is forming be generating required power for the load. When the microgrid is operated at autonomous mode, all DER units participate in generating voltage and frequency as well as share the load's power. This section provides a smart and novel controlling technique to solve the issue of unequal power sharing. The feature of the smart inverter is realized by the communication link between smart inverters and the main operator. The analysis and derivation of the problem are presented in this section. The dissertation has led to two accepted conference papers, one accepted transaction IEEE manuscript, and one submitted IET transaction manuscript. The future work aims to improve the current work by investigating the performance of the smart inverter at real applications.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

STADLER, MICHAEL; MASHAYEKH, SALMAN; DEFOREST, NICHOLAS

The ODC Microgrid Controller is an optimization-based model predicative microgrid controller (MPMC) to minimize operation cost (and/or CO2 emissions) in a microgrid in the grid-connected mode. It is composed of several modules, including a) forecasting, b) optimization, c) data exchange and d) power balancing modules. In the presence of a multi-layered control system architecture, these modules will reside in the supervisory control layer.

Dispatch Control with PEV Charging and Renewables for Multiplayer Game Application

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Davis, Nathan; Johnson, Brian; McJunkin, Timothy

This paper presents a demand response model for a hypothetical microgrid that integrates renewable resources and plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) charging systems. It is assumed that the microgrid has black start capability and that external generation is available for purchase while grid connected to satisfy additional demand. The microgrid is developed such that in addition to renewable, non-dispatchable generation from solar, wind and run of the river hydroelectric resources, local dispatchable generation is available in the form of small hydroelectric and moderately sized gas and coal fired facilities. To accurately model demand, the load model is separated into independent residential,more » commercial, industrial, and PEV charging systems. These are dispatched and committed based on a mixed integer linear program developed to minimize the cost of generation and load shedding while satisfying constraints associated with line limits, conservation of energy, and ramp rates of the generation units. The model extends a research tool to longer time frames intended for policy setting and educational environments and provides a realistic and intuitive understanding of beneficial and challenging aspects of electrification of vehicles combined with integration of green electricity production.« less

Optimizing Microgrid Architecture on Department of Defense Installations

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-09-01

PPA power purchase agreement PV photovoltaic QDR Quadrennial Defense Review SNL Sandia National Laboratory SPIDERS Smart Power Infrastructure...a MILP that dispatches fuel-based generators with consideration to an ensemble of forecasted inputs from renewable power sources, subject to physical...wind power project costs by region: 2012 projects, from [30]. 6. Weather Forecasts Weather forecasts are often presented as a single prediction

Current Capabilities at SNL for the Integration of Small Modular Reactors onto Smart Microgrids Using Sandia's Smart Microgrid Technology High Performance Computing and Advanced Manufacturing.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rodriguez, Salvador B.

Smart grids are a crucial component for enabling the nation’s future energy needs, as part of a modernization effort led by the Department of Energy. Smart grids and smart microgrids are being considered in niche applications, and as part of a comprehensive energy strategy to help manage the nation’s growing energy demands, for critical infrastructures, military installations, small rural communities, and large populations with limited water supplies. As part of a far-reaching strategic initiative, Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) presents herein a unique, three-pronged approach to integrate small modular reactors (SMRs) into microgrids, with the goal of providing economically-competitive, reliable, andmore » secure energy to meet the nation’s needs. SNL’s triad methodology involves an innovative blend of smart microgrid technology, high performance computing (HPC), and advanced manufacturing (AM). In this report, Sandia’s current capabilities in those areas are summarized, as well as paths forward that will enable DOE to achieve its energy goals. In the area of smart grid/microgrid technology, Sandia’s current computational capabilities can model the entire grid, including temporal aspects and cyber security issues. Our tools include system development, integration, testing and evaluation, monitoring, and sustainment.« less

Analysis and Application of Microgrids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yue, Lu

New trends of generating electricity locally and utilizing non-conventional or renewable energy sources have attracted increasing interests due to the gradual depletion of conventional fossil fuel energy sources. The new type of power generation is called Distributed Generation (DG) and the energy sources utilized by Distributed Generation are termed Distributed Energy Sources (DERs). With DGs embedded in the distribution networks, they evolve from passive distribution networks to active distribution networks enabling bidirectional power flows in the networks. Further incorporating flexible and intelligent controllers and employing future technologies, active distribution networks will turn to a Microgrid. A Microgrid is a small-scale, low voltage Combined with Heat and Power (CHP) supply network designed to supply electrical and heat loads for a small community. To further implement Microgrids, a sophisticated Microgrid Management System must be integrated. However, due to the fact that a Microgrid has multiple DERs integrated and is likely to be deregulated, the ability to perform real-time OPF and economic dispatch with fast speed advanced communication network is necessary. In this thesis, first, problems such as, power system modelling, power flow solving and power system optimization, are studied. Then, Distributed Generation and Microgrid are studied and reviewed, including a comprehensive review over current distributed generation technologies and Microgrid Management Systems, etc. Finally, a computer-based AC optimization method which minimizes the total transmission loss and generation cost of a Microgrid is proposed and a wireless communication scheme based on synchronized Code Division Multiple Access (sCDMA) is proposed. The algorithm is tested with a 6-bus power system and a 9-bus power system.

Utilization of Renewable Energy to Meet New National Challenges in Energy and Climate Change

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Momoh, James A.

The project aims to design a microgrid system to promote utilization of renewable energy resources such as wind and solar to address the national challenges in energy and climate change. Different optimization techniques and simulation software are used to study the performance of the renewable energy system under study. A series of research works performed under the grant Department of Energy (DOE) is presented. This grant opportunity affords Howard faculty, students, graduates, undergraduates, K-12, postdocs and visiting scholars to benefit state of the art research work. The research work has led to improve or advance understanding of new hardware technologies,more » software development and engineering optimization methods necessary and sufficient for handling probabilistic models and real-time computation and functions necessary for development of microgrid system. Consistent with State of Project Objective Howard University has partitioned the task into the following integrated activities: 1. Stochastic Model for RER and Load • Development of modeling Renewable Energy Resources (RER) and load which is used to perform distribution power flow study which leads to publication in refereed journals and conferences. The work was also published at the IEEE conference. 2. Stochastic optimization for voltage/Var • The development of voltage VAr optimization based on a review of existing knowledge in optimization led to the use of stochastic program and evolution of programming optimization method for V/VAr optimization. Papers were presented at the North America Power Systems Conference and the IEEE PES general meeting. 3. Modeling RER and Storage • Extending the concept of optimization method an RER with storage, such as the development of microgrid V/VAr and storage is performed. Several papers were published at the North America Power Systems Conference and the IEEE PES general meeting. 4. Power Game • Development of power game experiment using Labvolt to allow for hands on understanding of design and development of microgrid functions is performed. Publication were done by students at the end of their summer program. 5. Designing Microgrid Testbed • Example microgrid test bed is developed. In addition, function of the test bed are developed. The papers were presented at the North America Power Systems Conference and the IEEE general meeting. 6. Outreach Program • From the outreach program, topics from the project have been included in the revision of courses at Howard University, new book called Energy Processing and Smartgrid has being developed. • Hosted masters students from University of Denver to complete their projects with us. • Hosted high school students for early exposure for careers in STEM • Representations made in IEEE conferences to share the lessons learned in the use of micro grid to expose students to STEM education and research.« less

Distributed Control of Inverter-Based Lossy Microgrids for Power Sharing and Frequency Regulation Under Voltage Constraints

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chang, Chin-Yao; Zhang, Wei

This paper presents a new distributed control framework to coordinate inverter-interfaced distributed energy resources (DERs) in island microgrids. We show that under bounded load uncertainties, the proposed control method can steer the microgrid to a desired steady state with synchronized inverter frequency across the network and proportional sharing of both active and reactive powers among the inverters. We also show that such convergence can be achieved while respecting constraints on voltage magnitude and branch angle differences. The controller is robust under various contingency scenarios, including loss of communication links and failures of DERs. The proposed controller is applicable to lossymore » mesh microgrids with heterogeneous R/X distribution lines and reasonable parameter variations. Simulations based on various microgrid operation scenarios are also provided to show the effectiveness of the proposed control method.« less

The impact of ancillary services in optimal DER investment decisions

DOE PAGES

Cardoso, Goncalo; Stadler, Michael; Mashayekh, Salman; ...

2017-04-25

Microgrid resource sizing problems typically include the analysis of a combination of value streams such as peak shaving, load shifting, or load scheduling, which support the economic feasibility of the microgrid deployment. However, microgrid benefits can go beyond these, and the ability to provide ancillary grid services such as frequency regulation or spinning and non-spinning reserves is well known, despite typically not being considered in resource sizing problems. This paper proposes the expansion of the Distributed Energy Resources Customer Adoption Model (DER-CAM), a state-of-the-art microgrid resource sizing model, to include revenue streams resulting from the participation in ancillary service markets.more » Results suggest that participation in such markets may not only influence the optimum resource sizing, but also the operational dispatch, with results being strongly influenced by the exact market requirements and clearing prices.« less

The impact of ancillary services in optimal DER investment decisions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cardoso, Goncalo; Stadler, Michael; Mashayekh, Salman

Microgrid resource sizing problems typically include the analysis of a combination of value streams such as peak shaving, load shifting, or load scheduling, which support the economic feasibility of the microgrid deployment. However, microgrid benefits can go beyond these, and the ability to provide ancillary grid services such as frequency regulation or spinning and non-spinning reserves is well known, despite typically not being considered in resource sizing problems. This paper proposes the expansion of the Distributed Energy Resources Customer Adoption Model (DER-CAM), a state-of-the-art microgrid resource sizing model, to include revenue streams resulting from the participation in ancillary service markets.more » Results suggest that participation in such markets may not only influence the optimum resource sizing, but also the operational dispatch, with results being strongly influenced by the exact market requirements and clearing prices.« less

Optimal control in microgrid using multi-agent reinforcement learning.

PubMed

Li, Fu-Dong; Wu, Min; He, Yong; Chen, Xin

2012-11-01

This paper presents an improved reinforcement learning method to minimize electricity costs on the premise of satisfying the power balance and generation limit of units in a microgrid with grid-connected mode. Firstly, the microgrid control requirements are analyzed and the objective function of optimal control for microgrid is proposed. Then, a state variable "Average Electricity Price Trend" which is used to express the most possible transitions of the system is developed so as to reduce the complexity and randomicity of the microgrid, and a multi-agent architecture including agents, state variables, action variables and reward function is formulated. Furthermore, dynamic hierarchical reinforcement learning, based on change rate of key state variable, is established to carry out optimal policy exploration. The analysis shows that the proposed method is beneficial to handle the problem of "curse of dimensionality" and speed up learning in the unknown large-scale world. Finally, the simulation results under JADE (Java Agent Development Framework) demonstrate the validity of the presented method in optimal control for a microgrid with grid-connected mode. Copyright © 2012 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Modeling and optimization of energy storage system for microgrid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qiu, Xin

The vanadium redox flow battery (VRB) is well suited for the applications of microgrid and renewable energy. This thesis will have a practical analysis of the battery itself and its application in microgrid systems. The first paper analyzes the VRB use in a microgrid system. The first part of the paper develops a reduced order circuit model of the VRB and analyzes its experimental performance efficiency during deployment. The statistical methods and neural network approximation are used to estimate the system parameters. The second part of the paper addresses the implementation issues of the VRB application in a photovoltaic-based microgrid system. A new dc-dc converter was proposed to provide improved charging performance. The paper was published on IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid, Vol. 5, No. 4, July 2014. The second paper studies VRB use within a microgrid system from a practical perspective. A reduced order circuit model of the VRB is introduced that includes the losses from the balance of plant including system and environmental controls. The proposed model includes the circulation pumps and the HVAC system that regulates the environment of the VRB enclosure. In this paper, the VRB model is extended to include the ESS environmental controls to provide a model that provides a more realistic efficiency profile. The paper was submitted to IEEE Transactions on Sustainable Energy. Third paper discussed the optimal control strategy when VRB works with other type of battery in a microgird system. The work in first paper is extended. A high level control strategy is developed to coordinate a lead acid battery and a VRB with reinforcement learning. The paper is to be submitted to IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid.

Intelligent electrical outlet for collective load control

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lentine, Anthony L.; Ford, Justin R.; Spires, Shannon V.

Various technologies described herein pertain to an electrical outlet that autonomously manages loads in a microgrid. The electrical outlet can provide autonomous load control in response to variations in electrical power generation supply in the microgrid. The electrical outlet includes a receptacle, a sensor operably coupled to the receptacle, and an actuator configured to selectively actuate the receptacle. The sensor measures electrical parameters at the receptacle. Further, a processor autonomously controls the actuator based at least in part on the electrical parameters measured at the receptacle, electrical parameters from one or more disparate electrical outlets in the microgrid, and amore » supply of generated electric power in the microgrid at a given time.« less

Design and power management of an offshore medium voltage DC microgrid realized through high voltage power electronics technologies and control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grainger, Brandon Michael

The growth in the electric power industry's portfolio of Direct Current (DC) based generation and loads have captured the attention of many leading research institutions. Opportunities for using DC based systems have been explored in electric ship design and have been a proven, reliable solution for transmitting bulk power onshore and offshore. To integrate many of the renewable resources into our existing AC grid, a number of power conversions through power electronics are required to condition the equipment for direct connection. Within the power conversion stages, there is always a requirement to convert to or from DC. The AC microgrid is a conceptual solution proposed for integrating various types of renewable generation resources. The fundamental microgrid requirements include the capability of operating in islanding mode and/or grid connected modes. The technical challenges associated with microgrids include (1) operation modes and transitions that comply with IEEE1547 without extensive custom engineering and (2) control architecture and communication. The Medium Voltage DC (MVDC) architecture, explored by the University of Pittsburgh, can be visualized as a special type of DC microgrid. This dissertation is multi-faceted, focused on many design aspects of an offshore DC microgrid. The focal points of the discussion are focused on optimized high power, high frequency magnetic material performance in electric machines, transformers, and DC/DC power converters---all components found within offshore, power system architectures. A new controller design based upon model reference control is proposed and shown to stabilize the electric motor drives (modeled as constant power loads), which serve as the largest power consuming entities in the microgrid. The design and simulation of a state-of-the-art multilevel converter for High Voltage DC (HVDC) is discussed and a component sensitivity analysis on fault current peaks is explored. A power management routine is proposed and evaluated as the DC microgrid is disturbed through various mode transitions. Finally, two communication protocols are described for the microgrid---one to minimize communication overhead inside the microgrid and another to provide robust and scalable intra-grid communication. The work presented is supported by Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) Corporate Research Center within the Active Grid Infrastructure program, the Advanced Research Project Agency - Energy (ARPA-E) through the Solar ADEPT program, and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (MELCO).

Distributed Generation: Challenges and Opportunities, 7. edition

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

2007-10-15

The report is a comprehensive study of the Distributed Generation (DG) industry. The report takes a wide-ranging look at the current and future state of DG and both individually and collectively addresses the technologies of Microturbines, Reciprocating Engines, Stirling Engines, Fuel Cells, Photovoltaics, Concentrating Solar, Wind, and Microgrids. Topics covered include: the key technologies being used or planned for DG; the uses of DG from utility, energy service provider, and customer viewpoints; the economics of DG; the benefits of DG from multiple perspectives; the barriers that exist to implementing DG; the government programs supporting the DG industry; and, an analysismore » of DG interconnection and net metering rules.« less

Distributed Energy Resources Customer Adoption Model Plus (DER-CAM+), Version 1.0.0

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stadler, Michael; Cardorso, Goncalo; Mashayekh, Salman

DER-CAM+ v1.0.0 is internally referred to as DER-CAM v5.0.0. Due to fundamental changes from previous versions, a new name (DER-CAM+) will be used for DER-CAM version 5.0.0 and above. DER-CAM+ is a Decision Support Tool for Decentralized Energy Systems that has been tailored for microgrid applications, and now explicitly considers electrical and thermal networks within a microgrid, ancillary services, and operating reserve. DER-CAM was initially created as an exclusively economic energy model, able to find the cost minimizing combination and operation profile of a set of DER technologies that meet energy loads of a building or microgrid for a typicalmore » test year. The previous versions of DER-CAM were formulated without modeling the electrical/thermal networks within the microgrid, and hence, used aggregate single-node approaches. Furthermore, they were not able to consider operating reserve constraints, and microgrid revenue streams from participating in ancillary services markets. This new version DER-CAM+ considers these issues by including electrical power flow and thermal flow equations and constraints in the microgrid, revenues from various ancillary services markets, and operating reserve constraints.« less

Optimal load scheduling in commercial and residential microgrids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ganji Tanha, Mohammad Mahdi

Residential and commercial electricity customers use more than two third of the total energy consumed in the United States, representing a significant resource of demand response. Price-based demand response, which is in response to changes in electricity prices, represents the adjustments in load through optimal load scheduling (OLS). In this study, an efficient model for OLS is developed for residential and commercial microgrids which include aggregated loads in single-units and communal loads. Single unit loads which include fixed, adjustable and shiftable loads are controllable by the unit occupants. Communal loads which include pool pumps, elevators and central heating/cooling systems are shared among the units. In order to optimally schedule residential and commercial loads, a community-based optimal load scheduling (CBOLS) is proposed in this thesis. The CBOLS schedule considers hourly market prices, occupants' comfort level, and microgrid operation constraints. The CBOLS' objective in residential and commercial microgrids is the constrained minimization of the total cost of supplying the aggregator load, defined as the microgrid load minus the microgrid generation. This problem is represented by a large-scale mixed-integer optimization for supplying single-unit and communal loads. The Lagrangian relaxation methodology is used to relax the linking communal load constraint and decompose the independent single-unit functions into subproblems which can be solved in parallel. The optimal solution is acceptable if the aggregator load limit and the duality gap are within the bounds. If any of the proposed criteria is not satisfied, the Lagrangian multiplier will be updated and a new optimal load schedule will be regenerated until both constraints are satisfied. The proposed method is applied to several case studies and the results are presented for the Galvin Center load on the 16th floor of the IIT Tower in Chicago.

Transient Control of Synchronous Machine Active and Reactive Power in Micro-grid Power Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weber, Luke G.

There are two main topics associated with this dissertation. The first is to investigate phase-to-neutral fault current magnitude occurring in generators with multiple zero-sequence current sources. The second is to design, model, and tune a linear control system for operating a micro-grid in the event of a separation from the electric power system. In the former case, detailed generator, AC8B excitation system, and four-wire electric power system models are constructed. Where available, manufacturers data is used to validate the generator and exciter models. A gain-delay with frequency droop control is used to model an internal combustion engine and governor. The four wire system is connected through a transformer impedance to an infinite bus. Phase-to-neutral faults are imposed on the system, and fault magnitudes analyzed against three-phase faults to gauge their severity. In the latter case, a balanced three-phase system is assumed. The model structure from the former case - but using data for a different generator - is incorporated with a model for an energy storage device and a net load model to form a micro-grid. The primary control model for the energy storage device has a high level of detail, as does the energy storage device plant model in describing the LC filter and transformer. A gain-delay battery and inverter model is used at the front end. The net load model is intended to be the difference between renewable energy sources and load within a micro-grid system that has separated from the grid. Given the variability of both renewable generation and load, frequency and voltage stability are not guaranteed. This work is an attempt to model components of a proposed micro-grid system at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, and design, model, and tune a linear control system for operation in the event of a separation from the electric power system. The control module is responsible for management of frequency and active power, and voltage and reactive power. The scope of this work is to • develop a mathematical model for a salient pole, 2 damper winding synchronous generator with d axis saturation suitable for transient analysis, • develop a mathematical model for a voltage regulator and excitation system using the IEEE AC8B voltage regulator and excitation system template, • develop mathematical models for an energy storage primary control system, LC filter and transformer suitable for transient analysis, • combine the generator and energy storage models in a micro-grid context, • develop mathematical models for electric system components in the stationary abc frame and rotating dq reference frame, • develop a secondary control network for dispatch of micro-grid assets, • establish micro-grid limits of stable operation for step changes in load and power commands based on simulations of model data assuming net load on the micro-grid, and • use generator and electric system models to assess the generator current magnitude during phase-to-ground faults.

NREL, EPRI Validate Advanced Microgrid Controller with ESIF's Virtual

Science.gov Websites

Microgrid Controller with ESIF's Virtual Microgrid Model NREL, EPRI Validate Advanced Microgrid Controller with ESIF's Virtual Microgrid Model NREL is working with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI Energy Systems Integration Facility, by connecting it to a virtual model of a microgrid. NREL researchers

Development and Evaluation of Control System for Microgrid Supplying Heat and Electricity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kojima, Yasuhiro; Koshio, Masanobu; Nakamura, Shizuka

Photovoltaic (PV) and Wind Turbine (WT) generation systems are expected to offer solutions to reduce green house gases and become more widely used in the future. However, the chief technical drawback of using these kinds of weather-dependent generators is the difficulty of forecasting their output, which can have negative impacts on commercial grids if a large number of them are introduced. Thus, this problem may hinder the wider application of PV and WT generation systems. The Regional Power Grid with Renewable Energy Resources Project was launched to seek a solution to this problem. The scope of the project is to develop, operate, and evaluate a Dispersed Renewable Energy Supply System with the ability to adapt the total energy output in response to changes in weather and demand. Such a system would reduce the impact that PV and WT generation systems have on commercial grids and allow the interconnection of more Dispersed Energy Resources (DER). In other words, the main objective of this project is to demonstrate an integrated energy management system, or a type of microgrid [1], as a new way of introducing DERs. The system has been in operation since October 2005 and will continue operation until March 2008. Through the project period, the data on power quality, system efficiency, operation cost, and environmental burden will be gathered and a cost-benefit analysis of the system will be undertaken. In this paper, firstly we introduce the concept of microgrid for reducing negative impact of natural energy, and secondly illustrate the structure of electric and thermal supply control system for Microgrid, especially for the Hachinohe demonstration project. The control system consists of four stages; weekly operation planning, economic dispatching control, tie-line control and local frequency control. And finally demonstration results and evaluation results are shown.

Distributed cooperative control of AC microgrids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bidram, Ali

In this dissertation, the comprehensive secondary control of electric power microgrids is of concern. Microgrid technical challenges are mainly realized through the hierarchical control structure, including primary, secondary, and tertiary control levels. Primary control level is locally implemented at each distributed generator (DG), while the secondary and tertiary control levels are conventionally implemented through a centralized control structure. The centralized structure requires a central controller which increases the reliability concerns by posing the single point of failure. In this dissertation, the distributed control structure using the distributed cooperative control of multi-agent systems is exploited to increase the secondary control reliability. The secondary control objectives are microgrid voltage and frequency, and distributed generators (DGs) active and reactive powers. Fully distributed control protocols are implemented through distributed communication networks. In the distributed control structure, each DG only requires its own information and the information of its neighbors on the communication network. The distributed structure obviates the requirements for a central controller and complex communication network which, in turn, improves the system reliability. Since the DG dynamics are nonlinear and non-identical, input-output feedback linearization is used to transform the nonlinear dynamics of DGs to linear dynamics. Proposed control frameworks cover the control of microgrids containing inverter-based DGs. Typical microgrid test systems are used to verify the effectiveness of the proposed control protocols.

Intelligent Operation and Maintenance of Micro-grid Technology and System Development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fu, Ming; Song, Jinyan; Zhao, Jingtao; Du, Jian

2018-01-01

In order to achieve the micro-grid operation and management, Studying the micro-grid operation and maintenance knowledge base. Based on the advanced Petri net theory, the fault diagnosis model of micro-grid is established, and the intelligent diagnosis and analysis method of micro-grid fault is put forward. Based on the technology, the functional system and architecture of the intelligent operation and maintenance system of micro-grid are studied, and the microcomputer fault diagnosis function is introduced in detail. Finally, the system is deployed based on the micro-grid of a park, and the micro-grid fault diagnosis and analysis is carried out based on the micro-grid operation. The system operation and maintenance function interface is displayed, which verifies the correctness and reliability of the system.

DMS Advanced Applications for Accommodating High Penetrations of DERs and Microgrids

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pratt, Annabelle; Veda, Santosh; Maitra, Arindam

Efficient and effective management of the electric distribution system requires an integrated approach to allow various systems to work in harmony, including distribution management systems (DMS), distributed energy resources (DERs), distributed energy resources management systems, and microgrids. This study highlights some outcomes from a recent project sponsored by the US Department of Energy, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, including information about (i) the architecture of these integrated systems and (ii) expanded functions of two example DMS applications to accommodate DERs: volt-var optimisation and fault location, isolation, and service restoration. In addition, the relevant DER group functions necessary tomore » support communications between the DMS and a microgrid controller in grid-tied mode are identified.« less

Microgrid Controller and Advanced Distribution Management System Survey Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Liu, Guodong; Starke, Michael R.; Herron, Andrew N.

2016-07-01

A microgrid controller, which serves as the heart of a microgrid, is responsible for optimally managing the distributed energy resources, energy storage systems, and responsive demand and for ensuring the microgrid is being operated in an efficient, reliable, and resilient way. As the market for microgrids has blossomed in recently years, many vendors have released their own microgrid controllers to meet the various needs of different microgrid clients. However, due to the absence of a recognized standard for such controllers, vendor-supported microgrid controllers have a range of functionalities that are significantly different from each other in many respects. As amore » result the current state of the industry has been difficult to assess. To remedy this situation the authors conducted a survey of the functions of microgrid controllers developed by vendors and national laboratories. This report presents a clear indication of the state of the microgrid-controller industry based on analysis of the survey results. The results demonstrate that US Department of Energy funded research in microgrid controllers is unique and not competing with that of industry.« less

Application of Autonomous Spacecraft Power Control Technology to Terrestrial Microgrids

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dever, Timothy P.; Trase, Larry M.; Soeder, James F.

2014-01-01

This paper describes the potential of the power campus located at the NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) in Cleveland, Ohio for microgrid development. First, the benefits provided by microgrids to the terrestrial power grid are described, and an overview of Technology Needs for microgrid development is presented. Next, GRC's work on development of autonomous control for manned deep space vehicles, which are essentially islanded microgrids, is covered, and contribution of each of these developments to the microgrid Technology Needs is detailed. Finally, a description is provided of GRC's existing physical assets which can be applied to microgrid technology development, and a phased plan for development of a microgrid test facility is presented.

Design and implementation of co-operative control strategy for hybrid AC/DC microgrids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mahmud, Rasel

This thesis is mainly divided in two major sections: 1) Modeling and control of AC microgrid, DC microgrid, Hybrid AC/DC microgrid using distributed co-operative control, and 2) Development of a four bus laboratory prototype of an AC microgrid system. At first, a distributed cooperative control (DCC) for a DC microgrid considering the state-of-charge (SoC) of the batteries in a typical plug-in-electric-vehicle (PEV) is developed. In DC microgrids, this methodology is developed to assist the load sharing amongst the distributed generation units (DGs), according to their ratings with improved voltage regulation. Subsequently, a DCC based control algorithm for AC microgrid is also investigated to improve the performance of AC microgrid in terms of power sharing among the DGs, voltage regulation and frequency deviation. The results validate the advantages of the proposed methodology as compared to traditional droop control of AC microgrid. The DCC-based control methodology for AC microgrid and DC microgrid are further expanded to develop a DCC-based power management algorithm for hybrid AC/DC microgrid. The developed algorithm for hybrid microgrid controls the power flow through the interfacing converter (IC) between the AC and DC microgrids. This will facilitate the power sharing between the DGs according to their power ratings. Moreover, it enables the fixed scheduled power delivery at different operating conditions, while maintaining good voltage regulation and improved frequency profile. The second section provides a detailed explanation and step-by-step design and development of an AC/DC microgrid testbed. Controllers for the three-phase inverters are designed and tested on different generation units along with their corresponding inductor-capacitor-inductor (LCL) filters to eliminate the switching frequency harmonics. Electric power distribution line models are developed to form the microgrid network topology. Voltage and current sensors are placed in the proper positions to achieve a full visibility over the microgrid. A running average filter (RAF) based enhanced phase-locked-loop (EPLL) is designed and implemented to extract frequency and phase angle information. A PLL-based synchronizing scheme is also developed to synchronize the DGs to the microgrid. The developed laboratory prototype runs on dSpace platform for real time data acquisition, communication and controller implementation.

Microgrid Design Toolkit (MDT) Technical Documentation and Component Summaries

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Arguello, Bryan; Gearhart, Jared Lee; Jones, Katherine A.

2015-09-01

The Microgrid Design Toolkit (MDT) is a decision support software tool for microgrid designers to use during the microgrid design process. The models that support the two main capabilities in MDT are described. The first capability, the Microgrid Sizing Capability (MSC), is used to determine the size and composition of a new microgrid in the early stages of the design process. MSC is a mixed-integer linear program that is focused on developing a microgrid that is economically viable when connected to the grid. The second capability is focused on refining a microgrid design for operation in islanded mode. This secondmore » capability relies on two models: the Technology Management Optimization (TMO) model and Performance Reliability Model (PRM). TMO uses a genetic algorithm to create and refine a collection of candidate microgrid designs. It uses PRM, a simulation based reliability model, to assess the performance of these designs. TMO produces a collection of microgrid designs that perform well with respect to one or more performance metrics.« less

Economic challenges of hybrid microgrid: An analysis and approaches for rural electrification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Habibullah, Mohammad; Mahmud, Khizir; Koçar, Günnur; Islam, A. K. M. Sadrul; Salehin, Sayedus

2017-06-01

This paper focuses on the integration of three renewable resources: biogas, wind energy and solar energy, utilizing solar PV panels, a biogas generator, and a wind turbine, respectively, to analyze the technical and economic challenges of a hybrid micro-gird. The integration of these sources has been analyzed and optimized based on realistic data for a real location. Different combinations of these sources have been analyzed to find out the optimized combination based on the efficiency and the minimum cost of electricity (COE). Wind and solar energy are considered as the primary sources of power generation during off-peak hours, and any excess power is used to charge a battery bank. During peak hours, biogas generators produce power to support the additional demand. A business strategy to implement the integrated optimized system in rural areas is discussed.

Energy manager design for microgrids

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Firestone, Ryan; Marnay, Chris

2005-01-01

On-site energy production, known as distributed energy resources (DER), offers consumers many benefits, such as bill savings and predictability, improved system efficiency, improved reliability, control over power quality, and in many cases, greener electricity. Additionally, DER systems can benefit electric utilities by reducing congestion on the grid, reducing the need for new generation and transmission capacity, and offering ancillary services such as voltage support and emergency demand response. Local aggregations of distributed energy resources (DER) that may include active control of on-site end-use energy devices can be called microgrids. Microgrids require control to ensure safe operation and to make dispatchmore » decisions that achieve system objectives such as cost minimization, reliability, efficiency and emissions requirements, while abiding by system constraints and regulatory rules. This control is performed by an energy manager (EM). Preferably, an EM will achieve operation reasonably close to the attainable optimum, it will do this by means robust to deviations from expected conditions, and it will not itself incur insupportable capital or operation and maintenance costs. Also, microgrids can include supervision over end-uses, such as curtailing or rescheduling certain loads. By viewing a unified microgrid as a system of supply and demand, rather than simply a system of on-site generation devices, the benefits of integrated supply and demand control can be exploited, such as economic savings and improved system energy efficiency.« less

A New Seamless Transfer Control Strategy of the Microgrid

PubMed Central

Zhang, Zhaoyun; Chen, Wei; Zhang, Zhe

2014-01-01

A microgrid may operate under two typical modes; the seamless transfer control of the microgrid is very important. The mode conversion controller is installed in microgrid and the control logic of master power is optimized for microgrid mode conversion. In the proposed scheme, master power is very important. The master-power is under the PQ control when microgrid is under grid-connected. And it is under V/F control when the microgrid is under islanding. The microgrid mode controller is used to solve the planned conversion. Three types of conversion are simulated in this paper. The simulation results show the correctness and validity of the mode control scheme. Finally, the implementation and application of the operation and control device are described. PMID:24967431

A new seamless transfer control strategy of the microgrid.

PubMed

Zhang, Zhaoyun; Chen, Wei; Zhang, Zhe

2014-01-01

A microgrid may operate under two typical modes; the seamless transfer control of the microgrid is very important. The mode conversion controller is installed in microgrid and the control logic of master power is optimized for microgrid mode conversion. In the proposed scheme, master power is very important. The master-power is under the PQ control when microgrid is under grid-connected. And it is under V/F control when the microgrid is under islanding. The microgrid mode controller is used to solve the planned conversion. Three types of conversion are simulated in this paper. The simulation results show the correctness and validity of the mode control scheme. Finally, the implementation and application of the operation and control device are described.

Interconnection, Integration, and Interactive Impact Analysis of Microgrids and Distribution Systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kang, Ning; Wang, Jianhui; Singh, Ravindra

2017-01-01

Distribution management systems (DMSs) are increasingly used by distribution system operators (DSOs) to manage the distribution grid and to monitor the status of both power imported from the transmission grid and power generated locally by a distributed energy resource (DER), to ensure that power flows and voltages along the feeders are maintained within designed limits and that appropriate measures are taken to guarantee service continuity and energy security. When microgrids are deployed and interconnected to the distribution grids, they will have an impact on the operation of the distribution grid. The challenge is to design this interconnection in such amore » way that it enhances the reliability and security of the distribution grid and the loads embedded in the microgrid, while providing economic benefits to all stakeholders, including the microgrid owner and operator and the distribution system operator.« less

Resilient off-grid microgrids: Capacity planning and N-1 security

DOE PAGES

Madathil, Sreenath Chalil; Yamangil, Emre; Nagarajan, Harsha; ...

2017-06-13

Over the past century the electric power industry has evolved to support the delivery of power over long distances with highly interconnected transmission systems. Despite this evolution, some remote communities are not connected to these systems. These communities rely on small, disconnected distribution systems, i.e., microgrids to deliver power. However, as microgrids often are not held to the same reliability standards as transmission grids, remote communities can be at risk for extended blackouts. To address this issue, we develop an optimization model and an algorithm for capacity planning and operations of microgrids that include N-1 security and other practical modelingmore » features like AC power flow physics, component efficiencies and thermal limits. Lastly, we demonstrate the computational effectiveness of our approach on two test systems; a modified version of the IEEE 13 node test feeder and a model of a distribution system in a remote community in Alaska.« less

Resilient off-grid microgrids: Capacity planning and N-1 security

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Madathil, Sreenath Chalil; Yamangil, Emre; Nagarajan, Harsha

Over the past century the electric power industry has evolved to support the delivery of power over long distances with highly interconnected transmission systems. Despite this evolution, some remote communities are not connected to these systems. These communities rely on small, disconnected distribution systems, i.e., microgrids to deliver power. However, as microgrids often are not held to the same reliability standards as transmission grids, remote communities can be at risk for extended blackouts. To address this issue, we develop an optimization model and an algorithm for capacity planning and operations of microgrids that include N-1 security and other practical modelingmore » features like AC power flow physics, component efficiencies and thermal limits. Lastly, we demonstrate the computational effectiveness of our approach on two test systems; a modified version of the IEEE 13 node test feeder and a model of a distribution system in a remote community in Alaska.« less

Real-time modeling and simulation of distribution feeder and distributed resources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Pawan

The analysis of the electrical system dates back to the days when analog network analyzers were used. With the advent of digital computers, many programs were written for power-flow and short circuit analysis for the improvement of the electrical system. Real-time computer simulations can answer many what-if scenarios in the existing or the proposed power system. In this thesis, the standard IEEE 13-Node distribution feeder is developed and validated on a real-time platform OPAL-RT. The concept and the challenges of the real-time simulation are studied and addressed. Distributed energy resources include some of the commonly used distributed generation and storage devices like diesel engine, solar photovoltaic array, and battery storage system are modeled and simulated on a real-time platform. A microgrid encompasses a portion of an electric power distribution which is located downstream of the distribution substation. Normally, the microgrid operates in paralleled mode with the grid; however, scheduled or forced isolation can take place. In such conditions, the microgrid must have the ability to operate stably and autonomously. The microgrid can operate in grid connected and islanded mode, both the operating modes are studied in the last chapter. Towards the end, a simple microgrid controller modeled and simulated on the real-time platform is developed for energy management and protection for the microgrid.

Cost Analysis of Renewable Energy-Based Microgrids

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Giraldez Miner, Julieta I; Singh, Shruti; Gao, David Wenzhong

This paper analyzes the cost composition of microgrid construction as well as the influencing key factors. The Microgrid Cost Study aims at identifying the average cost of a typical microgrid project. The project is limited to the vicinity of U.S. and hence takes into account of only existing microgrid projects in U.S. The project's objective is to find cost of microgrid and its individual components for next 5 years. This will help in R&D for future microgrid projects as well as help investors/developers/researchers get an idea about the cost of their projects that they might want to start in nearmore » future.« less

NREL and CSIRO Validating Advanced Microgrid Control Solution | Energy

Science.gov Websites

Organisation NREL and CSIRO Validating Advanced Microgrid Control Solution Australia's Commonwealth Scientific microgrid control solution. This technology helps hybrid microgrids to automatically recognize when solar

Advancing Microgrid Research at NREL

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NREL expanded its microgrid research capabilities at the Energy System Integration Facility (ESIF) with the purchase of a Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (SEL) microgrid controller, resulting in a more comprehensive microgrid research platform. NREL's microgrid research platform allows manufacturers, utilities, and integrators to develop and evaluate their technology or configuration at full power before implementation - something only possible at a handful of facilities in the world.

Networked Microgrids Scoping Study

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Backhaus, Scott N.; Dobriansky, Larisa; Glover, Steve

2016-12-05

Much like individual microgrids, the range of opportunities and potential architectures of networked microgrids is very diverse. The goals of this scoping study are to provide an early assessment of research and development needs by examining the benefits of, risks created by, and risks to networked microgrids. At this time there are very few, if any, examples of deployed microgrid networks. In addition, there are very few tools to simulate or otherwise analyze the behavior of networked microgrids. In this setting, it is very difficult to evaluate networked microgrids systematically or quantitatively. At this early stage, this study is relyingmore » on inputs, estimations, and literature reviews by subject matter experts who are engaged in individual microgrid research and development projects, i.e., the authors of this study The initial step of the study gathered input about the potential opportunities provided by networked microgrids from these subject matter experts. These opportunities were divided between the subject matter experts for further review. Part 2 of this study is comprised of these reviews. Part 1 of this study is a summary of the benefits and risks identified in the reviews in Part 2 and synthesis of the research needs required to enable networked microgrids.« less

A Micro-Grid Simulator Tool (SGridSim) using Effective Node-to-Node Complex Impedance (EN2NCI) Models

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Udhay Ravishankar; Milos manic

2013-08-01

This paper presents a micro-grid simulator tool useful for implementing and testing multi-agent controllers (SGridSim). As a common engineering practice it is important to have a tool that simplifies the modeling of the salient features of a desired system. In electric micro-grids, these salient features are the voltage and power distributions within the micro-grid. Current simplified electric power grid simulator tools such as PowerWorld, PowerSim, Gridlab, etc, model only the power distribution features of a desired micro-grid. Other power grid simulators such as Simulink, Modelica, etc, use detailed modeling to accommodate the voltage distribution features. This paper presents a SGridSimmore » micro-grid simulator tool that simplifies the modeling of both the voltage and power distribution features in a desired micro-grid. The SGridSim tool accomplishes this simplified modeling by using Effective Node-to-Node Complex Impedance (EN2NCI) models of components that typically make-up a micro-grid. The term EN2NCI models means that the impedance based components of a micro-grid are modeled as single impedances tied between their respective voltage nodes on the micro-grid. Hence the benefit of the presented SGridSim tool are 1) simulation of a micro-grid is performed strictly in the complex-domain; 2) faster simulation of a micro-grid by avoiding the simulation of detailed transients. An example micro-grid model was built using the SGridSim tool and tested to simulate both the voltage and power distribution features with a total absolute relative error of less than 6%.« less

Modeling and Analysis of Remote, Off-grid Microgrids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Madathil, Sreenath Chalil

Over the past century the electric power industry has evolved to support the delivery of power over long distances with highly interconnected transmission systems. Despite this evolution, some remote communities are not connected to these systems. These communities rely on small, disconnected distribution systems, i.e., microgrids, to deliver power. Power distribution in most of these remote communities often depend on a type of microgrid called "off-grid microgrids". However, as microgrids often are not held to the same reliability standards as transmission grids, remote communities can be at risk to experience extended blackouts. Recent trends have also shown an increased use of renewable energy resources in power systems for remote communities. The increased penetration of renewable resources in power generation will require complex decision making when designing a resilient power system. This is mainly due to the stochastic nature of renewable resources that can lead to loss of load or line overload during their operations. In the first part of this thesis, we develop an optimization model and accompanying solution algorithm for capacity planning and operating microgrids that include N-1 security and other practical modeling features (e.g., AC power flow physics, component efficiencies and thermal limits). We demonstrate the effectiveness of our model and solution approach on two test systems: a modified version of the IEEE 13 node test feeder and a model of a distribution system in a remote Alaskan community. Once a tractable algorithm was identified to solve the above problem, we develop a mathematical model that includes topology design of microgrids. The topology design includes building new lines, making redundant lines, and analyzing N-1 contingencies on generators and lines. We develop a rolling horizon algorithm to efficiently analyze the model and demonstrate the strength of our algorithm in the same network. Finally, we develop a stochastic model that considers generation uncertainties along with N-1 security on generation assets. We develop a chance-constrained model to analyze the efficacy of the problem under consideration and present a case study on an adapted IEEE-13 node network. A successful implementation of this research could help remote communities around the world to enhance their quality of life by providing them with cost-effective, reliable electricity.

Data-driven modeling of solar-powered urban microgrids

PubMed Central

Halu, Arda; Scala, Antonio; Khiyami, Abdulaziz; González, Marta C.

2016-01-01

Distributed generation takes center stage in today’s rapidly changing energy landscape. Particularly, locally matching demand and generation in the form of microgrids is becoming a promising alternative to the central distribution paradigm. Infrastructure networks have long been a major focus of complex networks research with their spatial considerations. We present a systemic study of solar-powered microgrids in the urban context, obeying real hourly consumption patterns and spatial constraints of the city. We propose a microgrid model and study its citywide implementation, identifying the self-sufficiency and temporal properties of microgrids. Using a simple optimization scheme, we find microgrid configurations that result in increased resilience under cost constraints. We characterize load-related failures solving power flows in the networks, and we show the robustness behavior of urban microgrids with respect to optimization using percolation methods. Our findings hint at the existence of an optimal balance between cost and robustness in urban microgrids. PMID:26824071

Data-driven modeling of solar-powered urban microgrids.

PubMed

Halu, Arda; Scala, Antonio; Khiyami, Abdulaziz; González, Marta C

2016-01-01

Distributed generation takes center stage in today's rapidly changing energy landscape. Particularly, locally matching demand and generation in the form of microgrids is becoming a promising alternative to the central distribution paradigm. Infrastructure networks have long been a major focus of complex networks research with their spatial considerations. We present a systemic study of solar-powered microgrids in the urban context, obeying real hourly consumption patterns and spatial constraints of the city. We propose a microgrid model and study its citywide implementation, identifying the self-sufficiency and temporal properties of microgrids. Using a simple optimization scheme, we find microgrid configurations that result in increased resilience under cost constraints. We characterize load-related failures solving power flows in the networks, and we show the robustness behavior of urban microgrids with respect to optimization using percolation methods. Our findings hint at the existence of an optimal balance between cost and robustness in urban microgrids.

A Green Prison: The Santa Rita Jail Campus Microgrid

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Marnay, Chris; DeForest, Nicholas; Lai, Judy

2012-01-22

A large microgrid project is nearing completion at Alameda County’s twenty-two-year-old 45 ha 4,000-inmate Santa Rita Jail, about 70 km east of San Francisco. Often described as a green prison, it has a considerable installed base of distributed energy resources (DER) including an eight-year old 1.2 MW PV array, a five-year old 1 MW fuel cell with heat recovery, and considerable efficiency investments. A current US$14 M expansion adds a 2 MW-4 MWh Li-ion battery, a static disconnect switch, and various controls upgrades. During grid blackouts, or when conditions favor it, the Jail can now disconnect from the grid andmore » operate as an island, using the on-site resources described together with its back-up diesel generators. In other words, the Santa Rita Jail is a true microgrid, or μgrid, because it fills both requirements, i.e. it is a locally controlled system, and it can operate both grid connected and islanded. The battery’s electronics includes Consortium for Electric Reliability Technology (CERTS) Microgrid technology. This enables the battery to maintain energy balance using droops without need for a fast control system.« less

Research on DC Micro-grid system of photovoltaic power generation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng, Yiming; Wang, Xiaohui

2018-01-01

The use of energy has become a topic of concern, the demand of people for power grows in number or quantity with the development of economy. It is necessary to consider using new forms of power supply-microgrid system for distributed power supply. The power supply mode can not only effectively solve the problem of excessive line loss in the large power grid, but also can increase the reliability of the power supply, and is economical and environmental friendly. With the increasing of DC loads, in order to improve the utilization efficiency, the DC microgrid power supply problems are begin to be researched and integrated with the renewable energy sources. This paper researched the development of microgrid, compared AC microgrid with DC microgrid, summarized the distribution of DC bus voltage level, the DC microgrid network form, the control mode and the main power electronics elements of DC microgrid of photovoltaic power generation system. Today, the DC microgrid system is still in the development stage without uniform voltage level standard, however, it will come into service in the future.

Survivability of Autonomous Microgrid during Overload Events

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Du, Wei; Lasseter, Robert H.; Khalsa, Amrit S.

Grid-forming sources are voltage sources that draw necessary currents to meet any load changes. A load step can cause part or all of these sources to become overloaded in a microgrid. This paper presents an overload mitigation controller that addresses the two overload issues in a microgrid by actively controlling the sources’ frequency. When part of the sources in a microgrid is overloaded, the controller autonomously transfers the extra load to other sources by rapidly reducing its frequency. The frequency difference between sources during transient results in a change of phase angle, which redistributes the power flow. When all sourcesmore » in a microgrid are overloaded, each source keeps dropping the frequency. Therefore, under frequency load shedding can be used to trip the non-critical loads resulting in the survival of microgrid. The advantages of these concepts are that communications between sources are not needed during transient, and the robust voltage control is maintained. Lastly, simulation and field tests from CERTS/AEP microgrid test site verify that the control strategy is effective in both purely inverter-based microgrids and inverter & generator mixed microgrids.« less

Survivability of Autonomous Microgrid during Overload Events

DOE PAGES

Du, Wei; Lasseter, Robert H.; Khalsa, Amrit S.

2018-04-23

Grid-forming sources are voltage sources that draw necessary currents to meet any load changes. A load step can cause part or all of these sources to become overloaded in a microgrid. This paper presents an overload mitigation controller that addresses the two overload issues in a microgrid by actively controlling the sources’ frequency. When part of the sources in a microgrid is overloaded, the controller autonomously transfers the extra load to other sources by rapidly reducing its frequency. The frequency difference between sources during transient results in a change of phase angle, which redistributes the power flow. When all sourcesmore » in a microgrid are overloaded, each source keeps dropping the frequency. Therefore, under frequency load shedding can be used to trip the non-critical loads resulting in the survival of microgrid. The advantages of these concepts are that communications between sources are not needed during transient, and the robust voltage control is maintained. Lastly, simulation and field tests from CERTS/AEP microgrid test site verify that the control strategy is effective in both purely inverter-based microgrids and inverter & generator mixed microgrids.« less

Villacidro solar demo plant: Integration of small-scale CSP and biogas power plants in an industrial microgrid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Camerada, M.; Cau, G.; Cocco, D.; Damiano, A.; Demontis, V.; Melis, T.; Musio, M.

2016-05-01

The integration of small scale concentrating solar power (CSP) in an industrial district, in order to develop a microgrid fully supplied by renewable energy sources, is presented in this paper. The plant aims to assess in real operating conditions, the performance, the effectiveness and the reliability of small-scale concentrating solar power technologies in the field of distributed generation. In particular, the potentiality of small scale CSP with thermal storage to supply dispatchable electricity to an industrial microgrid will be investigated. The microgrid will be realized in the municipal waste treatment plant of the Industrial Consortium of Villacidro, in southern Sardinia (Italy), which already includes a biogas power plant. In order to achieve the microgrid instantaneous energy balance, the analysis of the time evolution of the waste treatment plant demand and of the generation in the existing power systems has been carried out. This has allowed the design of a suitable CSP plant with thermal storage and an electrochemical storage system for supporting the proposed microgrid. At the aim of obtaining the expected energy autonomy, a specific Energy Management Strategy, which takes into account the different dynamic performances and characteristics of the demand and the generation, has been designed. In this paper, the configuration of the proposed small scale concentrating solar power (CSP) and of its thermal energy storage, based on thermocline principle, is initially described. Finally, a simulation study of the entire power system, imposing scheduled profiles based on weather forecasts, is presented.

Essays on microgrids, asymmetric pricing and market power in electricity markets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lo Prete, Chiara

This dissertation presents four studies of the electricity industry. The first and second essays use economic-engineering models to assess different aspects of microgrid penetration in regional electricity markets, while the last two studies contain empirical analyses aimed at evaluating the performance of wholesale electricity markets. Chapter 2 develops a framework to quantify economic, environmental, efficiency and reliability impacts of different power production scenarios in a regional system, focusing on the interaction of microgrids with the existing transmission and distribution grid. The setting is the regional network formed by Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands. The study presents simulations of power market outcomes under various policies and levels of microgrid penetration, and evaluates them using a diverse set of metrics. Chapter 3 studies the interaction between a microgrid and a regulated electric utility in a regional electricity market. I consider the interaction among the utility, the microgrid developer and consumers in the framework of cooperative game theory (assuming exchangeable utility), and use regional market models to simulate scenarios in which microgrid introduction may or may not be socially beneficial. Under the assumptions of this chapter, customer participation is essential to the development of socially beneficial microgrids, while the utility has little or no gain from it. Discussed incentives to avoid that utilities block microgrid entry include additional revenue drivers related to microgrid connection, decoupling and performance-based mechanisms targeted at service quality. When prices are below marginal costs of utility provided power, microgrid development may be socially beneficial, but unprofitable for microgrid customers and its developer. By imposing lower charges and higher remuneration for its services, the regulator could ensure that microgrid value is positive, without adversely impacting the utility. Chapter 4 examines the possibility of asymmetric transmission of CO 2 and fuel prices to electricity futures prices in the second phase of the European Emission Trading Scheme. The goal is to assess whether output prices tend to respond more quickly to input price increases than decreases: this phenomenon is known as "rockets and feathers" in the literature. Results do not provide empirical evidence of statistically significant differences in the response of power prices to positive and negative shocks in CO 2 allowance and fuel markets. Chapter 5 re-examines the issue of the potential exercise of market power in California after liberalization, with a focus on its day-ahead energy market (the former PX) and its five largest thermal generators. The analysis focuses on a peak hour of operation (hour 18) and disregards hours in which congestion occurred. First, I define a direct measure of unilateral market power for each firm, equal to the hourly inverse elasticity of its residual demand function. The second part of the analysis aims at assessing whether the necessary conditions for the unilateral exercise of market power were satisfied in practice, based on a comparison of PX market-clearing prices, estimated marginal revenues and estimated bounds for the marginal costs of generation of each supplier. By conservatively assuming that the estimated upper bound is close to each firm's actual marginal cost of generation, the analysis suggests that in a large fraction of hours the thermal generators were acting less competitively that what implied by unilateral profit maximization. If instead I explicitly account for uncertainty in the marginal cost estimates with the introduction of a +/-10% margin on the estimated bounds, thermal generators are equally likely to bid close to their marginal costs or above them. Among the hours characterized by market-clearing prices above marginal costs, 64% present, on average, evidence of less competitive than Nash behavior. Two possible explanations for the observed restrained quantities, relative to the Nash level, include firms' coordinating efforts to raise prices on the day-ahead market and a Cournot game among the thermal generators, since the Cournot equilibrium represents an upper bound on supply function equilibria. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Development of Hardware-in-the-loop Microgrid Testbed

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xiao, Bailu; Prabakar, Kumaraguru; Starke, Michael R

2015-01-01

A hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) microgrid testbed for the evaluation and assessment of microgrid operation and control system has been presented in this paper. The HIL testbed is composed of a real-time digital simulator (RTDS) for modeling of the microgrid, multiple NI CompactRIOs for device level control, a prototype microgrid energy management system (MicroEMS), and a relay protection system. The applied communication-assisted hybrid control system has been also discussed. Results of function testing of HIL controller, communication, and the relay protection system are presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed HIL microgrid testbed.

Value Streams in Microgrids: A literature Review

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stadler, Michael; Center for Energy and Innovative Technologies; Cardoso, Gonçalo

2015-10-01

Microgrids are an increasingly common component of the evolving electricity grids with the potential to improve local reliability, reduce costs, and increase penetration rates for distributed renewable generation. The additional complexity of microgrids often leads to increased investment costs, creating a barrier for widespread adoption. These costs may result directly from specific needs for islanding detection, protection systems and power quality assurance that would otherwise be avoided in simpler system configurations. However, microgrids also facilitate additional value streams that may make up for their increased costs and improve the economic viability of microgrid deployment. This paper analyses the literature currentlymore » available on research relevant to value streams occurring in microgrids that may contribute to offset the increased investment costs. A review on research related to specific microgrid requirements is also presented.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wilson, David G.; Cook, Marvin A.

This report summarizes collaborative efforts between Secure Scalable Microgrid and Korean Institute of Energy Research team members . The efforts aim to advance microgrid research and development towards the efficient utilization of networked microgrids . The collaboration resulted in the identification of experimental and real time simulation capabilities that may be leveraged for networked microgrids research, development, and demonstration . Additional research was performed to support the demonstration of control techniques within real time simulation and with hardware in the loop for DC microgrids .

A New Distributed Optimization for Community Microgrids Scheduling

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Starke, Michael R; Tomsovic, Kevin

This paper proposes a distributed optimization model for community microgrids considering the building thermal dynamics and customer comfort preference. The microgrid central controller (MCC) minimizes the total cost of operating the community microgrid, including fuel cost, purchasing cost, battery degradation cost and voluntary load shedding cost based on the customers' consumption, while the building energy management systems (BEMS) minimize their electricity bills as well as the cost associated with customer discomfort due to room temperature deviation from the set point. The BEMSs and the MCC exchange information on energy consumption and prices. When the optimization converges, the distributed generation scheduling,more » energy storage charging/discharging and customers' consumption as well as the energy prices are determined. In particular, we integrate the detailed thermal dynamic characteristics of buildings into the proposed model. The heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems can be scheduled intelligently to reduce the electricity cost while maintaining the indoor temperature in the comfort range set by customers. Numerical simulation results show the effectiveness of proposed model.« less

Optimal Sizing of Energy Storage for Community Microgrids Considering Building Thermal Dynamics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Liu, Guodong; Li, Zhi; Starke, Michael R.

This paper proposes an optimization model for the optimal sizing of energy storage in community microgrids considering the building thermal dynamics and customer comfort preference. The proposed model minimizes the annualized cost of the community microgrid, including energy storage investment, purchased energy cost, demand charge, energy storage degradation cost, voluntary load shedding cost and the cost associated with customer discomfort due to room temperature deviation. The decision variables are the power and energy capacity of invested energy storage. In particular, we assume the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems can be scheduled intelligently by the microgrid central controller while maintainingmore » the indoor temperature in the comfort range set by customers. For this purpose, the detailed thermal dynamic characteristics of buildings have been integrated into the optimization model. Numerical simulation shows significant cost reduction by the proposed model. The impacts of various costs on the optimal solution are investigated by sensitivity analysis.« less

Cyber-Physical Test Platform for Microgrids: Combining Hardware, Hardware-in-the-Loop, and Network-Simulator-in-the-Loop

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nelson, Austin; Chakraborty, Sudipta; Wang, Dexin

This paper presents a cyber-physical testbed, developed to investigate the complex interactions between emerging microgrid technologies such as grid-interactive power sources, control systems, and a wide variety of communication platforms and bandwidths. The cyber-physical testbed consists of three major components for testing and validation: real time models of a distribution feeder model with microgrid assets that are integrated into the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL) power hardware-in-the-loop (PHIL) platform; real-time capable network-simulator-in-the-loop (NSIL) models; and physical hardware including inverters and a simple system controller. Several load profiles and microgrid configurations were tested to examine the effect on system performance withmore » increasing channel delays and router processing delays in the network simulator. Testing demonstrated that the controller's ability to maintain a target grid import power band was severely diminished with increasing network delays and laid the foundation for future testing of more complex cyber-physical systems.« less

Optimal Control of Distributed Energy Resources using Model Predictive Control

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mayhorn, Ebony T.; Kalsi, Karanjit; Elizondo, Marcelo A.

2012-07-22

In an isolated power system (rural microgrid), Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) such as renewable energy resources (wind, solar), energy storage and demand response can be used to complement fossil fueled generators. The uncertainty and variability due to high penetration of wind makes reliable system operations and controls challenging. In this paper, an optimal control strategy is proposed to coordinate energy storage and diesel generators to maximize wind penetration while maintaining system economics and normal operation. The problem is formulated as a multi-objective optimization problem with the goals of minimizing fuel costs and changes in power output of diesel generators, minimizingmore » costs associated with low battery life of energy storage and maintaining system frequency at the nominal operating value. Two control modes are considered for controlling the energy storage to compensate either net load variability or wind variability. Model predictive control (MPC) is used to solve the aforementioned problem and the performance is compared to an open-loop look-ahead dispatch problem. Simulation studies using high and low wind profiles, as well as, different MPC prediction horizons demonstrate the efficacy of the closed-loop MPC in compensating for uncertainties in wind and demand.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schneider, Kevin; Tuffner, Frank; Elizondo, Marcelo

Regulated electricity utilities are required to provide safe and reliable service to their customers at a reasonable cost. To balance the objectives of reliable service and reasonable cost, utilities build and operate their systems to operate under typical historic conditions. As a result, when abnormal events such as major storms or disasters occur, it is not uncommon to have extensive interruptions in service to the end-use customers. Because it is not cost effective to make the existing electrical infrastructure 100% reliable, society has come to expect disruptions during abnormal events. However, with the increasing number of abnormal weather events, themore » public is becoming less tolerant of these disruptions. One possible solution is to deploy microgrids as part of a coordinated resiliency plan to minimize the interruption of power to essential loads. This paper evaluates the feasibility of using microgrids as a resiliency resource, including their possible benefits and the associated technical challenges. A use-case of an operational microgrid is included.« less

Development and Testing of Protection Scheme for Renewable-Rich Distribution System

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brahma, Sukumar; Ranade, Satish; Elkhatib, Mohamed E.

As the penetration of renewables increases in the distribution systems, and microgrids are conceived with high penetration of such generation that connects through inverters, fault location and protection of microgrids needs consideration. This report proposes averaged models that help simulate fault scenarios in renewable-rich microgrids, models for locating faults in such microgrids, and comments on the protection models that may be considered for microgrids. Simulation studies are reported to justify the models.

Research on improvement of power quality of Micro - grid based on SVG pulse load

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lv, Chuang; Xie, Pu

2017-05-01

Pulse load will make the micro-grid public bus power to produce a high peak pulse due to its cyclical pulsation characteristics,, and make the micro-grid voltage fluctuations, frequency fluctuations, voltage and current distortion, power factor reduction and other adverse effects. In order to suppress the adverse effects of the pulse load on the microgrid and improve the power quality of the microgrid, this paper established the SVG simulation model in Matlab / Simulink environment, the superiority of SVG is verified by comparing the improvement of power quality before and after adding the SVG to microgrid system. The results show that the SVG model can suppress the adverse effects effectively of the pulse load on the microgrid, which is of great value and significance to the reactive power compensation and harmonic suppression of the microgrid.

Expanding access to off-grid rural electrification in Africa: An analysis of community-based micro-grids in Kenya

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kirubi, Charles Gathu

Community micro-grids have played a central role in increasing access to off-grid rural electrification (RE) in many regions of the developing world, notably South Asia. However, the promise of community micro-grids in sub-Sahara Africa remains largely unexplored. My study explores the potential and limits of community micro-grids as options for increasing access to off-grid RE in sub-Sahara Africa. Contextualized in five community micro-grids in rural Kenya, my study is framed through theories of collective action and combines qualitative and quantitative methods, including household surveys, electronic data logging and regression analysis. The main contribution of my research is demonstrating the circumstances under which community micro-grids can contribute to rural development and the conditions under which individuals are likely to initiate and participate in such projects collectively. With regard to rural development, I demonstrate that access to electricity enables the use of electric equipment and tools by small and micro-enterprises, resulting in significant improvement in productivity per worker (100--200% depending on the task at hand) and a corresponding growth in income levels in the order of 20--70%, depending on the product made. Access to electricity simultaneously enables and improves delivery of social and business services from a wide range of village-level infrastructure (e.g. schools, markets, water pumps) while improving the productivity of agricultural activities. Moreover, when local electricity users have an ability to charge and enforce cost-reflective tariffs and electricity consumption is closely linked to productive uses that generate incomes, cost recovery is feasible. By their nature---a new technology delivering highly valued services by the elites and other members, limited local experience and expertise, high capital costs---community micro-grids are good candidates for elite-domination. Even so, elite control does not necessarily lead to elite capture. Experiences from different micro-grid settings illustrate the manner in which a coincidence of interest between the elites and the rest of members and access to external support can create incentives and mechanisms to enable community-wide access to scarce services, hence mitigating elite capture. Moreover, access to external support was found to increase the likelihood of participation for the relatively poor households. The policy-relevant message from this research is two-fold. In rural areas with suitable sites for micro-hydro power, the potential for community micro-grids appear considerable to the extent that this option would seem to represent "the road not taken" as far as policies and initiatives aimed at expanding RE are concerned in Kenya and other African countries with comparable settings. However, local participatory initiatives not complimented by external technical assistance run a considerable risk of locking rural households into relatively more costly and poor-quality services. By taking advantage of existing and/or building a dense network of local organizations, including micro-finance agencies, the government and development partners can make available to local communities the necessary support---financial, technical or regulatory---essential for efficient design of micro-grids in addition to facilitating equitable distribution of electricity benefits.

DMS Advanced Applications for Accommodating High Penetrations of DERs and Microgrids: Preprint

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pratt, Annabelle; Veda, Santosh; Maitra, Arindam

Efficient and effective management of the electrical distribution system requires an integrated system approach for Distribution Management Systems (DMS), Distributed Energy Resources (DERs), Distributed Energy Resources Management System (DERMS), and microgrids to work in harmony. This paper highlights some of the outcomes from a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Electricity (OE) project, including 1) Architecture of these integrated systems, and 2) Expanded functions of two example DMS applications, Volt-VAR optimization (VVO) and Fault Location, Isolation and Service Restoration (FLISR), to accommodate DER. For these two example applications, the relevant DER Group Functions necessary to support communication between DMSmore » and Microgrid Controller (MC) in grid-tied mode are identified.« less

Pyramid solar micro-grid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Bin-Juine; Hsu, Po-Chien; Wang, Yi-Hung; Tang, Tzu-Chiao; Wang, Jia-Wei; Dong, Xin-Hong; Hsu, Hsin-Yi; Li, Kang; Lee, Kung-Yen

2018-03-01

A novel pyramid solar micro-grid is proposed in the present study. All the members within the micro-grid can mutually share excess solar PV power each other through a binary-connection hierarchy. The test results of a 2+2 pyramid solar micro-grid consisting of 4 individual solar PV systems for self-consumption are reported.

Incorporating Flexibility in the Design of Repairable Systems - Design of Microgrids

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-01-01

MICROGRIDS Vijitashwa Pandey1 Annette Skowronska1,2...optimization of complex systems such as a microgrid is however, computationally intensive. The problem is exacerbated if we must incorporate...flexibility in terms of allowing the microgrid architecture and its running protocol to change with time. To reduce the computational effort, this paper

NREL Integrate: RCS-4-42326

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hudgins, Andrew P.; Waight, Jim; Grover, Shailendra

OMNETRIC Corp., Duke Energy, CPS Energy, and the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) created a project team to execute the project 'OpenFMB Reference Architecture Demonstration.' The project included development and demonstration of concepts that will enable the electric utility grid to host larger penetrations of renewable resources. The project concept calls for the aggregation of renewable resources and loads into microgrids and the control of these microgrids with an implementation of the OpenFMB Reference Architecture. The production of power from the renewable resources that are appearing on the grid today is very closely linked to the weather. Themore » difficulty of forecasting the weather, which is well understood, leads to difficulty in forecasting the production of renewable resources. The current state of the art in forecasting the power production from renewables (solar PV and wind) are accuracies in the range of 12-25 percent NMAE. In contrast the demand for electricity aggregated to the system level, is easier to predict. The state of the art of demand forecasting done, 24 hours ahead, is about 2-3% MAPE. Forecasting the load to be supplied from conventional resources (demand minus generation from renewable resources) is thus very hard to forecast. This means that even a few hours before the time of consumption, there can be considerable uncertainty over what must be done to balance supply and demand. Adding to the problem of difficulty of forecasting, is the reality of the variability of the actual production of power from renewables. Due to the variability of wind speeds and solar insolation, the actual output of power from renewable resources can vary significantly over a short period of time. Gusts of winds result is variation of power output of wind turbines. The shadows of clouds moving over solar PV arrays result in the variation of power production of the array. This compounds the problem of balancing supply and demand in real time. Establishing a control system that can manage distribution systems with large penetrations of renewable resources is difficult due to two major issues: (1) the lack of standardization and interoperability between the vast array of equipment in operation and on the market, most of which use different and proprietary means of communication and (2) the magnitude of the network and the information it generates and consumes. The objective of this project is to provide the industry with a design concept and tools that will enable the electric power grid to overcome these barriers and support a larger penetration of clean energy from renewable resources.« less

Evaluation and display of polarimetric image data using long-wave cooled microgrid focal plane arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bowers, David L.; Boger, James K.; Wellems, L. David; Black, Wiley T.; Ortega, Steve E.; Ratliff, Bradley M.; Fetrow, Matthew P.; Hubbs, John E.; Tyo, J. Scott

2006-05-01

Recent developments for Long Wave InfraRed (LWIR) imaging polarimeters include incorporating a microgrid polarizer array onto the focal plane array (FPA). Inherent advantages over typical polarimeters include packaging and instantaneous acquisition of thermal and polarimetric information. This allows for real time video of thermal and polarimetric products. The microgrid approach has inherent polarization measurement error due to the spatial sampling of a non-uniform scene, residual pixel to pixel variations in the gain corrected responsivity and in the noise equivalent input (NEI), and variations in the pixel to pixel micro-polarizer performance. The Degree of Linear Polarization (DoLP) is highly sensitive to these parameters and is consequently used as a metric to explore instrument sensitivities. Image processing and fusion techniques are used to take advantage of the inherent thermal and polarimetric sensing capability of this FPA, providing additional scene information in real time. Optimal operating conditions are employed to improve FPA uniformity and sensitivity. Data from two DRS Infrared Technologies, L.P. (DRS) microgrid polarizer HgCdTe FPAs are presented. One FPA resides in a liquid nitrogen (LN2) pour filled dewar with a 80°K nominal operating temperature. The other FPA resides in a cryogenic (cryo) dewar with a 60° K nominal operating temperature.

Energy management and cooperation in microgrids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rahbar, Katayoun

Microgrids are key components of future smart power grids, which integrate distributed renewable energy generators to efficiently serve the load demand locally. However, random and intermittent characteristics of renewable energy generations may hinder the reliable operation of microgrids. This thesis is thus devoted to investigating new strategies for microgrids to optimally manage their energy consumption, energy storage system (ESS) and cooperation in real time to achieve the reliable and cost-effective operation. This thesis starts with a single microgrid system. The optimal energy scheduling and ESS management policy is derived to minimize the energy cost of the microgrid resulting from drawing conventional energy from the main grid under both the off-line and online setups, where the renewable energy generation/load demand are assumed to be non-causally known and causally known at the microgrid, respectively. The proposed online algorithm is designed based on the optimal off-line solution and works under arbitrary (even unknown) realizations of future renewable energy generation/load demand. Therefore, it is more practically applicable as compared to solutions based on conventional techniques such as dynamic programming and stochastic programming that require the prior knowledge of renewable energy generation and load demand realizations/distributions. Next, for a group of microgrids that cooperate in energy management, we study efficient methods for sharing energy among them for both fully and partially cooperative scenarios, where microgrids are of common interests and self-interested, respectively. For the fully cooperative energy management, the off-line optimization problem is first formulated and optimally solved, where a distributed algorithm is proposed to minimize the total (sum) energy cost of microgrids. Inspired by the results obtained from the off-line optimization, efficient online algorithms are proposed for the real-time energy management, which are of low complexity and work given arbitrary realizations of renewable energy generation/load demand. On the other hand, for self-interested microgrids, the partially cooperative energy management is formulated and a distributed algorithm is proposed to optimize the energy cooperation such that energy costs of individual microgrids reduce simultaneously over the case without energy cooperation while limited information is shared among the microgrids and the central controller.

Feasibility and Guidelines for the Development of Microgrids on Campus-Type Facilities

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-04-01

1.38066e-23 (J/K) q : Elementary charge, 1.60218e-19( coulomb ) Eqs (4) and (6) have two unknowns, which are C0 and C1. By using the data from I-V...Vol. 69, Iss. 3, 2000. [13] M. A. de blas, J.L. Torres, E. Prieto and A. Garcia, “Selecting a suitable model for characterizing photovoltaic...vol., no., pp. 108-112, 16-18 March 2003. [22] Y. Lei , A. Mullane, G. Lightbody, R. Yacamini, "Modeling of the wind turbine with a doubly fed

Towards resiliency with micro-grids: Portfolio optimization and investment under uncertainty

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gharieh, Kaveh

Energy security and sustained supply of power are critical for community welfare and economic growth. In the face of the increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather conditions which can result in power grid outage, the value of micro-grids to improve the communities' power reliability and resiliency is becoming more important. Micro-grids capability to operate in islanded mode in stressed-out conditions, dramatically decreases the economic loss of critical infrastructure in power shortage occasions. More wide-spread participation of micro-grids in the wholesale energy market in near future, makes the development of new investment models necessary. However, market and price risks in short term and long term along with risk factors' impacts shall be taken into consideration in development of new investment models. This work proposes a set of models and tools to address different problems associated with micro-grid assets including optimal portfolio selection, investment and financing in both community and a sample critical infrastructure (i.e. wastewater treatment plant) levels. The models account for short-term operational volatilities and long-term market uncertainties. A number of analytical methodologies and financial concepts have been adopted to develop the aforementioned models as follows. (1) Capital budgeting planning and portfolio optimization models with Monte Carlo stochastic scenario generation are applied to derive the optimal investment decision for a portfolio of micro-grid assets considering risk factors and multiple sources of uncertainties. (2) Real Option theory, Monte Carlo simulation and stochastic optimization techniques are applied to obtain optimal modularized investment decisions for hydrogen tri-generation systems in wastewater treatment facilities, considering multiple sources of uncertainty. (3) Public Private Partnership (PPP) financing concept coupled with investment horizon approach are applied to estimate public and private parties' revenue shares from a community-level micro-grid project over the course of assets' lifetime considering their optimal operation under uncertainty.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Uluski, R.; Kumar, J.; Venkata, S. S. Mani

The Philadelphia Navy Yard is a fast-evolving community microgrid, currently home to over 150 companies and four Navy activity centers occupying nearly 7 million ft2 of buildings in which approximately 12,000 people are employed. The Navy Yard (TNY) is a national center of excellence for energy research, education, and commercialization, focused specifically on community microgrid design and development. TNY microgrid is equipped with the most cost-effective and sustainable means for meeting electric capacity and energy needs through renewable resources, energy efficiency, and distribution grid infrastructure. This article briefly describes how the community microgrid was conceived and planned to produce amore » great success story of microgrid implementation and the details of the design, development, and implementation of the TNY microgrid controller.« less

Towards Stochastic Optimization-Based Electric Vehicle Penetration in a Novel Archipelago Microgrid.

PubMed

Yang, Qingyu; An, Dou; Yu, Wei; Tan, Zhengan; Yang, Xinyu

2016-06-17

Due to the advantage of avoiding upstream disturbance and voltage fluctuation from a power transmission system, Islanded Micro-Grids (IMG) have attracted much attention. In this paper, we first propose a novel self-sufficient Cyber-Physical System (CPS) supported by Internet of Things (IoT) techniques, namely "archipelago micro-grid (MG)", which integrates the power grid and sensor networks to make the grid operation effective and is comprised of multiple MGs while disconnected with the utility grid. The Electric Vehicles (EVs) are used to replace a portion of Conventional Vehicles (CVs) to reduce CO 2 emission and operation cost. Nonetheless, the intermittent nature and uncertainty of Renewable Energy Sources (RESs) remain a challenging issue in managing energy resources in the system. To address these issues, we formalize the optimal EV penetration problem as a two-stage Stochastic Optimal Penetration (SOP) model, which aims to minimize the emission and operation cost in the system. Uncertainties coming from RESs (e.g., wind, solar, and load demand) are considered in the stochastic model and random parameters to represent those uncertainties are captured by the Monte Carlo-based method. To enable the reasonable deployment of EVs in each MGs, we develop two scheduling schemes, namely Unlimited Coordinated Scheme (UCS) and Limited Coordinated Scheme (LCS), respectively. An extensive simulation study based on a modified 9 bus system with three MGs has been carried out to show the effectiveness of our proposed schemes. The evaluation data indicates that our proposed strategy can reduce both the environmental pollution created by CO 2 emissions and operation costs in UCS and LCS.

Towards Stochastic Optimization-Based Electric Vehicle Penetration in a Novel Archipelago Microgrid

PubMed Central

Yang, Qingyu; An, Dou; Yu, Wei; Tan, Zhengan; Yang, Xinyu

2016-01-01

Due to the advantage of avoiding upstream disturbance and voltage fluctuation from a power transmission system, Islanded Micro-Grids (IMG) have attracted much attention. In this paper, we first propose a novel self-sufficient Cyber-Physical System (CPS) supported by Internet of Things (IoT) techniques, namely “archipelago micro-grid (MG)”, which integrates the power grid and sensor networks to make the grid operation effective and is comprised of multiple MGs while disconnected with the utility grid. The Electric Vehicles (EVs) are used to replace a portion of Conventional Vehicles (CVs) to reduce CO2 emission and operation cost. Nonetheless, the intermittent nature and uncertainty of Renewable Energy Sources (RESs) remain a challenging issue in managing energy resources in the system. To address these issues, we formalize the optimal EV penetration problem as a two-stage Stochastic Optimal Penetration (SOP) model, which aims to minimize the emission and operation cost in the system. Uncertainties coming from RESs (e.g., wind, solar, and load demand) are considered in the stochastic model and random parameters to represent those uncertainties are captured by the Monte Carlo-based method. To enable the reasonable deployment of EVs in each MGs, we develop two scheduling schemes, namely Unlimited Coordinated Scheme (UCS) and Limited Coordinated Scheme (LCS), respectively. An extensive simulation study based on a modified 9 bus system with three MGs has been carried out to show the effectiveness of our proposed schemes. The evaluation data indicates that our proposed strategy can reduce both the environmental pollution created by CO2 emissions and operation costs in UCS and LCS. PMID:27322281

Multiagent Systems Based Modeling and Implementation of Dynamic Energy Management of Smart Microgrid Using MACSimJX.

PubMed

Raju, Leo; Milton, R S; Mahadevan, Senthilkumaran

The objective of this paper is implementation of multiagent system (MAS) for the advanced distributed energy management and demand side management of a solar microgrid. Initially, Java agent development environment (JADE) frame work is used to implement MAS based dynamic energy management of solar microgrid. Due to unstable nature of MATLAB, when dealing with multithreading environment, MAS operating in JADE is linked with the MATLAB using a middle ware called Multiagent Control Using Simulink with Jade Extension (MACSimJX). MACSimJX allows the solar microgrid components designed with MATLAB to be controlled by the corresponding agents of MAS. The microgrid environment variables are captured through sensors and given to agents through MATLAB/Simulink and after the agent operations in JADE, the results are given to the actuators through MATLAB for the implementation of dynamic operation in solar microgrid. MAS operating in JADE maximizes operational efficiency of solar microgrid by decentralized approach and increase in runtime efficiency due to JADE. Autonomous demand side management is implemented for optimizing the power exchange between main grid and microgrid with intermittent nature of solar power, randomness of load, and variation of noncritical load and grid price. These dynamics are considered for every time step and complex environment simulation is designed to emulate the distributed microgrid operations and evaluate the impact of agent operations.

Stability assessment of a multi-port power electronic interface for hybrid micro-grid applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shamsi, Pourya

Migration to an industrial society increases the demand for electrical energy. Meanwhile, social causes for preserving the environment and reducing pollutions seek cleaner forms of energy sources. Therefore, there has been a growth in distributed generation from renewable sources in the past decade. Existing regulations and power system coordination does not allow for massive integration of distributed generation throughout the grid. Moreover, the current infrastructures are not designed for interfacing distributed and deregulated generation. In order to remedy this problem, a hybrid micro-grid based on nano-grids is introduced. This system consists of a reliable micro-grid structure that provides a smooth transition from the current distribution networks to smart micro-grid systems. Multi-port power electronic interfaces are introduced to manage the local generation, storage, and consumption. Afterwards, a model for this micro-grid is derived. Using this model, the stability of the system under a variety of source and load induced disturbances is studied. Moreover, pole-zero study of the micro-grid is performed under various loading conditions. An experimental setup of this micro-grid is developed, and the validity of the model in emulating the dynamic behavior of the system is verified. This study provides a theory for a novel hybrid micro-grid as well as models for stability assessment of the proposed micro-grid.

Multiagent Systems Based Modeling and Implementation of Dynamic Energy Management of Smart Microgrid Using MACSimJX

PubMed Central

Raju, Leo; Milton, R. S.; Mahadevan, Senthilkumaran

2016-01-01

The objective of this paper is implementation of multiagent system (MAS) for the advanced distributed energy management and demand side management of a solar microgrid. Initially, Java agent development environment (JADE) frame work is used to implement MAS based dynamic energy management of solar microgrid. Due to unstable nature of MATLAB, when dealing with multithreading environment, MAS operating in JADE is linked with the MATLAB using a middle ware called Multiagent Control Using Simulink with Jade Extension (MACSimJX). MACSimJX allows the solar microgrid components designed with MATLAB to be controlled by the corresponding agents of MAS. The microgrid environment variables are captured through sensors and given to agents through MATLAB/Simulink and after the agent operations in JADE, the results are given to the actuators through MATLAB for the implementation of dynamic operation in solar microgrid. MAS operating in JADE maximizes operational efficiency of solar microgrid by decentralized approach and increase in runtime efficiency due to JADE. Autonomous demand side management is implemented for optimizing the power exchange between main grid and microgrid with intermittent nature of solar power, randomness of load, and variation of noncritical load and grid price. These dynamics are considered for every time step and complex environment simulation is designed to emulate the distributed microgrid operations and evaluate the impact of agent operations. PMID:27127802

Multi-objective optimal dispatch of distributed energy resources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Longe, Ayomide

This thesis is composed of two papers which investigate the optimal dispatch for distributed energy resources. In the first paper, an economic dispatch problem for a community microgrid is studied. In this microgrid, each agent pursues an economic dispatch for its personal resources. In addition, each agent is capable of trading electricity with other agents through a local energy market. In this paper, a simple market structure is introduced as a framework for energy trades in a small community microgrid such as the Solar Village. It was found that both sellers and buyers benefited by participating in this market. In the second paper, Semidefinite Programming (SDP) for convex relaxation of power flow equations is used for optimal active and reactive dispatch for Distributed Energy Resources (DER). Various objective functions including voltage regulation, reduced transmission line power losses, and minimized reactive power charges for a microgrid are introduced. Combinations of these goals are attained by solving a multiobjective optimization for the proposed ORPD problem. Also, both centralized and distributed versions of this optimal dispatch are investigated. It was found that SDP made the optimal dispatch faster and distributed solution allowed for scalability.

Large-Signal Lyapunov-Based Stability Analysis of DC/AC Inverters and Inverter-Based Microgrids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kabalan, Mahmoud

Microgrid stability studies have been largely based on small-signal linearization techniques. However, the validity and magnitude of the linearization domain is limited to small perturbations. Thus, there is a need to examine microgrids with large-signal nonlinear techniques to fully understand and examine their stability. Large-signal stability analysis can be accomplished by Lyapunov-based mathematical methods. These Lyapunov methods estimate the domain of asymptotic stability of the studied system. A survey of Lyapunov-based large-signal stability studies showed that few large-signal studies have been completed on either individual systems (dc/ac inverters, dc/dc rectifiers, etc.) or microgrids. The research presented in this thesis addresses the large-signal stability of droop-controlled dc/ac inverters and inverter-based microgrids. Dc/ac power electronic inverters allow microgrids to be technically feasible. Thus, as a prelude to examining the stability of microgrids, the research presented in Chapter 3 analyzes the stability of inverters. First, the 13 th order large-signal nonlinear model of a droop-controlled dc/ac inverter connected to an infinite bus is presented. The singular perturbation method is used to decompose the nonlinear model into 11th, 9th, 7th, 5th, 3rd and 1st order models. Each model ignores certain control or structural components of the full order model. The aim of the study is to understand the accuracy and validity of the reduced order models in replicating the performance of the full order nonlinear model. The performance of each model is studied in three different areas: time domain simulations, Lyapunov's indirect method and domain of attraction estimation. The work aims to present the best model to use in each of the three domains of study. Results show that certain reduced order models are capable of accurately reproducing the performance of the full order model while others can be used to gain insights into those three areas of study. This will enable future studies to save computational effort and produce the most accurate results according to the needs of the study being performed. Moreover, the effect of grid (line) impedance on the accuracy of droop control is explored using the 5th order model. Simulation results show that traditional droop control is valid up to R/X line impedance value of 2. Furthermore, the 3rd order nonlinear model improves the currently available inverter-infinite bus models by accounting for grid impedance, active power-frequency droop and reactive power-voltage droop. Results show the 3rd order model's ability to account for voltage and reactive power changes during a transient event. Finally, the large-signal Lyapunov-based stability analysis is completed for a 3 bus microgrid system (made up of 2 inverters and 1 linear load). The thesis provides a systematic state space large-signal nonlinear mathematical modeling method of inverter-based microgrids. The inverters include the dc-side dynamics associated with dc sources. The mathematical model is then used to estimate the domain of asymptotic stability of the 3 bus microgrid. The three bus microgrid system was used as a case study to highlight the design and optimization capability of a large-signal-based approach. The study explores the effect of system component sizing, load transient and generation variations on the asymptotic stability of the microgrid. Essentially, this advancement gives microgrid designers and engineers the ability to manipulate the domain of asymptotic stability depending on performance requirements. Especially important, this research was able to couple the domain of asymptotic stability of the ac microgrid with that of the dc side voltage source. Time domain simulations were used to demonstrate the mathematical nonlinear analysis results.

Microgrid optimized resource dispatch for public-purpose resiliency and sustainability

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Burr, Michael; Camilleri, John; Lubkeman, David

Communities in Atlantic coastal regions have in recent years sought to improve the resiliency of their critical infrastructure and public services, especially to protect against hurricanes and other events capable of causing widespread damage and disruption. As the backbone of any community’s critical functions, the electricity distribution system requires high resiliency in order to maintain local energy delivery services. Against this backdrop, the Project sought to develop a resilient energy microgrid control system capable of integrating distributed renewable energy resources, natural gas CHP units, energy storage, and demand-side management technologies in near-real-time optimization schemes for the community of Olney, Md.more » The Montgomery County Planning Board in 2005 established the Olney Town Center area as a “civic center/town commons,” in part because it serves as a key point of interaction in the community – but also because it contains numerous vital community assets. With a total peak electrical load of about 8 MW (including Montgomery General Hospital with a 2.4 MW peak), the Project area is a business and essential services area, directly serving a suburban population of more than 33,000 residents. It contains a hospital, police station, two fire stations, two schools, grocery stores, and gas stations, and the community’s water tower, among other things. Moreover, the location stands at the crossroads of two state highways that represent major regional arteries for commerce and public safety in Montgomery County. These characteristics made the Project area an appropriate setting for considering microgrid deployment. It presented a model of a typical Maryland suburban community, with geographic dispersion of vital assets over a sizeable area, and a combination of overhead distribution lines and underground cables serving those critical loads. Such a representative model helped to ensure the solutions developed and the scenarios tested would be readily applicable to other communities in the state and the region. Further, the Project’s outcomes and lessons provide insights to guide community microgrid design and development in many locations. To achieve Project objectives – including those established by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory – the Project team researched, developed, and tested in simulation a set of microgrid controls capable of maintaining electricity supplies for critical community loads in the event of a regional utility outage lasting many days or even weeks. Testing and analysis showed that the microgrid would be capable of maintaining electricity supply to critical loads essentially indefinitely in most outage scenarios, while also substantially improving overall reliability for microgrid customers. With targeted improvements in local utility distribution infrastructure, test analysis showed that the microgrid would be capable of reducing annual electricity outages for critical loads by 98%. Further, to help achieve environmental and efficiency policy goals established by both the State of Maryland and the federal government, the team designed the system to reduce the annual carbon footprint of served loads by 20%, and to improve system energy efficiency for those loads by at least 20%. Testing showed that, as designed, the system is capable of meeting these performance requirements, with potential for further improvements through more effective thermal energy utilization. This Final Report, comprised of four volumes and 11 annexes, presents the results of these project efforts, including feasibility assessment (section F) and guidance for decision-makers considering prospective deployment of public-purpose microgrid systems in Maryland communities.« less

Community Microgrid Scheduling Considering Network Operational Constraints and Building Thermal Dynamics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Liu, Guodong; Ollis, Thomas B.; Xiao, Bailu

Here, this paper proposes a Mixed Integer Conic Programming (MICP) model for community microgrids considering the network operational constraints and building thermal dynamics. The proposed optimization model optimizes not only the operating cost, including fuel cost, purchasing cost, battery degradation cost, voluntary load shedding cost and the cost associated with customer discomfort due to room temperature deviation from the set point, but also several performance indices, including voltage deviation, network power loss and power factor at the Point of Common Coupling (PCC). In particular, the detailed thermal dynamic model of buildings is integrated into the distribution optimal power flow (D-OPF)more » model for the optimal operation of community microgrids. The heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems can be scheduled intelligently to reduce the electricity cost while maintaining the indoor temperature in the comfort range set by customers. Numerical simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed model and significant saving in electricity cost could be achieved with network operational constraints satisfied.« less

Community Microgrid Scheduling Considering Network Operational Constraints and Building Thermal Dynamics

DOE PAGES

Liu, Guodong; Ollis, Thomas B.; Xiao, Bailu; ...

2017-10-10

Here, this paper proposes a Mixed Integer Conic Programming (MICP) model for community microgrids considering the network operational constraints and building thermal dynamics. The proposed optimization model optimizes not only the operating cost, including fuel cost, purchasing cost, battery degradation cost, voluntary load shedding cost and the cost associated with customer discomfort due to room temperature deviation from the set point, but also several performance indices, including voltage deviation, network power loss and power factor at the Point of Common Coupling (PCC). In particular, the detailed thermal dynamic model of buildings is integrated into the distribution optimal power flow (D-OPF)more » model for the optimal operation of community microgrids. The heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems can be scheduled intelligently to reduce the electricity cost while maintaining the indoor temperature in the comfort range set by customers. Numerical simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed model and significant saving in electricity cost could be achieved with network operational constraints satisfied.« less

Protection of Renewable-dominated Microgrids: Challenges and Potential Solutions.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Elkhatib, Mohamed; Ellis, Abraham; Milan Biswal

keywords : Microgrid Protection, Impedance Relay, Signal Processing-based Fault Detec- tion, Networked Microgrids, Communication-Assisted Protection In this report we address the challenge of designing efficient protection system for inverter- dominated microgrids. These microgrids are characterised with limited fault current capacity as a result of current-limiting protection functions of inverters. Typically, inverters limit their fault contribution in sub-cycle time frame to as low as 1.1 per unit. As a result, overcurrent protection could fail completely to detect faults in inverter-dominated microgrids. As part of this project a detailed literature survey of existing and proposed microgrid protection schemes were conducted. The surveymore » concluded that there is a gap in the available microgrid protection methods. The only credible protection solution available in literature for low- fault inverter-dominated microgrids is the differential protection scheme which represents a robust transmission-grade protection solution but at a very high cost. Two non-overcurrent protection schemes were investigated as part of this project; impedance-based protection and transient-based protection. Impedance-based protection depends on monitoring impedance trajectories at feeder relays to detect faults. Two communication-based impedance-based protection schemes were developed. the first scheme utilizes directional elements and pilot signals to locate the fault. The second scheme depends on a Central Protection Unit that communicates with all feeder relays to locate the fault based on directional flags received from feeder relays. The later approach could potentially be adapted to protect networked microgrids and dynamic topology microgrids. Transient-based protection relies on analyzing high frequency transients to detect and locate faults. This approach is very promising but its implementation in the filed faces several challenges. For example, high frequency transients due to faults can be confused with transients due to other events such as capacitor switching. Additionally, while detecting faults by analyzing transients could be doable, locating faults based on analyzing transients is still an open question.« less

Energy-Water Microgrid Opportunity Analysis at the University of Arizona's Biosphere 2 Facility

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Daw, Jennifer A; Kandt, Alicen J; Macknick, Jordan E

Microgrids provide reliable and cost-effective energy services in a variety of conditions and locations. There has been minimal effort invested in developing energy-water microgrids that demonstrate the feasibility and leverage synergies of operating renewable energy and water systems in a coordinated framework. Water systems can be operated in ways to provide ancillary services to the electrical grid and renewable energy can be utilized to power water-related infrastructure, but the potential for co-managed systems has not yet been quantified or fully characterized. Energy-water microgrids could be a promising solution to improve energy and water resource management for islands, rural communities, distributedmore » generation, Defense operations, and many parts of the world lacking critical infrastructure. NREL and the University of Arizona have been jointly researching energy-water microgrid opportunities at the University's Biosphere 2 (B2) research facility. B2 is an ideal case study for an energy-water microgrid test site, given its size, its unique mission and operations, the criticality of water and energy infrastructure, and its ability to operate connected to or disconnected from the local electrical grid. Moreover, the B2 is a premier facility for undertaking agricultural research, providing an excellent opportunity to evaluate connections and tradeoffs at the food-energy-water nexus. In this study, NREL used the B2 facility as a case study for an energy-water microgrid test site, with the potential to catalyze future energy-water system integration research. The study identified opportunities for energy and water efficiency and estimated the sizes of renewable energy and storage systems required to meet remaining loads in a microgrid, identified dispatchable loads in the water system, and laid the foundation for an in-depth energy-water microgrid analysis. The foundational work performed at B2 serves a model that can be built upon for identifying relevant energy-water microgrid data, analytical requirements, and operational challenges associated with development of future energy-water microgrids.« less

Important Factors for Early Market Microgrids: Demand Response and Plug-in Electric Vehicle Charging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

White, David Masaki

Microgrids are evolving concepts that are growing in interest due to their potential reliability, economic and environmental benefits. As with any new concept, there are many unresolved issues with regards to planning and operation. In particular, demand response (DR) and plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) charging are viewed as two key components of the future grid and both will likely be active technologies in the microgrid market. However, a better understanding of the economics associated with DR, the impact DR can have on the sizing of distributed energy resource (DER) systems and how to accommodate and price PEV charging is necessary to advance microgrid technologies. This work characterizes building based DR for a model microgrid, calculates the DER systems for a model microgrid under DR through a minimization of total cost, and determines pricing methods for a PEV charging station integrated with an individual building on the model microgrid. It is shown that DR systems which consist only of HVAC fan reductions provide potential economic benefits to the microgrid through participation in utility DR programs. Additionally, peak shaving DR reduces the size of power generators, however increasing DR capacity does not necessarily lead to further reductions in size. As it currently stands for a microgrid that is an early adopter of PEV charging, current installation costs of PEV charging equipment lead to a system that is not competitive with established commercial charging networks or to gasoline prices for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV).

Making the Grid "Smart" Through "Smart" Microgrids: Real-Time Power Management of Microgrids with Multiple Distributed Generation Sources Using Intelligent Control

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nehrir, M. Hashem

In this Project we collaborated with two DOE National Laboratories, Pacific Northwest National Lab (PNNL) and Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (LBL). Dr. Hammerstrom of PNNL initially supported our project and was on the graduate committee of one of the Ph.D. students (graduated in 2014) who was supported by this project. He is also a committee member of a current graduate student of the PI who was supported by this project in the last two years (August 2014-July 2016). The graduate student is now supported be the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Department at Montana State University (MSU). Dr. Chris Marneymore » of LBL provided actual load data, and the software WEBOPT developed at LBL for microgrid (MG) design for our project. NEC-Labs America, a private industry, also supported our project, providing expert support and modest financial support. We also used the software “HOMER,” originally developed at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the most recent version made available to us by HOMER Energy, Inc., for MG (hybrid energy system) unit sizing. We compared the findings from WebOpt and HOMER and designed appropriately sized hybrid systems for our case studies. The objective of the project was to investigate real-time power management strategies for MGs using intelligent control, considering maximum feasible energy sustainability, reliability and efficiency while, minimizing cost and undesired environmental impact (emissions). Through analytic and simulation studies, we evaluated the suitability of several heuristic and artificial-intelligence (AI)-based optimization techniques that had potential for real-time MG power management, including genetic algorithms (GA), ant colony optimization (ACO), particle swarm optimization (PSO), and multi-agent systems (MAS), which is based on the negotiation of smart software-based agents. We found that PSO and MAS, in particular, distributed MAS, were more efficient and better suited for our work. We investigated the following: • Intelligent load control - demand response (DR) - for frequency stabilization in islanded MGs (partially supported by PNNL). • The impact of high penetration of solar photovoltaic (PV)-generated power at the distribution level (partially supported by PNNL). • The application of AI approaches to renewable (wind, PV) power forecasting (proposed by the reviewers of our proposal). • Application of AI approaches and DR for real-time MG power management (partially supported by NEC Labs-America) • Application of DR in dealing with the variability of wind power • Real-time MG power management using DR and storage (partially supported by NEC Labs-America) • Application of DR in enhancing the performance of load-frequency controller • MAS-based whole-sale and retail power market design for smart grid A« less

Micro-grid for on-site wind-and-hydrogen powered generation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suskis, P.; Andreiciks, A.; Steiks, I.; Krievs, O.; Kleperis, J.

2014-02-01

The authors propose a micro-grid for autonomous wind-and-hydrogen power generation thus replacing such traditional fossil-fuelled equipment as domestic diesel generators, gas micro-turbines, etc. In the proposed microgrid the excess of electrical energy from a wind turbine is spent on electrolytic production of hydrogen which is then stored under low-pressure in absorbing composite material. The electrolyser has a non-traditional feeding unit and electrode coatings. The proposed DC/DC conversion topologies for different micro-grid nodes are shown to be well-designed. The prototypes elaborated for the converters and hydrogen storage media were tested and have demonstrated a good performance. Rakstā piedāvātā mikrotīkla izpēte ir veikta ar mērķi izstrādāt autonomu, uz vēja un ūdeņraža enerģiju balstītu elektroapgādes sistēmu, kas varētu aizvietot tradicionālās fosilā kurināmā sistēmas, piemēram, mājsaimniecību dīzeļa ģeneratorus, gāzes mikroturbīnas u.c. Mikrotīkla elektroapgādes sistēmā vēja agregāta saražotā elektroenerģija tiek pārveidota atbilstoši standarta maiņsprieguma elektroapgādes parametriem un piegādāta slodzei. Pārpalikusī enerģija tiek pārveidota un uzkrāta ūdeņraža formā, izmantojot elektrolīzes iekārtu un kompozītmateriālu uzkrājēju. Ja pieejamā vēja enerģija nenosedz slodzes enerģijas patēriņu, elektroenerģijas padeves funkciju ar atbilstoša energoelektronikas pārveidotāja palīdzību pārņem ūdeņraža degvielas elements. Ja, savukārt, slodzei nav nepieciešama enerģija, no vēja saražoto enerģiju izmanto elektrolīzes iekārta un tā tiek uzkrāta ūdeņraža formā, atbilstoši uzkrājēja ietilpībai. Piedāvātajā mikrotīklā ir izmantota elektrolīzes iekārta ar netradicionāliem elektrodu pārklājumiem un barošanas bloku, kā arī zemspiediena kompozītmateriālu ūdeņraža uzkrājējs. Galvenie mikrotīkla elektriskās enerģijas pārveidošanas mezgli ir realizēti uz energoefektīvu energoelektronikas pārveidotāju bāzes. Ir izveidoti atsevišķo piedāvātās elektroapgādes sistēmas iekārtu prototipi un veiktas to eksperimantālās pārbaudes, gan atsevišķi, gan darbam kopējā sistēmā.

Protection of autonomous microgrids using agent-based distributed communication

DOE PAGES

Cintuglu, Mehmet H.; Ma, Tan; Mohammed, Osama A.

2016-04-06

This study presents a real-time implementation of autonomous microgrid protection using agent-based distributed communication. Protection of an autonomous microgrid requires special considerations compared to large scale distribution net-works due to the presence of power converters and relatively low inertia. In this work, we introduce a practical overcurrent and a frequency selectivity method to overcome conventional limitations. The proposed overcurrent scheme defines a selectivity mechanism considering the remedial action scheme (RAS) of the microgrid after a fault instant based on feeder characteristics and the location of the intelligent electronic devices (IEDs). A synchrophasor-based online frequency selectivity approach is proposed to avoidmore » pulse loading effects in low inertia microgrids. Experimental results are presented for verification of the pro-posed schemes using a laboratory based microgrid. The setup was composed of actual generation units and IEDs using IEC 61850 protocol. The experimental results were in excellent agreement with the proposed protection scheme.« less

Design of Energy Storage Management System Based on FPGA in Micro-Grid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liang, Yafeng; Wang, Yanping; Han, Dexiao

2018-01-01

Energy storage system is the core to maintain the stable operation of smart micro-grid. Aiming at the existing problems of the energy storage management system in the micro-grid such as Low fault tolerance, easy to cause fluctuations in micro-grid, a new intelligent battery management system based on field programmable gate array is proposed : taking advantage of FPGA to combine the battery management system with the intelligent micro-grid control strategy. Finally, aiming at the problem that during estimation of battery charge State by neural network, initialization of weights and thresholds are not accurate leading to large errors in prediction results, the genetic algorithm is proposed to optimize the neural network method, and the experimental simulation is carried out. The experimental results show that the algorithm has high precision and provides guarantee for the stable operation of micro-grid.

Protection of autonomous microgrids using agent-based distributed communication

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cintuglu, Mehmet H.; Ma, Tan; Mohammed, Osama A.

This study presents a real-time implementation of autonomous microgrid protection using agent-based distributed communication. Protection of an autonomous microgrid requires special considerations compared to large scale distribution net-works due to the presence of power converters and relatively low inertia. In this work, we introduce a practical overcurrent and a frequency selectivity method to overcome conventional limitations. The proposed overcurrent scheme defines a selectivity mechanism considering the remedial action scheme (RAS) of the microgrid after a fault instant based on feeder characteristics and the location of the intelligent electronic devices (IEDs). A synchrophasor-based online frequency selectivity approach is proposed to avoidmore » pulse loading effects in low inertia microgrids. Experimental results are presented for verification of the pro-posed schemes using a laboratory based microgrid. The setup was composed of actual generation units and IEDs using IEC 61850 protocol. The experimental results were in excellent agreement with the proposed protection scheme.« less

Microgrid Utilities for Rural Electrification in East Africa: Challenges and Opportunities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Williams, Nathaniel J.

Expanding access to electricity is central to development in East Africa but massive increases in investment are required to achieve universal access. Private sector participation in electrification is essential to meeting electricity access targets. Policy makers have acknowledged that grid extension in many remote rural areas is not as cost effective as decentralized alternatives such as microgrids. Microgrid companies have been unable to scale beyond pilot projects due in part to challenges in raising capital for a business model that is perceived to be risky. This thesis aims to identify and quantify the primary sources of investment risk in microgrid utilities and study ways to mitigate these risks to make these businesses more viable. Two modeling tools have been developed to this end. The Stochastic Techno-Economic Microgrid Model (STEMM) models the technical and financial performance of microgrid utilities using uncertain and dynamic inputs to permit explicit modeling of financial risk. This model is applied in an investment risk assessment and case study in Rwanda. Key findings suggest that the most important drivers of risk are fuel prices, foreign exchange rates, demand for electricity, and price elasticity of demand for electricity. The relative importance of these factors is technology dependent with demand uncertainty figuring stronger for solar and high solar penetration hybrid systems and fuel prices driving risk in diesel power and low solar penetration hybrid systems. Considering uncertainty in system sizing presents a tradeoff whereby a decrease in expected equity return decreases downside risk. High solar penetration systems are also found to be more attractive to lenders. The second modeling tool leverages electricity consumption and demographic data from four microgrids in Tanzania to forecast demand for electricity in newly electrified communities. Using statistical learning techniques, improvements in prediction performance was achieved over the historical mean baseline. I have also identified important predictors in estimating electricity consumption of newly connected customers. These include tariff structures and prices, pre- connection sources of electricity and lighting, levels of spending on electricity services and airtime, and pre-connection appliance ownership. Prior exposure to electricity, disposable income, and price are dominant factors in estimating demand.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jensen, Richard P.; Stamp, Jason E.; Eddy, John P.

Many critical loads rely on simple backup generation to provide electricity in the event of a power outage. An Energy Surety Microgrid TM can protect against outages caused by single generator failures to improve reliability. An ESM will also provide a host of other benefits, including integration of renewable energy, fuel optimization, and maximizing the value of energy storage. The ESM concept includes a categorization for microgrid value proposi- tions, and quantifies how the investment can be justified during either grid-connected or utility outage conditions. In contrast with many approaches, the ESM approach explic- itly sets requirements based on unlikelymore » extreme conditions, including the need to protect against determined cyber adversaries. During the United States (US) Department of Defense (DOD)/Department of Energy (DOE) Smart Power Infrastructure Demonstration for Energy Reliability and Security (SPIDERS) effort, the ESM methodology was successfully used to develop the preliminary designs, which direct supported the contracting, construction, and testing for three military bases. Acknowledgements Sandia National Laboratories and the SPIDERS technical team would like to acknowledge the following for help in the project: * Mike Hightower, who has been the key driving force for Energy Surety Microgrids * Juan Torres and Abbas Akhil, who developed the concept of microgrids for military installations * Merrill Smith, U.S. Department of Energy SPIDERS Program Manager * Ross Roley and Rich Trundy from U.S. Pacific Command * Bill Waugaman and Bill Beary from U.S. Northern Command * Melanie Johnson and Harold Sanborn of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Construc- tion Engineering Research Laboratory * Experts from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory« less

Microgrid Plant Control Design and Development

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wiegman, Herman; Baone, Chaitanya

This report discusses the technical performance of the proposed microgrid at Potsdam, New York, and the enhanced microgrid controller platform. The test objectives were outlined by the DOE, and summary results and discussion are given for each objective. The findings show that the proposed Potsdam, NY microgrid would have a significant impact on the regional CO 2 emissions, the amount of imported energy from the utility, and the resiliency of the critical loads. Additionally, the enhanced microgrid control system developed for this project was tested to be compliant with IEEE 1547 standards, and able to generate revenues to help offsetmore » energy costs by way of participation in ancillary services.« less

Optimization of multi-objective micro-grid based on improved particle swarm optimization algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Jian; Gan, Yang

2018-04-01

The paper presents a multi-objective optimal configuration model for independent micro-grid with the aim of economy and environmental protection. The Pareto solution set can be obtained by solving the multi-objective optimization configuration model of micro-grid with the improved particle swarm algorithm. The feasibility of the improved particle swarm optimization algorithm for multi-objective model is verified, which provides an important reference for multi-objective optimization of independent micro-grid.

Modeling and Control for Microgrids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Steenis, Joel

Traditional approaches to modeling microgrids include the behavior of each inverter operating in a particular network configuration and at a particular operating point. Such models quickly become computationally intensive for large systems. Similarly, traditional approaches to control do not use advanced methodologies and suffer from poor performance and limited operating range. In this document a linear model is derived for an inverter connected to the Thevenin equivalent of a microgrid. This model is then compared to a nonlinear simulation model and analyzed using the open and closed loop systems in both the time and frequency domains. The modeling error is quantified with emphasis on its use for controller design purposes. Control design examples are given using a Glover McFarlane controller, gain scheduled Glover McFarlane controller, and bumpless transfer controller which are compared to the standard droop control approach. These examples serve as a guide to illustrate the use of multi-variable modeling techniques in the context of robust controller design and show that gain scheduled MIMO control techniques can extend the operating range of a microgrid. A hardware implementation is used to compare constant gain droop controllers with Glover McFarlane controllers and shows a clear advantage of the Glover McFarlane approach.

A Vision for Co-optimized T&D System Interaction with Renewables and Demand Response

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Anderson, Lindsay; Zéphyr, Luckny; Cardell, Judith B.

The evolution of the power system to the reliable, efficient and sustainable system of the future will involve development of both demand- and supply-side technology and operations. The use of demand response to counterbalance the intermittency of renewable generation brings the consumer into the spotlight. Though individual consumers are interconnected at the low-voltage distribution system, these resources are typically modeled as variables at the transmission network level. In this paper, a vision for cooptimized interaction of distribution systems, or microgrids, with the high-voltage transmission system is described. In this framework, microgrids encompass consumers, distributed renewables and storage. The energy managementmore » system of the microgrid can also sell (buy) excess (necessary) energy from the transmission system. Preliminary work explores price mechanisms to manage the microgrid and its interactions with the transmission system. Wholesale market operations are addressed through the development of scalable stochastic optimization methods that provide the ability to co-optimize interactions between the transmission and distribution systems. Modeling challenges of the co-optimization are addressed via solution methods for large-scale stochastic optimization, including decomposition and stochastic dual dynamic programming.« less

A Vision for Co-optimized T&D System Interaction with Renewables and Demand Response

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Anderson, C. Lindsay; Zéphyr, Luckny; Liu, Jialin

The evolution of the power system to the reliable, effi- cient and sustainable system of the future will involve development of both demand- and supply-side technology and operations. The use of demand response to counterbalance the intermittency of re- newable generation brings the consumer into the spotlight. Though individual consumers are interconnected at the low-voltage distri- bution system, these resources are typically modeled as variables at the transmission network level. In this paper, a vision for co- optimized interaction of distribution systems, or microgrids, with the high-voltage transmission system is described. In this frame- work, microgrids encompass consumers, distributed renewablesmore » and storage. The energy management system of the microgrid can also sell (buy) excess (necessary) energy from the transmission system. Preliminary work explores price mechanisms to manage the microgrid and its interactions with the transmission system. Wholesale market operations are addressed through the devel- opment of scalable stochastic optimization methods that provide the ability to co-optimize interactions between the transmission and distribution systems. Modeling challenges of the co-optimization are addressed via solution methods for large-scale stochastic op- timization, including decomposition and stochastic dual dynamic programming.« less

Heuristic Approach for Configuration of a Grid-Tied Microgrid in Puerto Rico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodriguez, Miguel A.

The high rates of cost of electricity that consumers are being charged by the utility grid in Puerto Rico have created an energy crisis around the island. This situation is due to the island's dependence on imported fossil fuels. In order to aid in the transition from fossil-fuel based electricity into electricity from renewable and alternative sources, this research work focuses on reducing the cost of electricity for Puerto Rico through means of finding the optimal microgrid configuration for a set number of consumers from the residential sector. The Hybrid Optimization Modeling for Energy Renewables (HOMER) software, developed by NREL, is utilized as an aid in determining the optimal microgrid setting. The problem is also approached via convex optimization; specifically, an objective function C(t) is formulated in order to be minimized. The cost function depends on the energy supplied by the grid, the energy supplied by renewable sources, the energy not supplied due to outages, as well as any excess energy sold to the utility in a yearly manner. A term for considering the social cost of carbon is also considered in the cost function. Once the microgrid settings from HOMER are obtained, those are evaluated via the optimized function C( t), which will in turn assess the true optimality of the microgrid configuration. A microgrid to supply 10 consumers is considered; each consumer can possess a different microgrid configuration. The cost function C( t) is minimized, and the Net Present Value and Cost of Electricity are computed for each configuration, in order to assess the true feasibility. Results show that the greater the penetration of components into the microgrid, the greater the energy produced by the renewable sources in the microgrid, the greater the energy not supplied due to outages. The proposed method demonstrates that adding large amounts of renewable components in a microgrid does not necessarily translates into economic benefits for the consumer; in fact, there is a trade back between cost and addition of elements that must be considered. Any configurations which consider further increases in microgrid components will result in increased NPV and increased costs of electricity, which deem the configurations as unfeasible.

A robust adaptive load frequency control for micro-grids.

PubMed

Khooban, Mohammad-Hassan; Niknam, Taher; Blaabjerg, Frede; Davari, Pooya; Dragicevic, Tomislav

2016-11-01

The goal of this study is to introduce a novel robust load frequency control (LFC) strategy for micro-grid(s) (MG(s)) in islanded mode operation. Admittedly, power generators in MG(s) cannot supply steady electric power output and sometimes cause unbalance between supply and demand. Battery energy storage system (BESS) is one of the effective solutions to these problems. Due to the high cost of the BESS, a new idea of Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) is that a battery of Electric-Vehicle (EV) can be applied as a tantamount large-scale BESS in MG(s). As a result, a new robust control strategy for an islanded micro-grid (MG) is introduced that can consider electric vehicles׳ (EV(s)) effect. Moreover, in this paper, a new combination of the General Type II Fuzzy Logic Sets (GT2FLS) and the Modified Harmony Search Algorithm (MHSA) technique is applied for adaptive tuning of proportional-integral (PI) controller. Implementing General Type II Fuzzy Systems is computationally expensive. However, using a recently introduced α-plane representation, GT2FLS can be seen as a composition of several Interval Type II Fuzzy Logic Systems (IT2FLS) with a corresponding level of α for each. Real-data from an offshore wind farm in Sweden and solar radiation data in Aberdeen (United Kingdom) was used in order to examine the performance of the proposed novel controller. A comparison is made between the achieved results of Optimal Fuzzy-PI (OFPI) controller and those of Optimal Interval Type II Fuzzy-PI (IT2FPI) controller, which are of most recent advances in the area at hand. The Simulation results prove the successfulness and effectiveness of the proposed controller. Copyright © 2016 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Enabling Resiliency Operations across Multiple Microgrids with Grid Friendly Appliance Controllers

DOE PAGES

Schneider, Kevin P.; Tuffner, Frank K.; Elizondo, Marcelo A.; ...

2017-02-16

Changes in economic, technological, and environmental policies are resulting in a re-evaluation of the dependence on large central generation facilities and their associated transmission networks. Emerging concepts of smart communities/cities are examining the potential to leverage cleaner sources of generation, as well as integrating electricity generation with other municipal functions. When grid connected, these generation assets can supplement the existing interconnections with the bulk transmission system, and in the event of an extreme event, they can provide power via a collection of microgrids. To achieve the highest level of resiliency, it may be necessary to conduct switching operations to interconnectmore » individual microgrids. While the interconnection of multiple microgrids can increase the resiliency of the system, the associated switching operations can cause large transients in low inertia microgrids. The combination of low system inertia and IEEE 1547 and 1547a-compliant inverters can prevent multiple microgrids from being interconnected during extreme weather events. This study will present a method of using end-use loads equipped with Grid Friendly™ Appliance controllers to facilitate the switching operations between multiple microgrids; operations that are necessary for optimal operations when islanded for resiliency.« less

A three-level support method for smooth switching of the micro-grid operation model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zong, Yuanyang; Gong, Dongliang; Zhang, Jianzhou; Liu, Bin; Wang, Yun

2018-01-01

Smooth switching of micro-grid between the grid-connected operation mode and off-grid operation mode is one of the key technologies to ensure it runs flexible and efficiently. The basic control strategy and the switching principle of micro-grid are analyzed in this paper. The reasons for the fluctuations of the voltage and the frequency in the switching process are analyzed from views of power balance and control strategy, and the operation mode switching strategy has been improved targeted. From the three aspects of controller’s current inner loop reference signal, voltage outer loop control strategy optimization and micro-grid energy balance management, a three-level security strategy for smooth switching of micro-grid operation mode is proposed. From the three aspects of controller’s current inner loop reference signal tracking, voltage outer loop control strategy optimization and micro-grid energy balance management, a three-level strategy for smooth switching of micro-grid operation mode is proposed. At last, it is proved by simulation that the proposed control strategy can make the switching process smooth and stable, the fluctuation problem of the voltage and frequency has been effectively improved.

Enabling Resiliency Operations across Multiple Microgrids with Grid Friendly Appliance Controllers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schneider, Kevin P.; Tuffner, Frank K.; Elizondo, Marcelo A.

Changes in economic, technological, and environmental policies are resulting in a re-evaluation of the dependence on large central generation facilities and their associated transmission networks. Emerging concepts of smart communities/cities are examining the potential to leverage cleaner sources of generation, as well as integrating electricity generation with other municipal functions. When grid connected, these generation assets can supplement the existing interconnections with the bulk transmission system, and in the event of an extreme event, they can provide power via a collection of microgrids. To achieve the highest level of resiliency, it may be necessary to conduct switching operations to interconnectmore » individual microgrids. While the interconnection of multiple microgrids can increase the resiliency of the system, the associated switching operations can cause large transients in low inertia microgrids. The combination of low system inertia and IEEE 1547 and 1547a-compliant inverters can prevent multiple microgrids from being interconnected during extreme weather events. This study will present a method of using end-use loads equipped with Grid Friendly™ Appliance controllers to facilitate the switching operations between multiple microgrids; operations that are necessary for optimal operations when islanded for resiliency.« less

Microgrid-Ready Solar PV - Planning for Resiliency

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Booth, Samuel S

2017-10-17

This fact sheet provides background information on microgrids with suggested language for several up-front considerations that can be added to a solar project procurement or request for proposal (RFP) that will help ensure that PV systems are built for future microgrid connection.

Performance analysis of autonomous microgrid subsequent to symmetrical and unsymmetrical fault triggered condition.

PubMed

Natesan, Chitra; Ajithan, Senthil Kumar; Mani, Shobana; Palani, Priyadharshini; Kandhasamy, Prabaakaran

2014-01-01

Hi-tech scenario and the ecological compression are the key point to drive the intervention of the renewable in the distribution system. In the perspective of complex power system planners, the transient performance of the microgrid is the main concern. For that purpose, various fault cases are explored in order to examine the microgrid transient performance when subjected to accidental events. In this work, the microgrid is modelled with two distributed generations (DGs) tied with a converter separately. With this intention, droop control strategy is adopted for the microsources to examine the microgrid performance during the symmetrical and unsymmetrical fault events. The ability of the control strategy adopted in this work and its effectiveness are evaluated through Matlab/Simulink platform.

Performance Analysis of Autonomous Microgrid Subsequent to Symmetrical and Unsymmetrical Fault Triggered Condition

PubMed Central

Natesan, Chitra; Ajithan, Senthil Kumar; Mani, Shobana; Palani, Priyadharshini; Kandhasamy, Prabaakaran

2014-01-01

Hi-tech scenario and the ecological compression are the key point to drive the intervention of the renewable in the distribution system. In the perspective of complex power system planners, the transient performance of the microgrid is the main concern. For that purpose, various fault cases are explored in order to examine the microgrid transient performance when subjected to accidental events. In this work, the microgrid is modelled with two distributed generations (DGs) tied with a converter separately. With this intention, droop control strategy is adopted for the microsources to examine the microgrid performance during the symmetrical and unsymmetrical fault events. The ability of the control strategy adopted in this work and its effectiveness are evaluated through Matlab/Simulink platform. PMID:25162062

Hamiltonian methods of modeling and control of AC microgrids with spinning machines and inverters

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Matthews, Ronald C.; Weaver, Wayne W.; Robinett, Rush D.

This study presents a novel approach to the modeling and control of AC microgrids that contain spinning machines, power electronic inverters and energy storage devices. The inverters in the system can adjust their frequencies and power angles very quickly, so the modeling focuses on establishing a common reference frequency and angle in the microgrid based on the spinning machines. From this dynamic model, nonlinear Hamiltonian surface shaping and power flow control method is applied and shown to stabilize. From this approach the energy flow in the system is used to show the energy storage device requirements and limitations for themore » system. This paper first describes the model for a single bus AC microgrid with a Hamiltonian control, then extends this model and control to a more general class of multiple bus AC microgrids. Finally, simulation results demonstrate the efficacy of the approach in stabilizing and optimization of the microgrid.« less

Hamiltonian methods of modeling and control of AC microgrids with spinning machines and inverters

DOE PAGES

Matthews, Ronald C.; Weaver, Wayne W.; Robinett, Rush D.; ...

2017-12-22

This study presents a novel approach to the modeling and control of AC microgrids that contain spinning machines, power electronic inverters and energy storage devices. The inverters in the system can adjust their frequencies and power angles very quickly, so the modeling focuses on establishing a common reference frequency and angle in the microgrid based on the spinning machines. From this dynamic model, nonlinear Hamiltonian surface shaping and power flow control method is applied and shown to stabilize. From this approach the energy flow in the system is used to show the energy storage device requirements and limitations for themore » system. This paper first describes the model for a single bus AC microgrid with a Hamiltonian control, then extends this model and control to a more general class of multiple bus AC microgrids. Finally, simulation results demonstrate the efficacy of the approach in stabilizing and optimization of the microgrid.« less

DC Microgrids Scoping Study. Estimate of Technical and Economic Benefits

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Backhaus, Scott N.; Swift, Gregory William; Chatzivasileiadis, Spyridon

Microgrid demonstrations and deployments are expanding in US power systems and around the world. Although goals are specific to each site, these microgrids have demonstrated the ability to provide higher reliability and higher power quality than utility power systems and improved energy utilization. The vast majority of these microgrids are based on AC power transfer because this has been the traditionally dominant power delivery scheme. Independently, manufacturers, power system designers and researchers are demonstrating and deploying DC power distribution systems for applications where the end-use loads are natively DC, e.g., computers, solid-state lighting, and building networks. These early DC applicationsmore » may provide higher efficiency, added flexibility, reduced capital costs over their AC counterparts. Further, when onsite renewable generation, electric vehicles and storage systems are present, DC-based microgrids may offer additional benefits. Early successes from these efforts raises a question - can a combination of microgrid concepts and DC distribution systems provide added benefits beyond what has been achieved individually?« less

City of Hoboken Energy Surety Analysis: Preliminary Design Summary

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stamp, Jason Edwin; Baca, Michael J.; Munoz-Ramos, Karina

2014-09-01

In 2012, Hurricane Sandy devastated much of the U.S. northeast coastal areas. Among those hardest hit was the small community of Hoboken, New Jersey, located on the banks of the Hudson River across from Manhattan. This report describes a city-wide electrical infrastructure design that uses microgrids and other infrastructure to ensure the city retains functionality should such an event occur in the future. The designs ensure that up to 55 critical buildings will retain power during blackout or flooded conditions and include analysis for microgrid architectures, performance parameters, system control, renewable energy integration, and financial opportunities (while grid connected). Themore » results presented here are not binding and are subject to change based on input from the Hoboken stakeholders, the integrator selected to manage and implement the microgrid, or other subject matter experts during the detailed (final) phase of the design effort.« less

NREL, San Diego Gas & Electric Are Advancing Utility Microgrid Performance

Science.gov Websites

in Borrego Springs, California | Energy Systems Integration Facility | NREL NREL, San Diego Gas & Electric Models Utility Microgrid in Borrego Springs NREL, San Diego Gas & Electric Are Advancing Utility Microgrid Performance in Borrego Springs, California San Diego Gas & Electric Company

Guidelines for Implementing Advanced Distribution Management Systems-Requirements for DMS Integration with DERMS and Microgrids

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Jianhui; Chen, Chen; Lu, Xiaonan

2015-08-01

This guideline focuses on the integration of DMS with DERMS and microgrids connected to the distribution grid by defining generic and fundamental design and implementation principles and strategies. It starts by addressing the current status, objectives, and core functionalities of each system, and then discusses the new challenges and the common principles of DMS design and implementation for integration with DERMS and microgrids to realize enhanced grid operation reliability and quality power delivery to consumers while also achieving the maximum energy economics from the DER and microgrid connections.

A Generalised Fault Protection Structure Proposed for Uni-grounded Low-Voltage AC Microgrids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bui, Duong Minh; Chen, Shi-Lin; Lien, Keng-Yu; Jiang, Jheng-Lun

2016-04-01

This paper presents three main configurations of uni-grounded low-voltage AC microgrids. Transient situations of a uni-grounded low-voltage (LV) AC microgrid (MG) are simulated through various fault tests and operation transition tests between grid-connected and islanded modes. Based on transient simulation results, available fault protection methods are proposed for main and back-up protection of a uni-grounded AC microgrid. In addition, concept of a generalised fault protection structure of uni-grounded LVAC MGs is mentioned in the paper. As a result, main contributions of the paper are: (i) definition of different uni-grounded LVAC MG configurations; (ii) analysing transient responses of a uni-grounded LVAC microgrid through line-to-line faults, line-to-ground faults, three-phase faults and a microgrid operation transition test, (iii) proposing available fault protection methods for uni-grounded microgrids, such as: non-directional or directional overcurrent protection, under/over voltage protection, differential current protection, voltage-restrained overcurrent protection, and other fault protection principles not based on phase currents and voltages (e.g. total harmonic distortion detection of currents and voltages, using sequence components of current and voltage, 3I0 or 3V0 components), and (iv) developing a generalised fault protection structure with six individual protection zones to be suitable for different uni-grounded AC MG configurations.

Energy-Water Microgrid Case Study at the University of Arizona's BioSphere 2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Daw, J.; Macknick, J.; Kandt, A.; Giraldez, J.

2016-12-01

Microgrids can provide reliable and cost-effective energy services in a variety of conditions and locations. To date, there has been minimal effort invested in developing energy-water microgrids that demonstrate the feasibility and leverage the synergies associated with designing and operating renewable energy and water systems in a coordinated framework. Water and wastewater treatment equipment can be operated in ways to provide ancillary services to the electrical grid and renewable energy can be utilized to power water-related infrastructure, but the potential for co-managed systems has not yet been quantified or fully characterized. Co-management and optimization of energy and water resources could lead to improved reliability and economic operating conditions. Energy-water microgrids could be a promising solution to improve energy and water resource management for islands, rural communities, distributed generation, Defense operations, and many parts of the world lacking critical infrastructure.The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the University of Arizona have been jointly researching energy-water microgrid opportunities through an effort at the university's BioSphere 2 (B2) Earth systems science research facility. B2 is an ideal case study for an energy-water microgrid test site, given its size, its unique mission and operations, the existence and criticality of water and energy infrastructure, and its ability to operate connected-to or disconnected-from the local electrical grid. Moreover, the B2 is a premier facility for undertaking agricultural research, providing an excellent opportunity to evaluate connections and tradeoffs in the food-energy-water nexus. The research effort at B2 identified the technical potential and associated benefits of an energy-water microgrid through the evaluation of energy ancillary services and peak load reductions and quantified the potential for B2 water-related loads to be utilized and modified to provide grid services in the context of an optimized energy-water microgrid. The foundational work performed at B2 also serves a model that can be built upon for identifying relevant energy-water microgrid data, analytical requirements, and operational challenges associated with development of future energy-water microgrids.

NREL Testing Erigo's and EaglePicher's Microgrid Energy Storage System |

Science.gov Websites

EaglePicher's Microgrid Energy Storage System NREL researchers are testing an energy storage system for a contains three independently controllable energy storage technologies. Photo of energy storage system hardware in a laboratory Photo by Dennis Schroeder Microgrids-and effective storage systems supporting them

Microgrids | Grid Modernization | NREL

Science.gov Websites

algorithms for microgrid integration Controller hardware-in-the-loop testing, where the physical controller interacts with a model of the microgrid and associated power devices Power hardware-in-the-loop testing of operation was validated in a power hardware-in-the-loop experiment using a programmable DC power supply to

Generic Community System Specification: A Proposed Format for Reporting the Results of Microgrid Optimization Analysis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jimenez, Antonio

This document provides a proposed format for reporting the results of microgrid optimization analysis. While the proposed format assumes that the modeling is conducted as part of a renewable energy retrofit of an existing diesel micro-grid, the format can certainly be adopted for other situations.

Resilient Distribution System by Microgrids Formation After Natural Disasters

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chen, Chen; Wang, Jianhui; Qiu, Feng

2016-03-01

Microgrids with distributed generation provide a resilient solution in the case of major faults in a distribution system due to natural disasters. This paper proposes a novel distribution system operational approach by forming multiple microgrids energized by distributed generation from the radial distribution system in real-time operations, to restore critical loads from the power outage. Specifically, a mixed-integer linear program (MILP) is formulated to maximize the critical loads to be picked up while satisfying the self-adequacy and operation constraints for the microgrids formation problem, by controlling the ON/OFF status of the remotely controlled switch devices and distributed generation. A distributedmore » multi-agent coordination scheme is designed via local communications for the global information discovery as inputs of the optimization, which is suitable for autonomous communication requirements after the disastrous event. The formed microgrids can be further utilized for power quality control and can be connected to a larger microgrid before the restoration of the main grids is complete. Numerical results based on modified IEEE distribution test systems validate the effectiveness of our proposed scheme.« less

Comparative Study of DC and AC Microgrids in Commercial Buildings Across Different Climates and Operating Profiles: Preprint

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fregosi, D.; Ravula, S.; Brhlik, D.

2015-04-22

Bosch has developed and demonstrated a novel DC microgrid system designed to maximize utilization efficiency for locally generated photovoltaic energy while offering high reliability, safety, redundancy, and reduced cost compared to equivalent AC systems. Several demonstration projects validating the system feasibility and expected efficiency gains have been completed and additional ones are in progress. This work gives an overview of the Bosch DC microgrid system and presents key results from a large simulation study done to estimate the energy savings of the Bosch DC microgrid over conventional AC systems. The study examined the system performance in locations across the Unitedmore » States for several commercial building types and operating profiles and found that the Bosch DC microgrid uses generated PV energy 6%–8% more efficiently than traditional AC systems.« less

Microgrid Analysis Tools Summary

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jimenez, Antonio; Haase, Scott G; Mathur, Shivani

2018-03-05

The over-arching goal of the Alaska Microgrid Partnership is to reduce the use of total imported fuel into communities to secure all energy services by at least 50% in Alaska's remote microgrids without increasing system life cycle costs while also improving overall system reliability, security, and resilience. One goal of the Alaska Microgrid Partnership is to investigate whether a combination of energy efficiency and high-contribution (from renewable energy) power systems can reduce total imported energy usage by 50% while reducing life cycle costs and improving reliability and resiliency. This presentation provides an overview of the following four renewable energy optimizationmore » tools. Information is from respective tool websites, tool developers, and author experience. Distributed Energy Resources Customer Adoption Model (DER-CAM) Microgrid Design Toolkit (MDT) Renewable Energy Optimization (REopt) Tool Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewables (HOMER).« less

Protection of Renewable-dominated Microgrids: Challenges and Potential Solutions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Elkhatib, Mohamed; Ellis, Abraham; Biswal, Milan

In this report we address the challenge of designing efficient protection system for inverter- dominated microgrids. These microgrids are characterised with limited fault current capacity as a result of current-limiting protection functions of inverters. Typically, inverters limit their fault contribution in sub-cycle time frame to as low as 1.1 per unit. As a result, overcurrent protection could fail completely to detect faults in inverter-dominated microgrids. As part of this project a detailed literature survey of existing and proposed microgrid protection schemes were conducted. The survey concluded that there is a gap in the available microgrid protection methods. The only crediblemore » protection solution available in literature for low- fault inverter-dominated microgrids is the differential protection scheme which represents a robust transmission-grade protection solution but at a very high cost. Two non-overcurrent protection schemes were investigated as part of this project; impedance-based protection and transient-based protection. Impedance-based protection depends on monitoring impedance trajectories at feeder relays to detect faults. Two communication-based impedance-based protection schemes were developed. the first scheme utilizes directional elements and pilot signals to locate the fault. The second scheme depends on a Central Protection Unit that communicates with all feeder relays to locate the fault based on directional flags received from feeder relays. The later approach could potentially be adapted to protect networked microgrids and dynamic topology microgrids. Transient-based protection relies on analyzing high frequency transients to detect and locate faults. This approach is very promising but its implementation in the filed faces several challenges. For example, high frequency transients due to faults can be confused with transients due to other events such as capacitor switching. Additionally, while detecting faults by analyzing transients could be doable, locating faults based on analyzing transients is still an open question.« less

Micro-grid platform based on NODE.JS architecture, implemented in electrical network instrumentation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duque, M.; Cando, E.; Aguinaga, A.; Llulluna, F.; Jara, N.; Moreno, T.

2016-05-01

In this document, I propose a theory about the impact of systems based on microgrids in non-industrialized countries that have the goal to improve energy exploitation through alternatives methods of a clean and renewable energy generation and the creation of the app to manage the behavior of the micro-grids based on the NodeJS, Django and IOJS technologies. The micro-grids allow the optimal way to manage energy flow by electric injection directly in electric network small urban's cells in a low cost and available way. In difference from conventional systems, micro-grids can communicate between them to carry energy to places that have higher demand in accurate moments. This system does not require energy storage, so, costs are lower than conventional systems like fuel cells, solar panels or else; even though micro-grids are independent systems, they are not isolated. The impact that this analysis will generate, is the improvement of the electrical network without having greater control than an intelligent network (SMART-GRID); this leads to move to a 20% increase in energy use in a specified network; that suggest there are others sources of energy generation; but for today's needs, we need to standardize methods and remain in place to support all future technologies and the best option are the Smart Grids and Micro-Grids.

Comparative Study of DC and AC Microgrids in Commercial Buildings Across Different Climates and Operating Profiles

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fregosi, Daniel; Ravula, Sharmila; Brhlik, Dusan

2015-06-07

Bosch has developed and demonstrated a novel direct current (DC) microgrid system that maximizes the efficiency of locally generated photovoltaic energy while offering high reliability, safety, redundancy, and reduced cost compared to equivalent alternating current (AC) systems. Several demonstration projects validating the system feasibility and expected efficiency gains have been completed and additional ones are in progress. This paper gives an overview of the Bosch DC microgrid system and presents key results from a large simulation study done to estimate the energy savings of the Bosch DC microgrid over conventional AC systems. The study examined the system performance in locationsmore » across the United States for several commercial building types and operating profiles. It found that the Bosch DC microgrid uses generated PV energy 6%-8% more efficiently than traditional AC systems.« less

Strategic optimisation of microgrid by evolving a unitised regenerative fuel cell system operational criterion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhansali, Gaurav; Singh, Bhanu Pratap; Kumar, Rajesh

2016-09-01

In this paper, the problem of microgrid optimisation with storage has been addressed in an unaccounted way rather than confining it to loss minimisation. Unitised regenerative fuel cell (URFC) systems have been studied and employed in microgrids to store energy and feed it back into the system when required. A value function-dependent on line losses, URFC system operational cost and stored energy at the end of the day are defined here. The function is highly complex, nonlinear and multi dimensional in nature. Therefore, heuristic optimisation techniques in combination with load flow analysis are used here to resolve the network and time domain complexity related with the problem. Particle swarm optimisation with the forward/backward sweep algorithm ensures optimal operation of microgrid thereby minimising the operational cost of the microgrid. Results are shown and are found to be consistently improving with evolution of the solution strategy.

Using microgrids to enhance energy security and resilience

DOE PAGES

Lu, Xiaonan; Wang, Jianhui; Guo, Liping

2016-12-05

Although microgrids are now widely studied, challenges still exist. A reliable control architecture needs to be developed to coordinate different devices. Advanced forecasting and demand response management approaches should be implemented to cope with the intermittence of renewable generation. Furthermore, interconnection issues should be further studied to eliminate the influence of microgrid integration and achieve coordinated operation throughout the system.

Microgrid Study: Energy Security for DoD Installations

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-06-18

security, efficiency, and the incorporation of renewable and distributed energy resources into microgrids, as well as the factors that might facilitate...better understand how different environmental factors affected the choice of optimal microgrid architecture. Environmental factors in this context...lower costs—Networking generation assets allow for load sharing, allowing fewer generators to run at higher load factors and therefore with greater

PSO Algorithm for an Optimal Power Controller in a Microgrid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al-Saedi, W.; Lachowicz, S.; Habibi, D.; Bass, O.

2017-07-01

This paper presents the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm to improve the quality of the power supply in a microgrid. This algorithm is proposed for a real-time selftuning method that used in a power controller for an inverter based Distributed Generation (DG) unit. In such system, the voltage and frequency are the main control objectives, particularly when the microgrid is islanded or during load change. In this work, the PSO algorithm is implemented to find the optimal controller parameters to satisfy the control objectives. The results show high performance of the applied PSO algorithm of regulating the microgrid voltage and frequency.

Microgrids for Service Restoration to Critical Load in a Resilient Distribution System

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xu, Yin; Liu, Chen-Ching; Schneider, Kevin P.

icrogrids can act as emergency sources to serve critical loads when utility power is unavailable. This paper proposes a resiliency-based methodology that uses microgrids to restore critical loads on distribution feeders after a major disaster. Due to limited capacity of distributed generators (DGs) within microgrids, dynamic performance of the DGs during the restoration process becomes essential. In this paper, the stability of microgrids, limits on frequency deviation, and limits on transient voltage and current of DGs are incorporated as constraints of the critical load restoration problem. The limits on the amount of generation resources within microgrids are also considered. Bymore » introducing the concepts of restoration tree and load group, restoration of critical loads is transformed into a maximum coverage problem, which is a linear integer program (LIP). The restoration paths and actions are determined for critical loads by solving the LIP. A 4-feeder, 1069-bus unbalanced test system with four microgrids is utilized to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The method is applied to the distribution system in Pullman, WA, resulting in a strategy that uses generators on the Washington State University campus to restore service to the Hospital and City Hall in Pullman.« less

Life Cycle Assessment of Solar Photovoltaic Microgrid Systems in Off-Grid Communities.

PubMed

Bilich, Andrew; Langham, Kevin; Geyer, Roland; Goyal, Love; Hansen, James; Krishnan, Anjana; Bergesen, Joseph; Sinha, Parikhit

2017-01-17

Access to a reliable source of electricity creates significant benefits for developing communities. Smaller versions of electricity grids, known as microgrids, have been developed as a solution to energy access problems. Using attributional life cycle assessment, this project evaluates the environmental and energy impacts of three photovoltiac (PV) microgrids compared to other energy options for a model village in Kenya. When normalized per kilowatt hour of electricity consumed, PV microgrids, particularly PV-battery systems, have lower impacts than other energy access solutions in climate change, particulate matter, photochemical oxidants, and terrestrial acidification. When compared to small-scale diesel generators, PV-battery systems save 94-99% in the above categories. When compared to the marginal electricity grid in Kenya, PV-battery systems save 80-88%. Contribution analysis suggests that electricity and primary metal use during component, particularly battery, manufacturing are the largest contributors to overall PV-battery microgrid impacts. Accordingly, additional savings could be seen from changing battery manufacturing location and ensuring end of life recycling. Overall, this project highlights the potential for PV microgrids to be feasible, adaptable, long-term energy access solutions, with health and environmental advantages compared to traditional electrification options.

Applying DER-CAM for IIT Microgrid Explansion Planning

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shahidehpour, Mohammad; Li, Zuyi; Wang, Jianhui

The Distributed Energy Resources Customer Adoption Model (DER-CAM) is an economic and environmental model of customer DER adoption. This model has been in development at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory since 2000. The objective of the model is to find optimal DER investments while minimizing total energy costs or carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, or achieving a weighted objective that simultaneously considers both criteria. The Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) Microgrid project started in August 2008, and the majority of the project was completed in May 2013. IIT Microgrid, funded mostly by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy asmore » well as State and philanthropic contributions, empowers the campus consumers with the objective of establishing a smart microgrid that is highly reliable, economically viable, environmentally friendly, fuel-efficient, and resilient in extreme circumstances with a self-healing capability. In this project, we apply DER-CAM to study the expansion planning of the IIT Microgrid. First, the load data, environmental data, utility data, and technology data for the IIT Microgrid are gathered and organized to follow the DER-CAM input requirements. Then, DERCAM is applied to study the expansion planning of the IIT Microgrid for different cases, where different objectives in DER-CAM and different utility conditions are tested. Case 1 considers the objective of minimizing energy costs with fixed utility rates and 100% electric utility availability. Case 2 considers the objective of minimizing energy costs with real-time utility rates and 4 emergency weeks when the IIT Microgrid does not have access to the electric utility grid and has to operate in island mode. In Case 3, the utility rates are restored to fixed values and 100% electric utility availability is assumed, but a weighted multi-objective (Obj: a × costs + b × CO2 emissions, where a and b are weights for cost minimization and CO2 emissions minimization) is utilized to consider both energy costs and CO2 emissions. On the basis of the test results, the IIT Microgrid has the potential to benefit from investments in more DER technologies. The current annual energy costs and CO2 emissions for the IIT Microgrid are 6,495.1 k$ and 39,838.5 metric tons, respectively. This represents the baseline for this project.« less

Microgrid Modeling and Simulation Study

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-09-01

will be used to guide DOD M&S strategy and planning, as well as develop a comprehensive microgrid M&S capability and prioritize future efforts...contingencies and sequencing (Short term investment) Peer-to-peer Rapid send- listen techniques M&S is needed to determine an approach for handling...tactical microgrid network with interconnected grids. ○ Rapid Send- Listen Techniques is a specific enabler necessary for communications in a

Improving Distribution Resiliency with Microgrids and State and Parameter Estimation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tuffner, Francis K.; Williams, Tess L.; Schneider, Kevin P.

Modern society relies on low-cost reliable electrical power, both to maintain industry, as well as provide basic social services to the populace. When major disturbances occur, such as Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Sandy, the nation’s electrical infrastructure can experience significant outages. To help prevent the spread of these outages, as well as facilitating faster restoration after an outage, various aspects of improving the resiliency of the power system are needed. Two such approaches are breaking the system into smaller microgrid sections, and to have improved insight into the operations to detect failures or mis-operations before they become critical. Breaking themore » system into smaller sections of microgrid islands, power can be maintained in smaller areas where distribution generation and energy storage resources are still available, but bulk power generation is no longer connected. Additionally, microgrid systems can maintain service to local pockets of customers when there has been extensive damage to the local distribution system. However, microgrids are grid connected a majority of the time and implementing and operating a microgrid is much different than when islanded. This report discusses work conducted by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory that developed improvements for simulation tools to capture the characteristics of microgrids and how they can be used to develop new operational strategies. These operational strategies reduce the cost of microgrid operation and increase the reliability and resilience of the nation’s electricity infrastructure. In addition to the ability to break the system into microgrids, improved observability into the state of the distribution grid can make the power system more resilient. State estimation on the transmission system already provides great insight into grid operations and detecting abnormal conditions by leveraging existing measurements. These transmission-level approaches are expanded to using advanced metering infrastructure and other distribution-level measurements to create a three-phase, unbalanced distribution state estimation approach. With distribution-level state estimation, the grid can be operated more efficiently, and outages or equipment failures can be caught faster, improving the overall resilience and reliability of the grid.« less

EV-Grid Integration (EVGI) Control and System Implementation - Research Overview

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kisacikoglu, Mithat; Markel, Tony; Meintz, Andrew

2016-03-23

Plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) are being increasingly adopted in industry today. Microgrid applications of PEVs require the development of charging and discharging algorithms and individual characterization of vehicles including the on-board chargers and vehicle mobility. This study summarizes the capabilities of the Electric Vehicle Grid Integration (EVGI) Team at NREL and underlines different recent projects of the Team. Our studies include V1G, V2G, and V2H control of PEVs as well as test and analysis of stationary and dynamic wireless power transfer (WPT) systems. The presentation also includes the future scope of study which implements real-time simulation of PEVs in amore » microgrid scenario. The capabilities at Vehicle Testing and Integration Facility (VTIF) and Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF) were described within the scope of the EVGI research.« less

Distributed Economic Dispatch in Microgrids Based on Cooperative Reinforcement Learning.

PubMed

Liu, Weirong; Zhuang, Peng; Liang, Hao; Peng, Jun; Huang, Zhiwu; Weirong Liu; Peng Zhuang; Hao Liang; Jun Peng; Zhiwu Huang; Liu, Weirong; Liang, Hao; Peng, Jun; Zhuang, Peng; Huang, Zhiwu

2018-06-01

Microgrids incorporated with distributed generation (DG) units and energy storage (ES) devices are expected to play more and more important roles in the future power systems. Yet, achieving efficient distributed economic dispatch in microgrids is a challenging issue due to the randomness and nonlinear characteristics of DG units and loads. This paper proposes a cooperative reinforcement learning algorithm for distributed economic dispatch in microgrids. Utilizing the learning algorithm can avoid the difficulty of stochastic modeling and high computational complexity. In the cooperative reinforcement learning algorithm, the function approximation is leveraged to deal with the large and continuous state spaces. And a diffusion strategy is incorporated to coordinate the actions of DG units and ES devices. Based on the proposed algorithm, each node in microgrids only needs to communicate with its local neighbors, without relying on any centralized controllers. Algorithm convergence is analyzed, and simulations based on real-world meteorological and load data are conducted to validate the performance of the proposed algorithm.

Flexible Design and Operation of a Smart Charging Microgrid (Briefing Charts)

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-04-08

release; distribution unlimited 13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES Briefing Charts for SAE World Congress 2014 14. ABSTRACT A microgrid is a controllable ...UNCLASSIFIED Distribution Statement A: Approved for Public Release Flexible Design and Operation of a Smart Charging Microgrid Annette G... control number. 1. REPORT DATE 08 APR 2014 2. REPORT TYPE Briefing Charts 3. DATES COVERED 08-01-2014 to 09-03-2014 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE

Optimization under Uncertainty of a Biomass-integrated Renewable Energy Microgrid with Energy Storage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng, Yingying

The growing energy demands and needs for reducing carbon emissions call more and more attention to the development of renewable energy technologies and management strategies. Microgrids have been developed around the world as a means to address the high penetration level of renewable generation and reduce greenhouse gas emissions while attempting to address supply-demand balancing at a more local level. This dissertation presents a model developed to optimize the design of a biomass-integrated renewable energy microgrid employing combined heat and power with energy storage. A receding horizon optimization with Monte Carlo simulation were used to evaluate optimal microgrid design and dispatch under uncertainties in the renewable energy and utility grid energy supplies, the energy demands, and the economic assumptions so as to generate a probability density function for the cost of energy. Case studies were examined for a conceptual utility grid-connected microgrid application in Davis, California. The results provide the most cost effective design based on the assumed energy load profile, local climate data, utility tariff structure, and technical and financial performance of the various components of the microgrid. Sensitivity and uncertainty analyses are carried out to illuminate the key parameters that influence the energy costs. The model application provides a means to determine major risk factors associated with alternative design integration and operating strategies.

Power management of remote microgrids considering battery lifetime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chalise, Santosh

Currently, 20% (1.3 billion) of the world's population still lacks access to electricity and many live in remote areas where connection to the grid is not economical or practical. Remote microgrids could be the solution to the problem because they are designed to provide power for small communities within clearly defined electrical boundaries. Reducing the cost of electricity for remote microgrids can help to increase access to electricity for populations in remote areas and developing countries. The integration of renewable energy and batteries in diesel based microgrids has shown to be effective in reducing fuel consumption. However, the operational cost remains high due to the low lifetime of batteries, which are heavily used to improve the system's efficiency. In microgrid operation, a battery can act as a source to augment the generator or a load to ensure full load operation. In addition, a battery increases the utilization of PV by storing extra energy. However, the battery has a limited energy throughput. Therefore, it is required to provide balance between fuel consumption and battery lifetime throughput in order to lower the cost of operation. This work presents a two-layer power management system for remote microgrids. First layer is day ahead scheduling, where power set points of dispatchable resources were calculated. Second layer is real time dispatch, where schedule set points from the first layer are accepted and resources are dispatched accordingly. A novel scheduling algorithm is proposed for a dispatch layer, which considers the battery lifetime in optimization and is expected to reduce the operational cost of the microgrid. This method is based on a goal programming approach which has the fuel and the battery wear cost as two objectives to achieve. The effectiveness of this method was evaluated through a simulation study of a PV-diesel hybrid microgrid using deterministic and stochastic approach of optimization.

Optimal control, investment and utilization schemes for energy storage under uncertainty

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mirhosseini, Niloufar Sadat

Energy storage has the potential to offer new means for added flexibility on the electricity systems. This flexibility can be used in a number of ways, including adding value towards asset management, power quality and reliability, integration of renewable resources and energy bill savings for the end users. However, uncertainty about system states and volatility in system dynamics can complicate the question of when to invest in energy storage and how best to manage and utilize it. This work proposes models to address different problems associated with energy storage within a microgrid, including optimal control, investment, and utilization. Electric load, renewable resources output, storage technology cost and electricity day-ahead and spot prices are the factors that bring uncertainty to the problem. A number of analytical methodologies have been adopted to develop the aforementioned models. Model Predictive Control and discretized dynamic programming, along with a new decomposition algorithm are used to develop optimal control schemes for energy storage for two different levels of renewable penetration. Real option theory and Monte Carlo simulation, coupled with an optimal control approach, are used to obtain optimal incremental investment decisions, considering multiple sources of uncertainty. Two stage stochastic programming is used to develop a novel and holistic methodology, including utilization of energy storage within a microgrid, in order to optimally interact with energy market. Energy storage can contribute in terms of value generation and risk reduction for the microgrid. The integration of the models developed here are the basis for a framework which extends from long term investments in storage capacity to short term operational control (charge/discharge) of storage within a microgrid. In particular, the following practical goals are achieved: (i) optimal investment on storage capacity over time to maximize savings during normal and emergency operations; (ii) optimal market strategy of buy and sell over 24-hour periods; (iii) optimal storage charge and discharge in much shorter time intervals.

The GreenLab Research Facility: A Micro-Grid Integrating Production, Consumption and Storage of Clean Energy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McDowell Bomani, Bilal Mark; Elbuluk, Malik; Fain, Henry; Kankam, Mark D.

2012-01-01

There is a large gap between the production and demand for energy from alternative fuel and alternative renewable energy sources. The NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) has initiated a laboratory-pilot study that concentrates on using biofuels as viable alternative fuel resources for the field of aviation, as well as, utilizing wind and solar technologies as alternative renewable energy resources, and in addition, the use of pumped water for storage of energy that can be retrieved through hydroelectric generation. This paper describes the GreenLab Research Facility and its power and energy sources with .recommendations for worldwide expansion and adoption of the concept of such a facility

Sandia and NJ TRANSIT Authority Developing Resilient Power Grid

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hanley, Charles J.; Ellis, Abraham

2014-11-01

Through the memorandum of understanding between the Depratment of Energy (DOE), the New Jersey Transit Authority (NJ Transit), and the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, Sandia National Labs is assisting NJ Transit in developing NJ TransitGrid: an electric microgrid that will include a large-scale gas-fired generation facility and distributed energy resources (photovoltaics [PV], energy storage, electric vehicles, combined heat and power [CHP]) to supply reliable power during storms or other times of significant power failure. The NJ TransitGrid was awarded $410M from the Department of Transportation to develop a first-of-its-kind electric microgrid capable of supplying highly-reliable power.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Baone, Chaitanya; Acharya, Naresh; Wiegman, Herman

As microgrid installations are steadily growing in the United States and around the world, widespread adoption of commercial microgrids would rely upon the economic benefit to the owners and operators. With the introduction of new market mechanisms and growing penetration of non-traditional generation assets, there is an increasing need and interest in allowing distributed assets to participate in traditional grid services such as frequency regulation. This paper considers the problem of determining the optimal balance of energy and ancillary services for individual microgrid generation assets to participate in such markets. An optimization framework that maximizes the predicted performance of themore » microgrid over a day-ahead time horizon while accounting for individual asset constraints is proposed. Simulation results on a realistic test system with practical considerations are presented.« less

Microgrid Controllers : Expanding Their Role and Evaluating Their Performance

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Maitra, Arindam; Pratt, Annabelle; Hubert, Tanguy

Microgrids have long been deployed to provide power to customers in remote areas as well as critical industrial and military loads. Today, they are also being proposed as grid-interactive solutions for energy-resilient communities. Such microgrids will spend most of the time operating while synchronized with the surrounding utility grid but will also be capable of separating during contingency periods due to storms or temporary disturbances such as local grid faults. Properly designed and grid-integrated microgrids can provide the flexibility, reliability, and resiliency needs of both the future grid and critical customers. These systems can be an integral part of futuremore » power system designs that optimize investments to achieve operational goals, improved reliability, and diversification of energy sources.« less

Development of a Dynamic Operational Scheduling Algorithm for an Independent Micro-Grid with Renewable Energy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Obara, Shin'ya

A micro-grid with the capacity for sustainable energy is expected to be a distributed energy system that exhibits quite a small environmental impact. In an independent micro-grid, “green energy,” which is typically thought of as unstable, can be utilized effectively by introducing a battery. In the past study, the production-of-electricity prediction algorithm (PAS) of the solar cell was developed. In PAS, a layered neural network is made to learn based on past weather data and the operation plan of the compound system of a solar cell and other energy systems was examined using this prediction algorithm. In this paper, a dynamic operational scheduling algorithm is developed using a neural network (PAS) and a genetic algorithm (GA) to provide predictions for solar cell power output. We also do a case study analysis in which we use this algorithm to plan the operation of a system that connects nine houses in Sapporo to a micro-grid composed of power equipment and a polycrystalline silicon solar cell. In this work, the relationship between the accuracy of output prediction of the solar cell and the operation plan of the micro-grid was clarified. Moreover, we found that operating the micro-grid according to the plan derived with PAS was far superior, in terms of equipment hours of operation, to that using past average weather data.

Two-stage collaborative global optimization design model of the CHPG microgrid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liao, Qingfen; Xu, Yeyan; Tang, Fei; Peng, Sicheng; Yang, Zheng

2017-06-01

With the continuous developing of technology and reducing of investment costs, renewable energy proportion in the power grid is becoming higher and higher because of the clean and environmental characteristics, which may need more larger-capacity energy storage devices, increasing the cost. A two-stage collaborative global optimization design model of the combined-heat-power-and-gas (abbreviated as CHPG) microgrid is proposed in this paper, to minimize the cost by using virtual storage without extending the existing storage system. P2G technology is used as virtual multi-energy storage in CHPG, which can coordinate the operation of electric energy network and natural gas network at the same time. Demand response is also one kind of good virtual storage, including economic guide for the DGs and heat pumps in demand side and priority scheduling of controllable loads. Two kinds of storage will coordinate to smooth the high-frequency fluctuations and low-frequency fluctuations of renewable energy respectively, and achieve a lower-cost operation scheme simultaneously. Finally, the feasibility and superiority of proposed design model is proved in a simulation of a CHPG microgrid.

Coordinated microgrid investment and planning process considering the system operator

DOE PAGES

Armendáriz, M.; Heleno, M.; Cardoso, G.; ...

2017-05-12

Nowadays, a significant number of distribution systems are facing problems to accommodate more photovoltaic (PV) capacity, namely due to the overvoltages during the daylight periods. This has an impact on the private investments in distributed energy resources (DER), since it occurs exactly when the PV prices are becoming attractive, and the opportunity to an energy transition based on solar technologies is being wasted. In particular, this limitation of the networks is a barrier for larger consumers, such as commercial and public buildings, aiming at investing in PV capacity and start operating as microgrids connected to the MV network. To addressmore » this challenge, this paper presents a coordinated approach to the microgrid investment and planning problem, where the system operator and the microgrid owner collaborate to improve the voltage control capabilities of the distribution network, increasing the PV potential. The results prove that this collaboration has the benefit of increasing the value of the microgrid investments while improving the quality of service of the system and it should be considered in the future regulatory framework.« less

A Bankruptcy Problem Approach to Load-shedding in Multiagent-based Microgrid Operation

PubMed Central

Kim, Hak-Man; Kinoshita, Tetsuo; Lim, Yujin; Kim, Tai-Hoon

2010-01-01

A microgrid is composed of distributed power generation systems (DGs), distributed energy storage devices (DSs), and loads. To maintain a specific frequency in the islanded mode as an important requirement, the control of DGs’ output and charge action of DSs are used in supply surplus conditions and load-shedding and discharge action of DSs are used in supply shortage conditions. Recently, multiagent systems for autonomous microgrid operation have been studied. Especially, load-shedding, which is intentional reduction of electricity use, is a critical problem in islanded microgrid operation based on the multiagent system. Therefore, effective schemes for load-shedding are required. Meanwhile, the bankruptcy problem deals with dividing short resources among multiple agents. In order to solve the bankruptcy problem, division rules, such as the constrained equal awards rule (CEA), the constrained equal losses rule (CEL), and the random arrival rule (RA), have been used. In this paper, we approach load-shedding as a bankruptcy problem. We compare load-shedding results by above-mentioned rules in islanded microgrid operation based on wireless sensor network (WSN) as the communication link for an agent’s interactions. PMID:22163386

A bankruptcy problem approach to load-shedding in multiagent-based microgrid operation.

PubMed

Kim, Hak-Man; Kinoshita, Tetsuo; Lim, Yujin; Kim, Tai-Hoon

2010-01-01

A microgrid is composed of distributed power generation systems (DGs), distributed energy storage devices (DSs), and loads. To maintain a specific frequency in the islanded mode as an important requirement, the control of DGs' output and charge action of DSs are used in supply surplus conditions and load-shedding and discharge action of DSs are used in supply shortage conditions. Recently, multiagent systems for autonomous microgrid operation have been studied. Especially, load-shedding, which is intentional reduction of electricity use, is a critical problem in islanded microgrid operation based on the multiagent system. Therefore, effective schemes for load-shedding are required. Meanwhile, the bankruptcy problem deals with dividing short resources among multiple agents. In order to solve the bankruptcy problem, division rules, such as the constrained equal awards rule (CEA), the constrained equal losses rule (CEL), and the random arrival rule (RA), have been used. In this paper, we approach load-shedding as a bankruptcy problem. We compare load-shedding results by above-mentioned rules in islanded microgrid operation based on wireless sensor network (WSN) as the communication link for an agent's interactions.

International Microgrid Assessment. Governance, INcentives, and Experience (IMAGINE)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Marnay, Chris; Zhou, Nan; Qu, Min

Microgrids can provide an avenue for increasing the amount of distributed generation and delivery of electricity, where control is more dispersed and quality of service is locally tailored to end-use requirements. Much of this functionality is very different from the predominant utility model to date of centralized power production which is then transmitted and distributed across long distances with a uniform quality of service. This different functionality holds much promise for positive change, in terms of increasing reliability, energy efficiency, and renewable energy while decreasing and carbon emissions. All of these functions should provide direct cost savings for customers andmore » utilities as well as positive externalities for society. As we have seen from the international experience, allowing microgrids to function in parallel with the grid requires some changes in electricity governance and incentives to capture cost savings and actively price in positive externalities. If China can manage to implement these governance changes and create those incentive policies, it will go beyond the establishment of a successful microgrid demonstration program and become an international leader in microgrid deployment.« less

Coordinated microgrid investment and planning process considering the system operator

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Armendáriz, M.; Heleno, M.; Cardoso, G.

Nowadays, a significant number of distribution systems are facing problems to accommodate more photovoltaic (PV) capacity, namely due to the overvoltages during the daylight periods. This has an impact on the private investments in distributed energy resources (DER), since it occurs exactly when the PV prices are becoming attractive, and the opportunity to an energy transition based on solar technologies is being wasted. In particular, this limitation of the networks is a barrier for larger consumers, such as commercial and public buildings, aiming at investing in PV capacity and start operating as microgrids connected to the MV network. To addressmore » this challenge, this paper presents a coordinated approach to the microgrid investment and planning problem, where the system operator and the microgrid owner collaborate to improve the voltage control capabilities of the distribution network, increasing the PV potential. The results prove that this collaboration has the benefit of increasing the value of the microgrid investments while improving the quality of service of the system and it should be considered in the future regulatory framework.« less

Energy storage requirements of dc microgrids with high penetration renewables under droop control

DOE PAGES

Weaver, Wayne W.; Robinett, Rush D.; Parker, Gordon G.; ...

2015-01-09

Energy storage is a important design component in microgrids with high penetration renewable sources to maintain the system because of the highly variable and sometimes stochastic nature of the sources. Storage devices can be distributed close to the sources and/or at the microgrid bus. In addition, storage requirements can be minimized with a centralized control architecture, but this creates a single point of failure. Distributed droop control enables a completely decentralized architecture but, the energy storage optimization becomes more difficult. Our paper presents an approach to droop control that enables the local and bus storage requirements to be determined. Givenmore » a priori knowledge of the design structure of a microgrid and the basic cycles of the renewable sources, we found that the droop settings of the sources are such that they minimize both the bus voltage variations and overall energy storage capacity required in the system. This approach can be used in the design phase of a microgrid with a decentralized control structure to determine appropriate droop settings as well as the sizing of energy storage devices.« less

The Design of Distributed Micro Grid Energy Storage System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liang, Ya-feng; Wang, Yan-ping

2018-03-01

Distributed micro-grid runs in island mode, the energy storage system is the core to maintain the micro-grid stable operation. For the problems that it is poor to adjust at work and easy to cause the volatility of micro-grid caused by the existing energy storage structure of fixed connection. In this paper, an array type energy storage structure is proposed, and the array type energy storage system structure and working principle are analyzed. Finally, the array type energy storage structure model is established based on MATLAB, the simulation results show that the array type energy storage system has great flexibility, which can maximize the utilization of energy storage system, guarantee the reliable operation of distributed micro-grid and achieve the function of peak clipping and valley filling.

Analysis of critical operating conditions for LV distribution networks with microgrids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zehir, M. A.; Batman, A.; Sonmez, M. A.; Font, A.; Tsiamitros, D.; Stimoniaris, D.; Kollatou, T.; Bagriyanik, M.; Ozdemir, A.; Dialynas, E.

2016-11-01

Increase in the penetration of Distributed Generation (DG) in distribution networks, raises the risk of voltage limit violations while contributing to line losses. Especially in low voltage (LV) distribution networks (secondary distribution networks), impacts of active power flows on the bus voltages and on the network losses are more dominant. As network operators must meet regulatory limitations, they have to take into account the most critical operating conditions in their systems. In this study, it is aimed to present the impact of the worst operation cases of LV distribution networks comprising microgrids. Simulation studies are performed on a field data-based virtual test-bed. The simulations are repeated for several cases consisting different microgrid points of connection with different network loading and microgrid supply/demand conditions.

Hybrid Microgrid Configuration Optimization with Evolutionary Algorithms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lopez, Nicolas

This dissertation explores the Renewable Energy Integration Problem, and proposes a Genetic Algorithm embedded with a Monte Carlo simulation to solve large instances of the problem that are impractical to solve via full enumeration. The Renewable Energy Integration Problem is defined as finding the optimum set of components to supply the electric demand to a hybrid microgrid. The components considered are solar panels, wind turbines, diesel generators, electric batteries, connections to the power grid and converters, which can be inverters and/or rectifiers. The methodology developed is explained as well as the combinatorial formulation. In addition, 2 case studies of a single objective optimization version of the problem are presented, in order to minimize cost and to minimize global warming potential (GWP) followed by a multi-objective implementation of the offered methodology, by utilizing a non-sorting Genetic Algorithm embedded with a monte Carlo Simulation. The method is validated by solving a small instance of the problem with known solution via a full enumeration algorithm developed by NREL in their software HOMER. The dissertation concludes that the evolutionary algorithms embedded with Monte Carlo simulation namely modified Genetic Algorithms are an efficient form of solving the problem, by finding approximate solutions in the case of single objective optimization, and by approximating the true Pareto front in the case of multiple objective optimization of the Renewable Energy Integration Problem.

Optimal allocation of industrial PV-storage micro-grid considering important load

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Shaohua; Ju, Rong; Yang, Yang; Xu, Shuai; Liang, Lei

2018-03-01

At present, the industrial PV-storage micro-grid has been widely used. This paper presents an optimal allocation model of PV-storage micro-grid capacity considering the important load of industrial users. A multi-objective optimization model is established to promote the local extinction of PV power generation and the maximum investment income of the enterprise as the objective function. Particle swarm optimization (PSO) is used to solve the case of a city in Jiangsu Province, the results are analyzed economically.

Design and Scheduling of Microgrids using Benders Decomposition

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nagarajan, Adarsh; Ayyanar, Raja

2016-11-21

The distribution feeder laterals in a distribution feeder with relatively high PV generation as compared to the load can be operated as microgrids to achieve reliability, power quality and economic benefits. However, renewable resources are intermittent and stochastic in nature. A novel approach for sizing and scheduling an energy storage system and microturbine for reliable operation of microgrids is proposed. The size and schedule of an energy storage system and microturbine are determined using Benders' decomposition, considering PV generation as a stochastic resource.

Simulation of a microgrid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dulǎu, Lucian Ioan

2015-12-01

This paper describes the simulation of a microgrid system with storage technologies. The microgrid comprises 6 distributed generators (DGs), 3 loads and a 150 kW storage unit. The installed capacity of the generators is 1100 kW, while the total load demand is 900 kW. The simulation is performed by using a SCADA software, considering the power generation costs, the loads demand and the system's power losses. The generators access the system in order of their power generation cost. The simulation is performed for the entire day.

On the comparison of stochastic model predictive control strategies applied to a hydrogen-based microgrid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Velarde, P.; Valverde, L.; Maestre, J. M.; Ocampo-Martinez, C.; Bordons, C.

2017-03-01

In this paper, a performance comparison among three well-known stochastic model predictive control approaches, namely, multi-scenario, tree-based, and chance-constrained model predictive control is presented. To this end, three predictive controllers have been designed and implemented in a real renewable-hydrogen-based microgrid. The experimental set-up includes a PEM electrolyzer, lead-acid batteries, and a PEM fuel cell as main equipment. The real experimental results show significant differences from the plant components, mainly in terms of use of energy, for each implemented technique. Effectiveness, performance, advantages, and disadvantages of these techniques are extensively discussed and analyzed to give some valid criteria when selecting an appropriate stochastic predictive controller.

A PWM Controller of a Full Bridge Single-Phase Synchronous Inverter for Micro-Grid System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rahman, Tawfikur; Motakabber, S. M. A.; Ibrahimy, M. I.; Raghib, Aliza ‘Aini Binti Md Ralib@ Md

2017-12-01

Nowadays, microgrid system technology is becoming popular for small area power management systems. It is essential to be less harmonic-distortion and high efficiency of the inverter for microgrid applications. Pulse width modulation (PWM) controller is a conventional switching control technique which is suitable to use in the microgrid connected power inverter system. The control method and algorithm of this technique are challenging, and different approaches are required to avoid the complexity for a customized solution of the microgrid application. This paper proposes a comparative analysis of different controller and their operational methods. A PWM controller is used to reduce the ripple voltage noise while a continuous current mode provides a small output ripple which gives steady-state error as zero on fundamental and cutoff frequency. To reduce the ripple current, higher frequency harmonic distortion, switching loss and phase noise, LC low pass filter is used on either side of input and output terminals. The proposed inverter is designed by MATLAB 2016a simulation software. A balanced load resistance (RL = 20.5 Ω) of star configuration and a dual input DC voltage of ± 35V are considered. In this design, the circuit parameters, the fundamental frequency of 50 Hz, the PWM duty cycle of 95%, the cutoff frequency of the switching controller of 33 kHz are considered. The inverter in this paper exhibits THD of 0.44% and overall efficiency approximately of 98%. The proposed inverter is expected to be suitable for microgrid applications.

Broad Overview of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Opportunities for Department of Defense Installations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Anderson, E.; Antkowiak, M.; Butt, R.

The Strategic Environmental Research and Developmental Program (SERDP)/Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP) is the Department of Defense?s (DOD) environmental science and technology program focusing on issues related to environment and energy for the military services. The SERDP/ESTCP Office requested that the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) provide technical assistance with strategic planning by evaluating the potential for several types of renewable energy technologies at DOD installations. NREL was tasked to provide technical expertise and strategic advice for the feasibility of geothermal resources, waste-to-energy technology, photovoltaics (PV), wind, microgrids, and building system technologies on military installations. This technical report ismore » the deliverable for these tasks.« less

Hybrid Microgrid Model based on Solar Photovoltaics with Batteries and Fuel Cells system for intermittent applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patterson, Maxx

Microgrids are a subset of the modern power structure; using distributed generation (DG) to supply power to communities rather than vast regions. The reduced scale mitigates loss allowing the power produced to do more with better control, giving greater security, reliability, and design flexibility. This paper explores the performance and cost viability of a hybrid grid-tied microgrid that utilizes Photovoltaic (PV), batteries, and fuel cell (FC) technology. The concept proposes that each community home is equipped with more PV than is required for normal operation. As the homes are part of a microgrid, excess or unused energy from one home is collected for use elsewhere within the microgrid footprint. The surplus power that would have been discarded becomes a community asset, and is used to run intermittent services. In this paper, the modeled community does not have parking adjacent to each home allowing for the installment of a privately owned slower Level 2 charger, making EV ownership option untenable. A solution is to provide a Level 3 DC Quick Charger (DCQC) as the intermittent service. The addition of batteries and Fuel Cells are meant to increase load leveling, reliability, and instill limited island capability.

Simulation of load-sharing in standalone distributed generation system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ajewole, Titus O.; Craven, Robert P. M.; Kayode, Olakunle; Babalola, Olufisayo S.

2018-05-01

This paper presents a study on load-sharing among the component generating units of a multi-source electric microgrid that is operated as an autonomous ac supply-mode system. Emerging trend in power system development permits deployment of microgrids for standalone or stand-by applications, thereby requiring active- and reactive power sharing among the discrete generating units contained in hybrid-source microgrids. In this study, therefore, a laboratory-scale model of a microgrid energized with three renewable energy-based sources is employed as a simulation platform to investigate power sharing among the power-generating units. Each source is represented by a source emulator that captures the real operational characteristics of the mimicked generating unit and, with implementation of real-life weather data and load profiles on the model; the sharing of the load among the generating units is investigated. There is a proportionate generation of power by the three source emulators, with their frequencies perfectly synchronized at the point of common coupling as a result of balance flow of power among them. This hybrid topology of renewable energy-based microgrid could therefore be seamlessly adapted into national energy mix by the indigenous electric utility providers in Nigeria.

Integrated Devices and Systems | Grid Modernization | NREL

Science.gov Websites

storage models Microgrids Microgrids Grid Simulation and Power Hardware-in-the-Loop Grid simulation and power hardware-in-the-loop Grid Standards and Codes Standards and codes Contact Barry Mather, Ph.D

Microgrid Design Analysis Using Technology Management Optimization and the Performance Reliability Model

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stamp, Jason E.; Eddy, John P.; Jensen, Richard P.

Microgrids are a focus of localized energy production that support resiliency, security, local con- trol, and increased access to renewable resources (among other potential benefits). The Smart Power Infrastructure Demonstration for Energy Reliability and Security (SPIDERS) Joint Capa- bility Technology Demonstration (JCTD) program between the Department of Defense (DOD), Department of Energy (DOE), and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) resulted in the pre- liminary design and deployment of three microgrids at military installations. This paper is focused on the analysis process and supporting software used to determine optimal designs for energy surety microgrids (ESMs) in the SPIDERS project. There aremore » two key pieces of software, an ex- isting software application developed by Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) called Technology Management Optimization (TMO) and a new simulation developed for SPIDERS called the per- formance reliability model (PRM). TMO is a decision support tool that performs multi-objective optimization over a mixed discrete/continuous search space for which the performance measures are unrestricted in form. The PRM is able to statistically quantify the performance and reliability of a microgrid operating in islanded mode (disconnected from any utility power source). Together, these two software applications were used as part of the ESM process to generate the preliminary designs presented by SNL-led DOE team to the DOD. Acknowledgements Sandia National Laboratories and the SPIDERS technical team would like to acknowledge the following for help in the project: * Mike Hightower, who has been the key driving force for Energy Surety Microgrids * Juan Torres and Abbas Akhil, who developed the concept of microgrids for military instal- lations * Merrill Smith, U.S. Department of Energy SPIDERS Program Manager * Ross Roley and Rich Trundy from U.S. Pacific Command * Bill Waugaman and Bill Beary from U.S. Northern Command * Tarek Abdallah, Melanie Johnson, and Harold Sanborn of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Construction Engineering Research Laboratory * Colleagues from Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) for their reviews, suggestions, and participation in the work.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Marnay, Chris; Siddiqui, Afzal; Marnay, Chris

This paper examines a California-based microgrid?s decision to invest in a distributed generation (DG) unit fuelled by natural gas. While the long-term natural gas generation cost is stochastic, we initially assume that the microgrid may purchase electricity at a fixed retail rate from its utility. Using the real options approach, we find a natural gas generation cost threshold that triggers DG investment. Furthermore, the consideration of operational flexibility by the microgrid increases DG investment, while the option to disconnect from the utility is not attractive. By allowing the electricity price to be stochastic, we next determine an investment threshold boundarymore » and find that high electricity price volatility relative to that of natural gas generation cost delays investment while simultaneously increasing the value of the investment. We conclude by using this result to find the implicit option value of the DG unit when two sources of uncertainty exist.« less

Modelling and control of solid oxide fuel cell generation system in microgrid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Niancheng; Li, Chunyan; Sun, Fangqing; Wang, Qianggang

2017-11-01

Compared with other kinds of fuel cells, solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) has been widely used in microgrids because of its higher efficiency and longer operation life. The weakness of SOFC lies in its slow response speed when grid disturbance occurs. This paper presents a control strategy that can promote the response speed and limit the fault current impulse for SOFC systems integrated into microgrids. First, the hysteretic control of the bidirectional DC-DC converter, which joins the SOFC and DC bus together, is explored. In addition, an improved droop control with limited current protection is applied in the DC-AC inverter, and the active synchronization control is applied to ensure a smooth transition of the microgrid between the grid-connected mode and the islanded mode. To validate the effectiveness of this control strategy, the control model was built and simulated in PSCAD/EMTDC.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hightower, Marion Michael; Baca, Michael J.; VanderMey, Carissa

In June 2016, the Department of Energy's (DOE's) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) in collaboration with the Renewable Energy Branch for the Hawaii State Energy Office (HSEO), the Hawaii Community Development Authority (HCDA), the United States Navy (Navy), and Sandia National Laboratories (Sandia) established a project to 1) assess the current functionality of the energy infrastructure at the Kalaeloa Community Development District, and 2) evaluate options to use both existing and new distributed and renewable energy generation and storage resources within advanced microgrid frameworks to cost-effectively enhance energy security and reliability for critical stakeholder needs during bothmore » short-term and extended electric power outages. This report discusses the results of a stakeholder workshop and associated site visits conducted by Sandia in October 2016 to identify major Kalaeloa stakeholder and tenant energy issues, concerns, and priorities. The report also documents information on the performance and cost benefits of a range of possible energy system improvement options including traditional electric grid upgrade approaches, advanced microgrid upgrades, and combined grid/microgrid improvements. The costs and benefits of the different improvement options are presented, comparing options to see how well they address the energy system reliability, sustainability, and resiliency priorities identified by the Kalaeloa stakeholders.« less

Integration& Operation of a Microgrid at Santa Rita Jail

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chevron Energy Solutions; Alameda County; DeForest, Nicholas

2011-05-01

Santa Rita Jail is a 4,500 inmate facility located in Dublin CA, approximately 40 miles (65 km) east of San Francisco. Over the past decade, a series of Distributed Energy Resources (DER) installations and efficiency measures have been undertaken to transform the 3MW facility into a"Green Jail". These include a 1.2MW rated rooftop PV system installed in 2002, a 1MW molten carbonate fuel cell with CHP, and retrofits to lighting and HVAC systems to reduce peak loads. With the upcoming installation of a large-scale battery and fast static disconnect switch, Santa Rita Jail will become a true microgrid, with fullmore » CERTS Microgrid functionality. Consequently, the jail will be able to seamlessly disconnect from the grid and operate as an island in the event of a disturbance, reconnecting again once the disturbance has dissipated. The extent to which that jail is capable of islanding is principally dependant on the energy capacity of the battery-one focus of this investigation. Also presented here are overviews of the DER currently installed at the jail, as well as the value it provides by offsetting the purchase of electricity under the current Pacific Gas& Electric (PG&E) tariff.« less

Raytheon and NREL Validated Advanced Microgrid System for U.S. Marines |

Science.gov Websites

Schroeder Microgrids can work independently of the traditional grid, making them effective sources of backup work. It truly felt like history in the making." - Mick Wasco, PE, CEM Installation Energy Manager

A novel microgrid demand-side management system for manufacturing facilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harper, Terance J.

Thirty-one percent of annual energy consumption in the United States occurs within the industrial sector, where manufacturing processes account for the largest amount of energy consumption and carbon emissions. For this reason, energy efficiency in manufacturing facilities is increasingly important for reducing operating costs and improving profits. Using microgrids to generate local sustainable power should reduce energy consumption from the main utility grid along with energy costs and carbon emissions. Also, microgrids have the potential to serve as reliable energy generators in international locations where the utility grid is often unstable. For this research, a manufacturing process that had approximately 20 kW of peak demand was matched with a solar photovoltaic array that had a peak output of approximately 3 KW. An innovative Demand-Side Management (DSM) strategy was developed to manage the process loads as part of this smart microgrid system. The DSM algorithm managed the intermittent nature of the microgrid and the instantaneous demand of the manufacturing process. The control algorithm required three input signals; one from the microgrid indicating the availability of renewable energy, another from the manufacturing process indicating energy use as a percent of peak production, and historical data for renewable sources and facility demand. Based on these inputs the algorithm had three modes of operation: normal (business as usual), curtailment (shutting off non-critical loads), and energy storage. The results show that a real-time management of a manufacturing process with a microgrid will reduce electrical consumption and peak demand. The renewable energy system for this research was rated to provide up to 13% of the total manufacturing capacity. With actively managing the process loads with the DSM program alone, electrical consumption from the utility grid was reduced by 17% on average. An additional 24% reduction was accomplished when the microgrid and DSM program was enabled together, resulting in a total reduction of 37%. On average, peak demand was reduced by 6%, but due to the intermittency of the renewable source and the billing structure for peak demand, only a 1% reduction was obtained. During a billing period, it only takes one day when solar irradiance is poor to affect the demand reduction capabilities. To achieve further demand reduction, energy storage should be introduced and integrated.

The Optimization dispatching of Micro Grid Considering Load Control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Pengfei; Xie, Jiqiang; Yang, Xiu; He, Hongli

2018-01-01

This paper proposes an optimization control of micro-grid system economy operation model. It coordinates the new energy and storage operation with diesel generator output, so as to achieve the economic operation purpose of micro-grid. In this paper, the micro-grid network economic operation model is transformed into mixed integer programming problem, which is solved by the mature commercial software, and the new model is proved to be economical, and the load control strategy can reduce the charge and discharge times of energy storage devices, and extend the service life of the energy storage device to a certain extent.

Least mean square fourth based microgrid state estimation algorithm using the internet of things technology.

PubMed

Rana, Md Masud

2017-01-01

This paper proposes an innovative internet of things (IoT) based communication framework for monitoring microgrid under the condition of packet dropouts in measurements. First of all, the microgrid incorporating the renewable distributed energy resources is represented by a state-space model. The IoT embedded wireless sensor network is adopted to sense the system states. Afterwards, the information is transmitted to the energy management system using the communication network. Finally, the least mean square fourth algorithm is explored for estimating the system states. The effectiveness of the developed approach is verified through numerical simulations.

Adaptive control for solar energy based DC microgrid system development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Qinhao

During the upgrading of current electric power grid, it is expected to develop smarter, more robust and more reliable power systems integrated with distributed generations. To realize these objectives, traditional control techniques are no longer effective in either stabilizing systems or delivering optimal and robust performances. Therefore, development of advanced control methods has received increasing attention in power engineering. This work addresses two specific problems in the control of solar panel based microgrid systems. First, a new control scheme is proposed for the microgrid systems to achieve optimal energy conversion ratio in the solar panels. The control system can optimize the efficiency of the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithm by implementing two layers of adaptive control. Such a hierarchical control architecture has greatly improved the system performance, which is validated through both mathematical analysis and computer simulation. Second, in the development of the microgrid transmission system, the issues related to the tele-communication delay and constant power load (CPL)'s negative incremental impedance are investigated. A reference model based method is proposed for pole and zero placements that address the challenges of the time delay and CPL in closed-loop control. The effectiveness of the proposed modeling and control design methods are demonstrated in a simulation testbed. Practical aspects of the proposed methods for general microgrid systems are also discussed.

Efficient Double Auction Mechanisms in the Energy Grid with Connected and Islanded Microgrids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Faqiry, Mohammad Nazif

The future energy grid is expected to operate in a decentralized fashion as a network of autonomous microgrids that are coordinated by a Distribution System Operator (DSO), which should allocate energy to them in an efficient manner. Each microgrid operating in either islanded or grid-connected mode may be considered to manage its own resources. This can take place through auctions with individual units of the microgrid as the agents. This research proposes efficient auction mechanisms for the energy grid, with is-landed and connected microgrids. The microgrid level auction is carried out by means of an intermediate agent called an aggregator. The individual consumer and producer units are modeled as selfish agents. With the microgrid in islanded mode, two aggregator-level auction classes are analyzed: (i) price-heterogeneous, and (ii) price homogeneous. Under the price heterogeneity paradigm, this research extends earlier work on the well-known, single-sided Kelly mechanism to double auctions. As in Kelly auctions, the proposed algorithm implements the bidding without using any agent level private infor-mation (i.e. generation capacity and utility functions). The proposed auction is shown to be an efficient mechanism that maximizes the social welfare, i.e. the sum of the utilities of all the agents. Furthermore, the research considers the situation where a subset of agents act as a coalition to redistribute the allocated energy and price using any other specific fairness criterion. The price homogeneous double auction algorithm proposed in this research ad-dresses the problem of price-anticipation, where each agent tries to influence the equilibri-um price of energy by placing strategic bids. As a result of this behavior, the auction's efficiency is lowered. This research proposes a novel approach that is implemented by the aggregator, called virtual bidding, where the efficiency can be asymptotically maximized, even in the presence of price anticipatory bidders. Next, an auction mechanism for the energy grid, with multiple connected mi-crogrids is considered. A globally efficient bi-level auction algorithm is proposed. At the upper-level, the algorithm takes into account physical grid constraints in allocating energy to the microgrids. It is implemented by the DSO as a linear objective quadratic constraint problem that allows price heterogeneity across the aggregators. In parallel, each aggrega-tor implements its own lower-level price homogeneous auction with virtual bidding. The research concludes with a preliminary study on extending the DSO level auc-tion to multi-period day-ahead scheduling. It takes into account storage units and conven-tional generators that are present in the grid by formulating the auction as a mixed inte-ger linear programming problem.

Finite Control Set Model Predictive Control for Multiple Distributed Generators Microgrids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Babqi, Abdulrahman Jamal

This dissertation proposes two control strategies for AC microgrids that consist of multiple distributed generators (DGs). The control strategies are valid for both grid-connected and islanded modes of operation. In general, microgrid can operate as a stand-alone system (i.e., islanded mode) or while it is connected to the utility grid (i.e., grid connected mode). To enhance the performance of a micrgorid, a sophisticated control scheme should be employed. The control strategies of microgrids can be divided into primary and secondary controls. The primary control regulates the output active and reactive powers of each DG in grid-connected mode as well as the output voltage and frequency of each DG in islanded mode. The secondary control is responsible for regulating the microgrid voltage and frequency in the islanded mode. Moreover, it provides power sharing schemes among the DGs. In other words, the secondary control specifies the set points (i.e. reference values) for the primary controllers. In this dissertation, Finite Control Set Model Predictive Control (FCS-MPC) was proposed for controlling microgrids. FCS-MPC was used as the primary controller to regulate the output power of each DG (in the grid-connected mode) or the voltage of the point of DG coupling (in the islanded mode of operation). In the grid-connected mode, Direct Power Model Predictive Control (DPMPC) was implemented to manage the power flow between each DG and the utility grid. In the islanded mode, Voltage Model Predictive Control (VMPC), as the primary control, and droop control, as the secondary control, were employed to control the output voltage of each DG and system frequency. The controller was equipped with a supplementary current limiting technique in order to limit the output current of each DG in abnormal incidents. The control approach also enabled smooth transition between the two modes. The performance of the control strategy was investigated and verified using PSCAD/EMTDC software platform. This dissertation also proposes a control and power sharing strategy for small-scale microgrids in both grid-connected and islanded modes based on centralized FCS-MPC. In grid-connected mode, the controller was capable of managing the output power of each DG and enabling flexible power regulation between the microgrid and the utility grid. In islanded mode, the controller regulated the microgrid voltage and frequency, and provided a precise power sharing scheme among the DGs. In addition, the power sharing can be adjusted flexibly by changing the sharing ratio. The proposed control also enabled plug-and-play operation. Moreover, a smooth transition between the two modes of operation was achieved without any disturbance in the system. Case studies were carried out in order to validate the proposed control strategy with the PSCAD/EMTDA software package.

Development and Simulation of Increased Generation on a Secondary Circuit of a Microgrid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reyes, Karina

As fossil fuels are depleted and their environmental impacts remain, other sources of energy must be considered to generate power. Renewable sources, for example, are emerging to play a major role in this regard. In parallel, electric vehicle (EV) charging is evolving as a major load demand. To meet reliability and resiliency goals demanded by the electricity market, interest in microgrids are growing as a distributed energy resource (DER). In this thesis, the effects of intermittent renewable power generation and random EV charging on secondary microgrid circuits are analyzed in the presence of a controllable battery in order to characterize and better understand the dynamics associated with intermittent power production and random load demands in the context of the microgrid paradigm. For two reasons, a secondary circuit on the University of California, Irvine (UCI) Microgrid serves as the case study. First, the secondary circuit (UC-9) is heavily loaded and an integral component of a highly characterized and metered microgrid. Second, a unique "next-generation" distributed energy resource has been deployed at the end of the circuit that integrates photovoltaic power generation, battery storage, and EV charging. In order to analyze this system and evaluate the impact of the DER on the secondary circuit, a model was developed to provide a real-time load flow analysis. The research develops a power management system applicable to similarly integrated systems. The model is verified by metered data obtained from a network of high resolution electric meters and estimated load data for the buildings that have unknown demand. An increase in voltage is observed when the amount of photovoltaic power generation is increased. To mitigate this effect, a constant power factor is set. Should the real power change dramatically, the reactive power is changed to mitigate voltage fluctuations.

Managing risks of market price uncertainty for a microgrid operation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raghavan, Sriram

After deregulation of electricity in the United States, the day-ahead and real-time markets allow load serving entities and generation companies to bid and purchase/sell energy under the supervision of the independent system operator (ISO). The electricity market prices are inherently uncertain, and can be highly volatile. The main objective of this thesis is to hedge against the risk from the uncertainty of the market prices when purchasing/selling energy from/to the market. The energy manager can also schedule distributed generators (DGs) and storage of the microgrid to meet the demand, in addition to energy transactions from the market. The risk measure used in this work is the variance of the uncertain market purchase/sale cost/revenue, assuming the price following a Gaussian distribution. Using Markowitz optimization, the risk is minimized to find the optimal mix of purchase from the markets. The problem is formulated as a mixed integer quadratic program. The microgrid at Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) in Chicago, IL was used as a case study. The result of this work reveals the tradeoff faced by the microgrid energy manager between minimizing the risk and minimizing the mean of the total operating cost (TOC) of the microgrid. With this information, the microgrid energy manager can make decisions in the day-ahead and real-time markets according to their risk aversion preference. The assumption of market prices following Gaussian distribution is also verified to be reasonable for the purpose of hedging against their risks. This is done by comparing the result of the proposed formulation with that obtained from the sample market prices randomly generated using the distribution of actual historic market price data.

Auction-based distributed efficient economic operations of microgrid systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zou, Suli; Ma, Zhongjing; Liu, Xiangdong

2014-12-01

This paper studies the economic operations of the microgrid in a distributed way such that the operational schedule of each of the units, like generators, load units, storage units, etc., in a microgrid system, is implemented by autonomous agents. We apply and generalise the progressive second price (PSP) auction mechanism which was proposed by Lazar and Semret to efficiently allocate the divisible network resources. Considering the economic operation for the microgrid systems, the generators play as sellers to supply energy and the load units play as the buyers to consume energy, while a storage unit, like battery, super capacitor, etc., may transit between buyer and seller, such that it is a buyer when it charges and becomes a seller when it discharges. Furthermore in a connected mode, each individual unit competes against not only the other individual units in the microgrid but also the exogenous main grid possessing fixed electricity price and infinite trade capacity; that is to say, the auctioneer assigns the electricity among all individual units and the main grid with respect to the submitted bid strategies of all individual units in the microgrid in an economic way. Due to these distinct characteristics, the underlying auction games are distinct from those studied in the literature. We show that under mild conditions, the efficient economic operation strategy is a Nash equilibrium (NE) for the PSP auction games, and propose a distributed algorithm under which the system can converge to an NE. We also show that the performance of worst NE can be bounded with respect to the system parameters, say the energy trading price with the main grid, and based upon that, the implemented NE is unique and efficient under some conditions.

A Framework for the Evaluation of the Cost and Benefits of Microgrids

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Morris, Greg Young; Abbey, Chad; Joos, Geza

2011-07-15

A Microgrid is recognized as an innovative technology to help integrate renewables into distribution systems and to provide additional benefits to a variety of stakeholders, such as offsetting infrastructure investments and improving the reliability of the local system. However, these systems require additional investments for control infrastructure, and as such, additional costs and the anticipated benefits need to be quantified in order to determine whether the investment is economically feasible. This paper proposes a methodology for systematizing and representing benefits and their interrelationships based on the UML Use Case paradigm, which allows complex systems to be represented in a concise,more » elegant format. This methodology is demonstrated by determining the economic feasibility of a Microgrid and Distributed Generation installed on a typical Canadian rural distribution system model as a case study. The study attempts to minimize the cost of energy served to the community, considering the fixed costs associated with Microgrids and Distributed Generation, and suggests benefits to a variety of stakeholders.« less

Sequential Service Restoration for Unbalanced Distribution Systems and Microgrids

DOE PAGES

Chen, Bo; Chen, Chen; Wang, Jianhui; ...

2017-07-07

The resilience and reliability of modern power systems are threatened by increasingly severe weather events and cyber-physical security events. An effective restoration methodology is desired to optimally integrate emerging smart grid technologies and pave the way for developing self-healing smart grids. In this paper, a sequential service restoration (SSR) framework is proposed to generate restoration solutions for distribution systems and microgrids in the event of large-scale power outages. The restoration solution contains a sequence of control actions that properly coordinate switches, distributed generators, and switchable loads to form multiple isolated microgrids. The SSR can be applied for three-phase unbalanced distributionmore » systems and microgrids and can adapt to various operation conditions. Mathematical models are introduced for three-phase unbalanced power flow, voltage regulators, transformers, and loads. Furthermore, the SSR problem is formulated as a mixed-integer linear programming model, and its effectiveness is evaluated via the modified IEEE 123 node test feeder.« less

Sequential Service Restoration for Unbalanced Distribution Systems and Microgrids

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chen, Bo; Chen, Chen; Wang, Jianhui

The resilience and reliability of modern power systems are threatened by increasingly severe weather events and cyber-physical security events. An effective restoration methodology is desired to optimally integrate emerging smart grid technologies and pave the way for developing self-healing smart grids. In this paper, a sequential service restoration (SSR) framework is proposed to generate restoration solutions for distribution systems and microgrids in the event of large-scale power outages. The restoration solution contains a sequence of control actions that properly coordinate switches, distributed generators, and switchable loads to form multiple isolated microgrids. The SSR can be applied for three-phase unbalanced distributionmore » systems and microgrids and can adapt to various operation conditions. Mathematical models are introduced for three-phase unbalanced power flow, voltage regulators, transformers, and loads. Furthermore, the SSR problem is formulated as a mixed-integer linear programming model, and its effectiveness is evaluated via the modified IEEE 123 node test feeder.« less

A method for prolonged imaging of motile lymphocytes.

PubMed

Day, Daniel; Pham, Kim; Ludford-Menting, Mandy J; Oliaro, Jane; Izon, David; Russell, Sarah M; Gu, Min

2009-02-01

With new imaging technologies and fluorescent probes, live imaging of cells in vitro has revolutionized many aspects of cell biology. A key goal now is to develop systems to optimize in vitro imaging, which do not compromise the physiological relevance of the study. We have developed a methodology that contains non-adherent cells within the field of view. 'Cell paddocks' are created by generating an array of microgrids using polydimethylsiloxane. Each microgrid is up to 250 x 250 microm(2) with a height of 60 microm. Overlayed cells settle into the grids and the walls restrict their lateral movement, but a contiguous supply of medium between neighboring microgrids facilitates the exchange of cytokines and growth factors. This allows culture over at least 6 days with no impact upon viability and proliferation. Adaptations of the microgrids have enabled imaging and tracking of lymphocyte division through multiple generations of long-term interactions between T lymphocytes and dendritic cells, and of thymocyte-stromal cell interactions.

Advanced microgrid design and analysis for forward operating bases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reasoner, Jonathan

This thesis takes a holistic approach in creating an improved electric power generation system for a forward operating base (FOB) in the future through the design of an isolated microgrid. After an extensive literature search, this thesis found a need for drastic improvement of the FOB power system. A thorough design process analyzed FOB demand, researched demand side management improvements, evaluated various generation sources and energy storage options, and performed a HOMERRTM discrete optimization to determine the best microgrid design. Further sensitivity analysis was performed to see how changing parameters would affect the outcome. Lastly, this research also looks at some of the challenges which are associated with incorporating a design which relies heavily on inverter-based generation sources, and gives possible solutions to help make a renewable energy powered microgrid a reality. While this thesis uses a FOB as the case study, the process and discussion can be adapted to aide in the design of an off-grid small-scale power grid which utilizes high-penetration levels of renewable energy.

Microgrid energy dispatching for industrial zones with renewable generations and electric vehicles via stochastic optimization and learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Kai; Li, Jingzhi; He, Zhubin; Yan, Wanfeng

2018-07-01

In this paper, a stochastic optimization framework is proposed to address the microgrid energy dispatching problem with random renewable generation and vehicle activity pattern, which is closer to the practical applications. The patterns of energy generation, consumption and storage availability are all random and unknown at the beginning, and the microgrid controller design (MCD) is formulated as a Markov decision process (MDP). Hence, an online learning-based control algorithm is proposed for the microgrid, which could adapt the control policy with increasing knowledge of the system dynamics and converges to the optimal algorithm. We adopt the linear approximation idea to decompose the original value functions as the summation of each per-battery value function. As a consequence, the computational complexity is significantly reduced from exponential growth to linear growth with respect to the size of battery states. Monte Carlo simulation of different scenarios demonstrates the effectiveness and efficiency of our algorithm.

NREL and SDG&E Collaboration to Support SDG&E Grid and Storage Efforts: Cooperative Research and Development Final Report, CRADA Number CRD-14-562

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Baggu, Murali

2017-01-01

This project will enable effective utilization of high penetration of photovoltaics (PV) in islanded microgrids, increasing overall system efficiency, decreased fuel costs and resiliency of the overall system to help meet the SunShot goals of enhancing system integration methods to increase penetration of PV. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) will collaborate with San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) to provide research and testing support to address their needs in energy storage sizing and placement, Integrated Test Facility (ITF) development, Real Time Digital Simulator (RTDS) Modeling and simulation support at ITF, Visualization and Virtual connection to Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF),more » and microgrid simulation and testing areas. Specifically in this project a real microgrid scenario with high penetration of PV (existing in SDG&E territory) is tested in the ESIF laboratory. Multiple control cases for firming PV using storage in a microgrid scenario will be investigated and tested in the laboratory setup.« less

Defining and Enabling Resiliency of Electric Distribution Systems With Multiple Microgrids

DOE PAGES

Chanda, Sayonsom; Srivastava, Anurag K.

2016-05-02

This paper presents a method for quantifying and enabling the resiliency of a power distribution system (PDS) using analytical hierarchical process and percolation theory. Using this metric, quantitative analysis can be done to analyze the impact of possible control decisions to pro-actively enable the resilient operation of distribution system with multiple microgrids and other resources. Developed resiliency metric can also be used in short term distribution system planning. The benefits of being able to quantify resiliency can help distribution system planning engineers and operators to justify control actions, compare different reconfiguration algorithms, develop proactive control actions to avert power systemmore » outage due to impending catastrophic weather situations or other adverse events. Validation of the proposed method is done using modified CERTS microgrids and a modified industrial distribution system. Furthermore, simulation results show topological and composite metric considering power system characteristics to quantify the resiliency of a distribution system with the proposed methodology, and improvements in resiliency using two-stage reconfiguration algorithm and multiple microgrids.« less

An overview of distributed microgrid state estimation and control for smart grids.

PubMed

Rana, Md Masud; Li, Li

2015-02-12

Given the significant concerns regarding carbon emission from the fossil fuels, global warming and energy crisis, the renewable distributed energy resources (DERs) are going to be integrated in the smart grid. This grid can spread the intelligence of the energy distribution and control system from the central unit to the long-distance remote areas, thus enabling accurate state estimation (SE) and wide-area real-time monitoring of these intermittent energy sources. In contrast to the traditional methods of SE, this paper proposes a novel accuracy dependent Kalman filter (KF) based microgrid SE for the smart grid that uses typical communication systems. Then this article proposes a discrete-time linear quadratic regulation to control the state deviations of the microgrid incorporating multiple DERs. Therefore, integrating these two approaches with application to the smart grid forms a novel contributions in green energy and control research communities. Finally, the simulation results show that the proposed KF based microgrid SE and control algorithm provides an accurate SE and control compared with the existing method.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Trinklei, Eddy; Parker, Gordon; Weaver, Wayne

This report presents a scoping study for networked microgrids which are defined as "Interoperable groups of multiple Advanced Microgrids that become an integral part of the electricity grid while providing enhanced resiliency through self-healing, aggregated ancillary services, and real-time communication." They result in optimal electrical system configurations and controls whether grid-connected or in islanded modes and enable high penetrations of distributed and renewable energy resources. The vision for the purpose of this document is: "Networked microgrids seamlessly integrate with the electricity grid or other Electric Power Sources (EPS) providing cost effective, high quality, reliable, resilient, self-healing power delivery systems." Scopingmore » Study: Networked Microgrids September 4, 2014 Eddy Trinklein, Michigan Technological University Gordon Parker, Michigan Technological University Wayne Weaver, Michigan Technological University Rush Robinett, Michigan Technological University Lucia Gauchia Babe, Michigan Technological University Chee-Wooi Ten, Michigan Technological University Ward Bower, Ward Bower Innovations LLC Steve Glover, Sandia National Laboratories Steve Bukowski, Sandia National Laboratories Prepared by Michigan Technological University Houghton, Michigan 49931 Michigan Technological University« less

Kokhanok Renewable Energy Retrofit Analysis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Baring-Gould, Edward I.; Haase, Scott G.; Jimenez, Antonio

In 2010, the community of Kokhanok, Alaska, installed two 90-kW wind turbines, battery storage, a converter, and equipment for integration. Researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory performed an analysis and modeling using the HOMER and REopt software modeling packages.The analysis was designed to answer the following questions: 1) What is required to achieve a 50 percent reduction in power plant diesel fuel consumption in a diesel microgrid? 2) What is required to achieve a 50 percent reduction in 'total' (diesel and heating oil) consumption in a remote community? 3) What is the impact and role of energy efficiency? Thismore » presentation provides an introduction to the community of Kokhanok, Alaska; a summary of energy data; and an overview of analysis results and conceptual design.« less

Sherry Stout | NREL

Science.gov Websites

works on international programs where she focuses on grid integration of distributed renewable works on resilience issues including distributed generation and microgrids for energy system resilience Communities Water, Energy, Food Nexus Planning and Analysis Grid Integration of Distributed Generation

Power management and frequency regulation for microgrid and smart grid: A real-time demand response approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pourmousavi Kani, Seyyed Ali

Future power systems (known as smart grid) will experience a high penetration level of variable distributed energy resources to bring abundant, affordable, clean, efficient, and reliable electric power to all consumers. However, it might suffer from the uncertain and variable nature of these generations in terms of reliability and especially providing required balancing reserves. In the current power system structure, balancing reserves (provided by spinning and non-spinning power generation units) usually are provided by conventional fossil-fueled power plants. However, such power plants are not the favorite option for the smart grid because of their low efficiency, high amount of emissions, and expensive capital investments on transmission and distribution facilities, to name a few. Providing regulation services in the presence of variable distributed energy resources would be even more difficult for islanded microgrids. The impact and effectiveness of demand response are still not clear at the distribution and transmission levels. In other words, there is no solid research reported in the literature on the evaluation of the impact of DR on power system dynamic performance. In order to address these issues, a real-time demand response approach along with real-time power management (specifically for microgrids) is proposed in this research. The real-time demand response solution is utilized at the transmission (through load-frequency control model) and distribution level (both in the islanded and grid-tied modes) to provide effective and fast regulation services for the stable operation of the power system. Then, multiple real-time power management algorithms for grid-tied and islanded microgrids are proposed to economically and effectively operate microgrids. Extensive dynamic modeling of generation, storage, and load as well as different controller design are considered and developed throughout this research to provide appropriate models and simulation environment to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed methodologies. Simulation results revealed the effectiveness of the proposed methods in providing balancing reserves and microgrids' economic and stable operation. The proposed tools and approaches can significantly enhance the application of microgrids and demand response in the smart grid era. They will also help to increase the penetration level of variable distributed generation resources in the smart grid.

Unbalanced voltage control of virtual synchronous generator in isolated micro-grid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, Y. Z.; Wang, H. N.; Chen, B.

2017-06-01

Virtual synchronous generator (VSG) control is recommended to stabilize the voltage and frequency in isolated micro-grid. However, common VSG control is challenged by widely used unbalance loads, and the linked unbalance voltage problem worsens the power quality of the micro-grid. In this paper, the mathematical model of VSG was presented. Based on the analysis of positive- and negative-sequence equivalent circuit of VSG, an approach was proposed to eliminate the negative-sequence voltage of VSG with unbalance loads. Delay cancellation method and PI controller were utilized to identify and suppress the negative-sequence voltages. Simulation results verify the feasibility of proposed control strategy.

Least mean square fourth based microgrid state estimation algorithm using the internet of things technology

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

This paper proposes an innovative internet of things (IoT) based communication framework for monitoring microgrid under the condition of packet dropouts in measurements. First of all, the microgrid incorporating the renewable distributed energy resources is represented by a state-space model. The IoT embedded wireless sensor network is adopted to sense the system states. Afterwards, the information is transmitted to the energy management system using the communication network. Finally, the least mean square fourth algorithm is explored for estimating the system states. The effectiveness of the developed approach is verified through numerical simulations. PMID:28459848

Adaptive suboptimal second-order sliding mode control for microgrids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Incremona, Gian Paolo; Cucuzzella, Michele; Ferrara, Antonella

2016-09-01

This paper deals with the design of adaptive suboptimal second-order sliding mode (ASSOSM) control laws for grid-connected microgrids. Due to the presence of the inverter, of unpredicted load changes, of switching among different renewable energy sources, and of electrical parameters variations, the microgrid model is usually affected by uncertain terms which are bounded, but with unknown upper bounds. To theoretically frame the control problem, the class of second-order systems in Brunovsky canonical form, characterised by the presence of matched uncertain terms with unknown bounds, is first considered. Four adaptive strategies are designed, analysed and compared to select the most effective ones to be applied to the microgrid case study. In the first two strategies, the control amplitude is continuously adjusted, so as to arrive at dominating the effect of the uncertainty on the controlled system. When a suitable control amplitude is attained, the origin of the state space of the auxiliary system becomes attractive. In the other two strategies, a suitable blend between two components, one mainly working during the reaching phase, the other being the predominant one in a vicinity of the sliding manifold, is generated, so as to reduce the control amplitude in steady state. The microgrid system in a grid-connected operation mode, controlled via the selected ASSOSM control strategies, exhibits appreciable stability properties, as proved theoretically and shown in simulation.

High Penetration of Electrical Vehicles in Microgrids: Threats and Opportunities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khederzadeh, Mojtaba; Khalili, Mohammad

2014-10-01

Given that the microgrid concept is the building block of future electric distribution systems and electrical vehicles (EVs) are the future of transportation market, in this paper, the impact of EVs on the performance of microgrids is investigated. Demand-side participation is used to cope with increasing demand for EV charging. The problem of coordination of EV charging and discharging (with vehicle-to-grid (V2G) functionality) and demand response is formulated as a market-clearing mechanism that accepts bids from the demand and supply sides and takes into account the constraints put forward by different parts. Therefore, a day-ahead market with detailed bids and offers within the microgrid is designed whose objective is to maximize the social welfare which is the difference between the value that consumers attach to the electrical energy they buy plus the benefit of the EV owners participating in the V2G functionality and the cost of producing/purchasing this energy. As the optimization problem is a mixed integer nonlinear programming one, it is decomposed into one master problem for energy scheduling and one subproblem for power flow computation. The two problems are solved iteratively by interfacing MATLAB with GAMS. Simulation results on a sample microgrid with different residential, commercial and industrial consumers with associated demand-side biddings and different penetration level of EVs support the proposed formulation of the problem and the applied methods.

Higher Education Facilities: The SmartGrid Earns a Doctorate in Economics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tysseling, John C.; Zibelman, Audrey; Freifeld, Allen

2011-01-01

Most higher education facilities have already accomplished some measure of a "microgrid" investment with building control systems (BCS), energy management systems (EMS), and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) installations. Available energy production facilities may include boilers, chillers, cogeneration, thermal storage, electrical…

NREL: International Activities - Energy Access

Science.gov Websites

experience with off-grid solutions to support mini and microgrid projects, policies, and programs that are prohibitively expensive. Investment interest in mini and microgrids for energy access has been growing among Quality Assurance Framework (QAF) for mini-grids was developed to address the root challenges to providing

Agua Caliente Wind/Solar Project at Whitewater Ranch

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hooks, Todd; Stewart, Royce

2014-12-16

Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians (ACBCI) was awarded a grant by the Department of Energy (DOE) to study the feasibility of a wind and/or solar renewable energy project at the Whitewater Ranch (WWR) property of ACBCI. Red Mountain Energy Partners (RMEP) was engaged to conduct the study. The ACBCI tribal lands in the Coachella Valley have very rich renewable energy resources. The tribe has undertaken several studies to more fully understand the options available to them if they were to move forward with one or more renewable energy projects. With respect to the resources, the WWR property clearly hasmore » excellent wind and solar resources. The DOE National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has continued to upgrade and refine their library of resource maps. The newer, more precise maps quantify the resources as among the best in the world. The wind and solar technology available for deployment is also being improved. Both are reducing their costs to the point of being at or below the costs of fossil fuels. Technologies for energy storage and microgrids are also improving quickly and present additional ways to increase the wind and/or solar energy retained for later use with the network management flexibility to provide power to the appropriate locations when needed. As a result, renewable resources continue to gain more market share. The transitioning to renewables as the major resources for power will take some time as the conversion is complex and can have negative impacts if not managed well. While the economics for wind and solar systems continue to improve, the robustness of the WWR site was validated by the repeated queries of developers to place wind and/or solar there. The robust resources and improving technologies portends toward WWR land as a renewable energy site. The business case, however, is not so clear, especially when the potential investment portfolio for ACBCI has several very beneficial and profitable alternatives.« less

Device Access Abstractions for Resilient Information Architecture Platform for Smart Grid

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dubey, Abhishek; Karsai, Gabor; Volgyesi, Peter

An open application platform distributes the intelligence and control capability to local endpoints (or nodes) reducing total network traffic, improving speed of local actions by avoiding latency, and improving reliability by reducing dependencies on numerous devices and communication interfaces. The platform must be multi-tasking and able to host multiple applications running simultaneously. Given such a system, the core functions of power grid control systems include grid state determination, low level control, fault intelligence and reconfiguration, outage intelligence, power quality measurement, remote asset monitoring, configuration management, power and energy management (including local distributed energy resources, such as wind, solar and energymore » storage) can be eventually distributed. However, making this move requires extensive regression testing of systems to prove out new technologies, such as phasor measurement units (PMU). Additionally, as the complexity of the systems increase with the inclusion of new functionality (especially at the distribution and consumer levels), hidden coupling issues becomes a challenge with possible N-way interactions known and not known by device and application developers. Therefore, it is very important to provide core abstractions that ensure uniform operational semantics across such interactions. Here in this paper, we describe the pattern for abstracting device interactions we have developed for the RIAPS platform in the context of a microgrid control application we have developed.« less

Device Access Abstractions for Resilient Information Architecture Platform for Smart Grid

DOE PAGES

Dubey, Abhishek; Karsai, Gabor; Volgyesi, Peter; ...

2018-06-12

An open application platform distributes the intelligence and control capability to local endpoints (or nodes) reducing total network traffic, improving speed of local actions by avoiding latency, and improving reliability by reducing dependencies on numerous devices and communication interfaces. The platform must be multi-tasking and able to host multiple applications running simultaneously. Given such a system, the core functions of power grid control systems include grid state determination, low level control, fault intelligence and reconfiguration, outage intelligence, power quality measurement, remote asset monitoring, configuration management, power and energy management (including local distributed energy resources, such as wind, solar and energymore » storage) can be eventually distributed. However, making this move requires extensive regression testing of systems to prove out new technologies, such as phasor measurement units (PMU). Additionally, as the complexity of the systems increase with the inclusion of new functionality (especially at the distribution and consumer levels), hidden coupling issues becomes a challenge with possible N-way interactions known and not known by device and application developers. Therefore, it is very important to provide core abstractions that ensure uniform operational semantics across such interactions. Here in this paper, we describe the pattern for abstracting device interactions we have developed for the RIAPS platform in the context of a microgrid control application we have developed.« less

A Novel Control Strategy for Autonomous Operation of Isolated Microgrid with Prioritized Loads

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, R. Hari; Ushakumari, S.

2018-05-01

Maintenance of power balance between generation and demand is one of the most critical requirements for the stable operation of a power system network. To mitigate the power imbalance during the occurrence of any disturbance in the system, fast acting algorithms are inevitable. This paper proposes a novel algorithm for load shedding and network reconfiguration in an isolated microgrid with prioritized loads and multiple islands, which will help to quickly restore the system in the event of a fault. The performance of the proposed algorithm is enhanced using genetic algorithm and its effectiveness is illustrated with simulation results on modified Consortium for Electric Reliability Technology Solutions (CERTS) microgrid.

Preparation of carbon-free TEM microgrids by metal sputtering.

PubMed

Janbroers, S; de Kruijff, T R; Xu, Q; Kooyman, P J; Zandbergen, H W

2009-08-01

A new method for preparing carbon-free, temperature-stable Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) grids is presented. An 80% Au/20% Pd metal film is deposited onto a 'holey' microgrid carbon supported on standard mixed-mesh Au TEM grids. Subsequently, the carbon film is selectively removed using plasma cleaning. In this way, an all-metal TEM film is made containing the 'same' microgrid as the original carbon film. Although electron transparency of the foil is reduced significantly, the open areas for TEM inspection of material over these areas are maintained. The metal foil can be prepared with various thicknesses and ensures good electrical conductivity. The new Au/Pd grids are stable to at least 775K under vacuum conditions.

Fault Analysis and Detection in Microgrids with High PV Penetration

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

El Khatib, Mohamed; Hernandez Alvidrez, Javier; Ellis, Abraham

In this report we focus on analyzing current-controlled PV inverters behaviour under faults in order to develop fault detection schemes for microgrids with high PV penetration. Inverter model suitable for steady state fault studies is presented and the impact of PV inverters on two protection elements is analyzed. The studied protection elements are superimposed quantities based directional element and negative sequence directional element. Additionally, several non-overcurrent fault detection schemes are discussed in this report for microgrids with high PV penetration. A detailed time-domain simulation study is presented to assess the performance of the presented fault detection schemes under different microgridmore » modes of operation.« less

Unique Procurement Process Expands Microgrid Research Capabilities at the

Science.gov Websites

competitive procurement process provided comparative research on multiple controller technologies, which will be made publicly available on GitHub. "We always set out to design and build innovative advance the design and performance of controls for future microgrids, and of the larger U.S. power system

Split and flow: reconfigurable capillary connection for digital microfluidic devices.

PubMed

Lapierre, Florian; Harnois, Maxime; Coffinier, Yannick; Boukherroub, Rabah; Thomy, Vincent

2014-09-21

Supplying liquid to droplet-based microfluidic microsystems remains a delicate task facing the problems of coupling continuous to digital or macro- to microfluidic systems. Here, we take advantage of superhydrophobic microgrids to address this problem. Insertion of a capillary tube inside a microgrid aperture leads to a simple and reconfigurable droplet generation setup.

An Artificially Intelligent Physical Model-Checking Approach to Detect Switching-Related Attacks on Power Systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

El Hariri, Mohamad; Faddel, Samy; Mohammed, Osama

Decentralized and hierarchical microgrid control strategies have lain the groundwork for shaping the future smart grid. Such control approaches require the cooperation between microgrid operators in control centers, intelligent microcontrollers, and remote terminal units via secure and reliable communication networks. In order to enhance the security and complement the work of network intrusion detection systems, this paper presents an artificially intelligent physical model-checking that detects tampered-with circuit breaker switching control commands whether, due to a cyber-attack or human error. In this technique, distributed agents, which are monitoring sectionalized areas of a given microgrid, will be trained and continuously adapted tomore » verify that incoming control commands do not violate the physical system operational standards and do not put the microgrid in an insecure state. The potential of this approach has been tested by deploying agents that monitor circuit breakers status commands on a 14-bus IEEE benchmark system. The results showed the accuracy of the proposed framework in characterizing the power system and successfully detecting malicious and/or erroneous control commands.« less

Battery cycle life balancing in a microgrid through flexible distribution of energy and storage resources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khasawneh, Hussam J.; Illindala, Mahesh S.

2014-09-01

In this paper, a microgrid consisting of four fuel cell-battery hybrid Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) is devised for an industrial crusher-conveyor load. Each fuel cell was accompanied by a Li-ion battery to provide energy storage support under islanded condition of the microgrid since the fuel cells typically have poor transient response characteristics. After carrying out extensive modeling and analysis in MATLAB®, the battery utilization was found to vary significantly based on the DER's 'electrical' placement within the microgrid. This paper presents, under such conditions, a variety of battery life balancing solutions through the use of the new framework of Flexible Distribution of EneRgy and Storage Resources (FDERS). It is based on an in-situ reconfiguration approach through 'virtual' reactances that help in changing the 'electrical' position of each DER without physically displacing any component in the system. Several possible approaches toward balancing the battery utilization are compared in this paper taking advantage of the flexibility that FDERS offers. It was observed that the estimated battery life is dependent on factors such as cycling sequence, pattern, and occurrence.

Experimental study of mini SCADA renewable energy management system on microgrid using Raspberry Pi

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tridianto, E.; Permatasari, P. D.; Ali, I. R.

2018-03-01

Renewable Energy Management System (REMS) is a device that can be able to monitor power through a microgrid. The purpose of this system is to optimize power usage that produced from renewable energy with the result that reduces power demand from the grid. To reach the goal this device manage the load power needs fully supplied by renewable energy when the power produced from renewable energy is higher than load demand, besides power surplus will be stored in battery in this way energy stored in battery can be used when it needed. When the power produced from renewable energy can not satisfy the power demand, power will supply by renewable energy and grid. This device uses power meters for record any power flow through microgrid. In order to manage power flow in microgrid this system use relay module. The user can find out energy consumption (consumed by the load) and production (produced by renewable energy) in a period of time so that the user can switch on the load in right time.

An Overview of Distributed Microgrid State Estimation and Control for Smart Grids

PubMed Central

Rana, Md Masud; Li, Li

2015-01-01

Given the significant concerns regarding carbon emission from the fossil fuels, global warming and energy crisis, the renewable distributed energy resources (DERs) are going to be integrated in the smart grid. This grid can spread the intelligence of the energy distribution and control system from the central unit to the long-distance remote areas, thus enabling accurate state estimation (SE) and wide-area real-time monitoring of these intermittent energy sources. In contrast to the traditional methods of SE, this paper proposes a novel accuracy dependent Kalman filter (KF) based microgrid SE for the smart grid that uses typical communication systems. Then this article proposes a discrete-time linear quadratic regulation to control the state deviations of the microgrid incorporating multiple DERs. Therefore, integrating these two approaches with application to the smart grid forms a novel contributions in green energy and control research communities. Finally, the simulation results show that the proposed KF based microgrid SE and control algorithm provides an accurate SE and control compared with the existing method. PMID:25686316

Inductance parameter design based seamless transfer strategy for three-phase converter in microgrid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Guopeng; Zhou, Xinwei; Jiang, Chao; Lu, Yi; Wang, Yanjie

2018-06-01

During the operation of microgrid, especially when the unplanned islanding occurs, the voltage of the point of common coupling (PCC) needs to be maintained within a certain range, otherwise it would affect the operation of loads in microgrid. This paper proposes a seamless transfer strategy based on the inductance parameter design for three-phase converter in microgrid, which considers both the fundamental component of voltage on the inductance and the ripple current in the inductance. In grid-connected mode, the PCC voltage is supported by the grid. When the unplanned islanding occurs, the PCC voltage is affected by the output voltage of converter and the voltage on the inductance. According to the single phase equivalent circuit, analyzing the phasor diagram of voltage and current vector, considering the prescribed range of PCC voltage and satisfying the requirement of the magnitude of ripple current, the inductance parameter is designed. At last, the simulation result shows that the designed inductance can ensure the PCC voltage does not exceed the prescribed range and restrain the ripple current.

Adaptive scene-based correction algorithm for removal of residual fixed pattern noise in microgrid image data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ratliff, Bradley M.; LeMaster, Daniel A.

2012-06-01

Pixel-to-pixel response nonuniformity is a common problem that affects nearly all focal plane array sensors. This results in a frame-to-frame fixed pattern noise (FPN) that causes an overall degradation in collected data. FPN is often compensated for through the use of blackbody calibration procedures; however, FPN is a particularly challenging problem because the detector responsivities drift relative to one another in time, requiring that the sensor be recalibrated periodically. The calibration process is obstructive to sensor operation and is therefore only performed at discrete intervals in time. Thus, any drift that occurs between calibrations (along with error in the calibration sources themselves) causes varying levels of residual calibration error to be present in the data at all times. Polarimetric microgrid sensors are particularly sensitive to FPN due to the spatial differencing involved in estimating the Stokes vector images. While many techniques exist in the literature to estimate FPN for conventional video sensors, few have been proposed to address the problem in microgrid imaging sensors. Here we present a scene-based nonuniformity correction technique for microgrid sensors that is able to reduce residual fixed pattern noise while preserving radiometry under a wide range of conditions. The algorithm requires a low number of temporal data samples to estimate the spatial nonuniformity and is computationally efficient. We demonstrate the algorithm's performance using real data from the AFRL PIRATE and University of Arizona LWIR microgrid sensors.

Business Cases for Microgrids: Modeling Interactions of Technology Choice, Reliability, Cost, and Benefit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hanna, Ryan

Distributed energy resources (DERs), and increasingly microgrids, are becoming an integral part of modern distribution systems. Interest in microgrids--which are insular and autonomous power networks embedded within the bulk grid--stems largely from the vast array of flexibilities and benefits they can offer stakeholders. Managed well, they can improve grid reliability and resiliency, increase end-use energy efficiency by coupling electric and thermal loads, reduce transmission losses by generating power locally, and may reduce system-wide emissions, among many others. Whether these public benefits are realized, however, depends on whether private firms see a "business case", or private value, in investing. To this end, firms need models that evaluate costs, benefits, risks, and assumptions that underlie decisions to invest. The objectives of this dissertation are to assess the business case for microgrids that provide what industry analysts forecast as two primary drivers of market growth--that of providing energy services (similar to an electric utility) as well as reliability service to customers within. Prototypical first adopters are modeled--using an existing model to analyze energy services and a new model that couples that analysis with one of reliability--to explore interactions between technology choice, reliability, costs, and benefits. The new model has a bi-level hierarchy; it uses heuristic optimization to select and size DERs and analytical optimization to schedule them. It further embeds Monte Carlo simulation to evaluate reliability as well as regression models for customer damage functions to monetize reliability. It provides least-cost microgrid configurations for utility customers who seek to reduce interruption and operating costs. Lastly, the model is used to explore the impact of such adoption on system-wide greenhouse gas emissions in California. Results indicate that there are, at present, co-benefits for emissions reductions when customers adopt and operate microgrids for private benefit, though future analysis is needed as the bulk grid continues to transition toward a less carbon intensive system.

Foundational Report Series: Advanced Distribution Management Systems for Grid Modernization, DMS Integration of Distributed Energy Resources and Microgrids

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Singh, Ravindra; Reilly, James T.; Wang, Jianhui

Deregulation of the electric utility industry, environmental concerns associated with traditional fossil fuel-based power plants, volatility of electric energy costs, Federal and State regulatory support of “green” energy, and rapid technological developments all support the growth of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) in electric utility systems and ensure an important role for DERs in the smart grid and other aspects of modern utilities. DERs include distributed generation (DG) systems, such as renewables; controllable loads (also known as demand response); and energy storage systems. This report describes the role of aggregators of DERs in providing optimal services to distribution networks, through DERmore » monitoring and control systems—collectively referred to as a Distributed Energy Resource Management System (DERMS)—and microgrids in various configurations.« less

Zero-voltage DC/DC converter with asymmetric pulse-width modulation for DC micro-grid system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Bor-Ren

2018-04-01

This paper presents a zero-voltage switching DC/DC converter for DC micro-grid system applications. The proposed circuit includes three half-bridge circuit cells connected in primary-series and secondary-parallel in order to lessen the voltage rating of power switches and current rating of rectifier diodes. Thus, low voltage stress of power MOSFETs can be adopted for high-voltage input applications with high switching frequency operation. In order to achieve low switching losses and high circuit efficiency, asymmetric pulse-width modulation is used to turn on power switches at zero voltage. Flying capacitors are used between each circuit cell to automatically balance input split voltages. Therefore, the voltage stress of each power switch is limited at Vin/3. Finally, a prototype is constructed and experiments are provided to demonstrate the circuit performance.

Micro grid control strategy of DFIG unit based on improved DC grid connected topology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zongze, Xia; Fei, Xia; Zhixiong, Yang

2017-05-01

Aiming to the application of the DFIG connected to DC-Microgrids, an improved topology for the DFIG connected to DC-Microgrids is taken into account in this thesis. The stator side loses the support of voltage and frequency of AC point of common coupling bus. A novel control method suitable to the stator side converter (SSC) and the rotor side converter (RSC) of the topology is proposed. The independent control of stator voltage and frequency, the decoupled control of power and variable speed constant frequency of DFIG are achieved in the doubly-fed induction generator connected to DC-Microgrids. which can enhance the capacity of active power transmission of DFIG during the voltage variation.

Reliability evaluation of microgrid considering incentive-based demand response

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Ting-Cheng; Zhang, Yong-Jun

2017-07-01

Incentive-based demand response (IBDR) can guide customers to adjust their behaviour of electricity and curtail load actively. Meanwhile, distributed generation (DG) and energy storage system (ESS) can provide time for the implementation of IBDR. The paper focus on the reliability evaluation of microgrid considering IBDR. Firstly, the mechanism of IBDR and its impact on power supply reliability are analysed. Secondly, the IBDR dispatch model considering customer’s comprehensive assessment and the customer response model are developed. Thirdly, the reliability evaluation method considering IBDR based on Monte Carlo simulation is proposed. Finally, the validity of the above models and method is studied through numerical tests on modified RBTS Bus6 test system. Simulation results demonstrated that IBDR can improve the reliability of microgrid.

Outdoor Testing Areas | Energy Systems Integration Facility | NREL

Science.gov Websites

of engineers running tests on plug-in hybrid electric vehicles at the Medium-Voltage Outdoor Test large microgrids hub, located in the outdoor low-voltage test yard, includes underground trench access pits for full enclosure of rotating machinery under test. Key Infrastructure Secured underground pits

Smart Power Infrastructure Demonstration for Energy Reliability and Security (SPIDERS)

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-05-01

protect, and secure the United States and its interests. • AOF is the United States, Alaska, Canada, Mexico, Bahamas, Puerto Rico , and the U.S. Virgin...Criteria (UFC) for Smart Microgrid Cyber design guides for Industrial Control Systems (ICS) Residual systems Operations and Maintenance Operator...Training Sustainment Commercial Transition Cooperation with NIST for microgrid security standards Working with industry associations and

Microgrid Enabled Distributed Energy Solutions (MEDES) Fort Bliss Military Reservation

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-02-01

Logic Controller PF Power Factor PO Performance Objectives PPA Power Purchase Agreements PV Photovoltaic R&D Research and Development RDSI...controller, algorithms perform power flow analysis, short term optimization, and long-term forecasted planning. The power flow analysis ensures...renewable photovoltaic power and energy storage in this microgrid configuration, the available mission operational time of the backup generator can be

A DDS-Based Energy Management Framework for Small Microgrid Operation and Control

DOE PAGES

Youssef, Tarek A.; El Hariri, Mohamad; Elsayed, Ahmed T.; ...

2017-09-26

The smart grid is seen as a power system with realtime communication and control capabilities between the consumer and the utility. This modern platform facilitates the optimization in energy usage based on several factors including environmental, price preferences, and system technical issues. In this paper a real-time energy management system (EMS) for microgrids or nanogrids was developed. The developed system involves an online optimization scheme to adapt its parameters based on previous, current, and forecasted future system states. The communication requirements for all EMS modules were analyzed and are all integrated over a data distribution service (DDS) Ethernet network withmore » appropriate quality of service (QoS) profiles. In conclusion, the developed EMS was emulated with actual residential energy consumption and irradiance data from Miami, Florida and proved its effectiveness in reducing consumers’ bills and achieving flat peak load profiles.« less

Final Assessment: U.S. Virgin Islands Industrial Development Park and Adjacent Facilities Energy-Efficiency and Micro-Grid Infrastructure

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Petersen, Joseph M.; Boyd, Paul A.; Dahowski, Robert T.

The purpose of this assessment was to undertake an assessment and analysis of cost-effective options for energy-efficiency improvements and the deployment of a micro-grid to increase the energy resilience at the U.S. Virgin Islands Industrial Development Park (IDP) and adjacent facilities in St. Croix, Virgin Islands. The Economic Development Authority sought assistance from the U.S. Department of Energy to undertake this assessment undertaken by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The assessment included 18 buildings plus the perimeter security lighting at the Virgin Islands Bureau of Correctional Facility, four buildings plus exterior lighting at the IDP, and five buildings (one of whichmore » is to be constructed) at the Virgin Islands Police Department for a total of 27 buildings with a total of nearly 323,000 square feet.« less

Efficiency enhancement of silicon nanowire solar cells by using UV/Ozone treatments and micro-grid electrodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Junyi; Subramani, Thiyagu; Sun, Yonglie; Jevasuwan, Wipakorn; Fukata, Naoki

2018-05-01

Silicon nanowire solar cells were fabricated by metal catalyzed electroless etching (MCEE) followed by thermal chemical vapor deposition (CVD). In this study, we investigated two effects, a UV/ozone treatment and the use of a micro-grid electrodes, to enhance light absorption and reduce the optic losses in the solar cell device. The UV/ozone treatment successfully improved the conversion efficiency. The micro-grid electrodes were then applied in solar cell devices subjected to a back surface field (BSF) treatment and rapid thermal annealing (RTA). These effects improved the conversion efficiency from 9.4% to 10.9%. Moreover, to reduce surface recombination and improve the continuity of front electrodes, we optimized the etching time of the MCEE process, giving a high efficiency of 12.3%.

Study on Control Scheme for the Inverters in Low Voltage Microgrid with Nonlinear Loads

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Jiqiang; Lu, Wenzhou; Wu, Lei

2017-05-01

There are a lot of nonlinear loads in real low voltage microgrid system. It will cause serious output voltage and grid current harmonic distortions problems in island and grid-connected modes, respectively. To solve this problem, this paper proposes a droop control scheme with quasi-proportion and resonant (quasi-PR) controller based on αβ stationary reference frame to make microgrid smoothly switch between grid-connected and island modes without changing control method. Moreover, in island mode, not only stable output voltage and frequency, but also reduced output voltage harmonics with added nonlinear loads can be achieved; In grid-connected mode, not only constant power, but also reduced grid current harmonics can be achieved. Simulation results verify the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.

Control of a lithium-ion battery storage system for microgrid applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pegueroles-Queralt, Jordi; Bianchi, Fernando D.; Gomis-Bellmunt, Oriol

2014-12-01

The operation of future microgrids will require the use of energy storage systems employing power electronics converters with advanced power management capacities. This paper presents the control scheme for a medium power lithium-ion battery bidirectional DC/AC power converter intended for microgrid applications. The switching devices of a bidirectional DC converter are commanded by a single sliding mode control law, dynamically shaped by a linear voltage regulator in accordance with the battery management system. The sliding mode controller facilitates the implementation and design of the control law and simplifies the stability analysis over the entire operating range. Control parameters of the linear regulator are designed to minimize the impact of commutation noise in the DC-link voltage regulation. The effectiveness of the proposed control strategy is illustrated by experimental results.

Optimization of joint energy micro-grid with cold storage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Bin; Luo, Simin; Tian, Yan; Chen, Xianda; Xiong, Botao; Zhou, Bowen

2018-02-01

To accommodate distributed photovoltaic (PV) curtailment, to make full use of the joint energy micro-grid with cold storage, and to reduce the high operating costs, the economic dispatch of joint energy micro-grid load is particularly important. Considering the different prices during the peak and valley durations, an optimization model is established, which takes the minimum production costs and PV curtailment fluctuations as the objectives. Linear weighted sum method and genetic-taboo Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm are used to solve the optimization model, to obtain optimal power supply output. Taking the garlic market in Henan as an example, the simulation results show that considering distributed PV and different prices in different time durations, the optimization strategies are able to reduce the operating costs and accommodate PV power efficiently.

The vulnerabilities of the power-grid system: renewable microgrids as an alternative source of energy.

PubMed

Meyer, Victor; Myres, Charles; Bakshi, Nitin

2010-03-01

The objective of this paper is to analyse the vulnerabilities of current power-grid systems and to propose alternatives to using fossil fuel power generation and infrastructure solutions in the form of microgrids, particularly those from renewable energy sources. One of the key potential benefits of microgrids, apart from their inherent sustainability and ecological advantages, is increased resilience. The analysis is targeted towards the context of business process outsourcing in India. However, much of the research on vulnerabilities has been derived from the USA and as such many of the examples cite vulnerabilities in the USA and other developed economies. Nevertheless, the vulnerabilities noted are to a degree common to all grid systems, and so the analysis may be more broadly applicable.

Tariff Considerations for Micro-Grids in Sub-Saharan Africa

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Reber, Timothy J.; Booth, Samuel S.; Cutler, Dylan S.

This report examines some of the key drivers and considerations policymakers and decision makers face when deciding if and how to regulate electricity tariffs for micro-grids. Presenting a range of tariff options, from mandating some variety of national (uniform) tariff to allowing micro-grid developers and operators to set fully cost-reflective tariffs, it examines various benefits and drawbacks of each. In addition, the report and explores various types of cross-subsidies and other transitional forms of regulation that may offer a regulatory middle ground that can help balance the often competing goals of providing price control on electricity service in the namemore » of social good while still providing a means for investors to ensure high enough returns on their investment to attract the necessary capital financing to the market. Using the REopt tool developed by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory to inform their study, the authors modeled a few representative micro-grid systems and the resultant levelized cost of electricity, lending context and scale to the consideration of these tariff questions. This simple analysis provides an estimate of the gap between current tariff regimes and the tariffs that would be necessary for developers to recover costs and attract investment, offering further insight into the potential scale of subsidies or other grants that may be required to enable micro-grid development under current regulatory structures. It explores potential options for addressing this gap while trying to balance This report examines some of the key drivers and considerations policymakers and decision makers face when deciding if and how to regulate electricity tariffs for micro-grids. Presenting a range of tariff options, from mandating some variety of national (uniform) tariff to allowing micro-grid developers and operators to set fully cost-reflective tariffs, it examines various benefits and drawbacks of each. In addition, the report and explores various types of cross-subsidies and other transitional forms of regulation that may offer a regulatory middle ground that can help balance the often competing goals of providing price control on electricity service in the name of social good while still providing a means for investors to ensure high enough returns on their investment to attract the necessary capital financing to the market. Using the REopt tool developed by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory to inform their study, the authors modeled a few representative micro-grid systems and the resultant levelized cost of electricity, lending context and scale to the consideration of these tariff questions. This simple analysis provides an estimate of the gap between current tariff regimes and the tariffs that would be necessary for developers to recover costs and attract investment, offering further insight into the potential scale of subsidies or other grants that may be required to enable micro-grid development under current regulatory structures. It explores potential options for addressing this gap while trying to balance stakeholder needs, from subsidized national tariffs to lightly regulated cost-reflective tariffs to more of a compromise approach, such as different standards of regulation based on the size of a micro-grid.takeholder needs, from subsidized national tariffs to lightly regulated cost-reflective tariffs to more of a compromise approach, such as different standards of regulation based on the size of a micro-grid.« less

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Microgrid and Ancillary Services - Kittery, ME

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-08-30

revenue through participation in ancillary services . Both technologies offer quantifiable value to a project. 7.1 COST MODEL Table 7-1. Cost Model...EW-201350) Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Microgrid and Ancillary Services – Kittery, ME August 2017 This document has been cleared for public...commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Liu, Jialin Frank; Martínez, Maria Gabriela; Anderson, C Lindsay

This work presents a preliminary analysis considering impact of a grid-connected microgrid on network transmission of the power system. The locational marginal prices of the power system are used to strategically place the microgrid to avoid congestion problems. In addition, a Monte Carlo simulation approach is implemented to confirm that network congestion can be attenuated if appropriate price-based signals are set to define the import and export dynamic between the two systems.

TARDEC Annual Report 2011

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-01-01

installing the Army’s first smart -charging microgrid at Wheeler Army Airfield in Hawaii. Aloha Microgrid 1 consists of a 25 kW solar power array, 200...in DoD’s Smart Power Infrastructure Demonstration for Energy Reliability and Security (SPIDERS) program, a joint capabilities technology...in the TACOM LCMC Small Business Fair in our attempts to begin partnerships with a growing number of small business technologists and entrepreneurs

Distributed Power Systems for Sustainable Energy

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-10-01

capital investment in state-of- the-art cogeneration technologies, renewable sources, energy storage, and interconnection hardware and software. It is...8 capacity may not be well suited to support building or campus-scale microgrids. This is because new thermal and electrical energy storage devices...constraints, as well as the site location, weather, and consumption patterns. These factors change over the life of the energy microgrid. • Tradeoffs

Downstream Benefits of Energy Management Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-12-01

OAT Outside Air Temperature POM Presidio of Monterey RCx Retro-Commissioning Solar PV Solar Photovoltaic VSG Virtual Smart Grid xiv THIS PAGE...efficiency, including some advanced demonstration projects for EMSs, microgrids, extensive solar photovoltaic (PV) generation capacity, and others...approach to reducing consumption, maintaining mission assurance, and providing reliable power to critical loads. (Deputy Undersecretary of Defense

Effect of pole zero location on system dynamics of boost converter for micro grid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lavanya, A.; Vijayakumar, K.; Navamani, J. D.; Jayaseelan, N.

2018-04-01

Green clean energy like photo voltaic, wind energy, fuel cell can be brought together by microgrid.For low voltage sources like photovoltaic cell boost converter is very much essential. This paper explores the dynamic analysis of boost converter in a continuous conduction mode (CCM). The transient performance and stability analysis is carried out in this paper using time domain analysis and frequency domain analysis techniques. Boost converter is simulated using both PSIM and MATLAB software. Furthermore, state space model obtained and the transfer function is derived. The converter behaviour when a step input is applied is analyzed and stability of the converter is analyzed from bode plot frequency for open loop. Effect of the locations of poles and zeros in the transfer function of boost converter and how the performance parameters are affected is discussed in this paper. Closed loop performance with PI controller is also analyzed for boost converter.

Design and Operation of Distribution Markets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parhizi, Sina

The growing penetration of distributed prosumers especially microgrids poses new challenges to the operation of wholesale markets and distribution power systems. Price spikes and higher uncertainty are among these consequences. Distribution markets are envisioned as a remedy to streamline integration of distributed resources and microgrids in the electricity market. This dissertation offers an analytical formulation of electricity markets in the distribution level, considering various prevailing aspects of the market operation problem. The prevailing challenges in regards to integration of microgrids in the electricity markets are illustrated first, and the distribution market operator (DMO) construct is outlined. The day-ahead scheduling of a microgrid participating in a DMO market is formulated and studied. Then the operation of distribution markets integrated with large numbers of responsive participants is considered, and its transactions with the distribution market participants on one hand, and the wholesale market on the other hand are modeled and studied. The market settlement and clearing, essential in operation of distribution markets, is considered and solved. The pricing mechanism in a distribution market is proposed and the relation of distribution and transmission and distribution prices is studied. A more advanced pricing mechanism considering voltages and reactive power is developed and studied. In order to offer a more accurate pricing structure within the distribution system, a linearized distribution power flow is utilized. The performance of the proposed methods is analyzed and the results are presented. Markets have been recently envisioned to be a suitable instrument for integration of distributed energy resources in the distribution system, but most of the discussions surrounding this topic is at the conceptual level. In this work, it is demonstrated that distribution markets are effective in integrating microgrids and distributed resources in the electricity markets, and an analytical model is presented for design and operation of such markets.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Siddiqui, Afzal; Marnay, Chris

This paper examines a California-based microgrid s decision to invest in a distributed generation (DG) unit that operates on natural gas. While the long-term natural gas generation cost is stochastic, we initially assume that the microgrid may purchase electricity at a fixed retail rate from its utility. Using the real options approach, we find natural gas generating cost thresholds that trigger DG investment. Furthermore, the consideration of operational flexibility by the microgrid accelerates DG investment, while the option to disconnect entirely from the utility is not attractive. By allowing the electricity price to be stochastic, we next determine an investmentmore » threshold boundary and find that high electricity price volatility relative to that of natural gas generating cost delays investment while simultaneously increasing the value of the investment. We conclude by using this result to find the implicit option value of the DG unit.« less

Effect of Cu2O morphology on photocatalytic hydrogen generation and chemical stability of TiO2/Cu2O composite.

PubMed

Zhu, Lihong; Zhang, Junying; Chen, Ziyu; Liu, Kejia; Gao, Hong

2013-07-01

Improving photocatalytic activity and stability of TiO2/Cu2O composite is a challenge in generating hydrogen from water. In this paper, the TiO2 film/Cu2O microgrid composite was prepared via a microsphere lithography technique, which possesses a remarkable performance of producing H2 under UV-vis light irradiation, in comparison with pure TiO2 film, Cu2O film and TiO2 film/Cu2O film. More interesting is that in TiO2 film/Cu2O microgrid, photo-corrosion of Cu2O can be retarded. After deposition of Pt on its surface, the photocatalytic activity of TiO2/Cu2O microgrid in producing H2 is improved greatly.

A Micro grid design for a kind of household energy efficiency management system based on high permeability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Siwei; Li, Jun; Liu, Zhuochu; Wang, Min; Yue, Liang

2017-05-01

After the access of household distributed photovoltaic, conditions of high permeability generally occur, which cut off the connection between distributed power supply and major network rapidly and use energy storage device to realize electrical energy storage. The above operations cannot be adequate for the power grid health after distributed power supply access any more from the perspective of economy and rationality. This paper uses the integration between device and device, integration between device and system and integration between system and system of household microgrid and household energy efficiency management, to design household microgrid building program and operation strategy containing household energy efficiency management, to achieve efficient integration of household energy efficiency management and household microgrid, to effectively solve problems of high permeability of household distributed power supply and so on.

Codimension-Two Bifurcation Analysis in DC Microgrids Under Droop Control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lenz, Eduardo; Pagano, Daniel J.; Tahim, André P. N.

This paper addresses local and global bifurcations that may appear in electrical power systems, such as DC microgrids, which recently has attracted interest from the electrical engineering society. Most sources in these networks are voltage-type and operate in parallel. In such configuration, the basic technique for stabilizing the bus voltage is the so-called droop control. The main contribution of this work is a codimension-two bifurcation analysis of a small DC microgrid considering the droop control gain and the power processed by the load as bifurcation parameters. The codimension-two bifurcation set leads to practical rules for achieving a robust droop control design. Moreover, the bifurcation analysis also offers a better understanding of the dynamics involved in the problem and how to avoid possible instabilities. Simulation results are presented in order to illustrate the bifurcation analysis.

Determination of the Prosumer's Optimal Bids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferruzzi, Gabriella; Rossi, Federico; Russo, Angela

2015-12-01

This paper considers a microgrid connected with a medium-voltage (MV) distribution network. It is assumed that the microgrid, which is managed by a prosumer, operates in a competitive environment and participates in the day-ahead market. Then, as the first step of the short-term management problem, the prosumer must determine the bids to be submitted to the market. The offer strategy is based on the application of an optimization model, which is solved for different hourly price profiles of energy exchanged with the main grid. The proposed procedure is applied to a microgrid and four different its configurations were analyzed. The configurations consider the presence of thermoelectric units that only produce electricity, a boiler or/and cogeneration power plants for the thermal loads, and an electric storage system. The numerical results confirmed the numerous theoretical considerations that have been made.

A Review of Distributed Control Techniques for Power Quality Improvement in Micro-grids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zeeshan, Hafiz Muhammad Ali; Nisar, Fatima; Hassan, Ahmad

2017-05-01

Micro-grid is typically visualized as a small scale local power supply network dependent on distributed energy resources (DERs) that can operate simultaneously with grid as well as in standalone manner. The distributed generator of a micro-grid system is usually a converter-inverter type topology acting as a non-linear load, and injecting harmonics into the distribution feeder. Hence, the negative effects on power quality by the usage of distributed generation sources and components are clearly witnessed. In this paper, a review of distributed control approaches for power quality improvement is presented which encompasses harmonic compensation, loss mitigation and optimum power sharing in multi-source-load distributed power network. The decentralized subsystems for harmonic compensation and active-reactive power sharing accuracy have been analysed in detail. Results have been validated to be consistent with IEEE standards.

Analysis and experimental verification of new power flow control for grid-connected inverter with LCL filter in microgrid.

PubMed

Gu, Herong; Guan, Yajuan; Wang, Huaibao; Wei, Baoze; Guo, Xiaoqiang

2014-01-01

Microgrid is an effective way to integrate the distributed energy resources into the utility networks. One of the most important issues is the power flow control of grid-connected voltage-source inverter in microgrid. In this paper, the small-signal model of the power flow control for the grid-connected inverter is established, from which it can be observed that the conventional power flow control may suffer from the poor damping and slow transient response. While the new power flow control can mitigate these problems without affecting the steady-state power flow regulation. Results of continuous-domain simulations in MATLAB and digital control experiments based on a 32-bit fixed-point TMS320F2812 DSP are in good agreement, which verify the small signal model analysis and effectiveness of the proposed method.

Design and implementation of a new modified sliding mode controller for grid-connected inverter to controlling the voltage and frequency.

PubMed

Ghanbarian, Mohammad Mehdi; Nayeripour, Majid; Rajaei, Amirhossein; Mansouri, Mohammad Mahdi

2016-03-01

As the output power of a microgrid with renewable energy sources should be regulated based on the grid conditions, using robust controllers to share and balance the power in order to regulate the voltage and frequency of microgrid is critical. Therefore a proper control system is necessary for updating the reference signals and determining the proportion of each inverter in the microgrid control. This paper proposes a new adaptive method which is robust while the conditions are changing. This controller is based on a modified sliding mode controller which provides adapting conditions in linear and nonlinear loads. The performance of the proposed method is validated by representing the simulation results and experimental lab results. Copyright © 2015 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Energy Systems Integration Collaborations: NREL + EPRI

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

2017-04-03

This fact sheet highlights work done at the ESIF in collaboration with EPRI. NREL is collaborating with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) to validate the performance of a Spirae-developed advanced microgrid controller capable of managing 1-10 megawatts of aggregated generation capacity. The aim is to develop a commercially viable and flexible microgrid controller, easily adapted to different end-user applications and to a range of electric grid characteristics.

Development and application of a real-time testbed for multiagent system interoperability: A case study on hierarchical microgrid control

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cintuglu, Mehmet Hazar; Youssef, Tarek; Mohammed, Osama A.

This article presents the development and application of a real-time testbed for multiagent system interoperability. As utility independent private microgrids are installed constantly, standardized interoperability frameworks are required to define behavioral models of the individual agents for expandability and plug-and-play operation. In this paper, we propose a comprehensive hybrid agent framework combining the foundation for intelligent physical agents (FIPA), IEC 61850, and data distribution service (DDS) standards. The IEC 61850 logical node concept is extended using FIPA based agent communication language (ACL) with application specific attributes and deliberative behavior modeling capability. The DDS middleware is adopted to enable a real-timemore » publisher-subscriber interoperability mechanism between platforms. The proposed multi-agent framework was validated in a laboratory based testbed involving developed intelligent electronic device (IED) prototypes and actual microgrid setups. Experimental results were demonstrated for both decentralized and distributed control approaches. Secondary and tertiary control levels of a microgrid were demonstrated for decentralized hierarchical control case study. A consensus-based economic dispatch case study was demonstrated as a distributed control example. Finally, it was shown that the developed agent platform is industrially applicable for actual smart grid field deployment.« less

Development of a hardware-based AC microgrid for AC stability assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Swanson, Robert R.

As more power electronic-based devices enable the development of high-bandwidth AC microgrids, the topic of microgrid power distribution stability has become of increased interest. Recently, researchers have proposed a relatively straightforward method to assess the stability of AC systems based upon the time-constants of sources, the net bus capacitance, and the rate limits of sources. In this research, a focus has been to develop a hardware test system to evaluate AC system stability. As a first step, a time domain model of a two converter microgrid was established in which a three phase inverter acts as a power source and an active rectifier serves as an adjustable constant power AC load. The constant power load can be utilized to create rapid power flow transients to the generating system. As a second step, the inverter and active rectifier were designed using a Smart Power Module IGBT for switching and an embedded microcontroller as a processor for algorithm implementation. The inverter and active rectifier were designed to operate simultaneously using a synchronization signal to ensure each respective local controller operates in a common reference frame. Finally, the physical system was created and initial testing performed to validate the hardware functionality as a variable amplitude and variable frequency AC system.

Dc microgrid stabilization through fuzzy control of interleaved, heterogeneous storage elements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, Robert David

As microgrid power systems gain prevalence and renewable energy comprises greater and greater portions of distributed generation, energy storage becomes important to offset the higher variance of renewable energy sources and maximize their usefulness. One of the emerging techniques is to utilize a combination of lead-acid batteries and ultracapacitors to provide both short and long-term stabilization to microgrid systems. The different energy and power characteristics of batteries and ultracapacitors imply that they ought to be utilized in different ways. Traditional linear controls can use these energy storage systems to stabilize a power grid, but cannot effect more complex interactions. This research explores a fuzzy logic approach to microgrid stabilization. The ability of a fuzzy logic controller to regulate a dc bus in the presence of source and load fluctuations, in a manner comparable to traditional linear control systems, is explored and demonstrated. Furthermore, the expanded capabilities (such as storage balancing, self-protection, and battery optimization) of a fuzzy logic system over a traditional linear control system are shown. System simulation results are presented and validated through hardware-based experiments. These experiments confirm the capabilities of the fuzzy logic control system to regulate bus voltage, balance storage elements, optimize battery usage, and effect self-protection.

Development and application of a real-time testbed for multiagent system interoperability: A case study on hierarchical microgrid control

DOE PAGES

Cintuglu, Mehmet Hazar; Youssef, Tarek; Mohammed, Osama A.

2016-08-10

This article presents the development and application of a real-time testbed for multiagent system interoperability. As utility independent private microgrids are installed constantly, standardized interoperability frameworks are required to define behavioral models of the individual agents for expandability and plug-and-play operation. In this paper, we propose a comprehensive hybrid agent framework combining the foundation for intelligent physical agents (FIPA), IEC 61850, and data distribution service (DDS) standards. The IEC 61850 logical node concept is extended using FIPA based agent communication language (ACL) with application specific attributes and deliberative behavior modeling capability. The DDS middleware is adopted to enable a real-timemore » publisher-subscriber interoperability mechanism between platforms. The proposed multi-agent framework was validated in a laboratory based testbed involving developed intelligent electronic device (IED) prototypes and actual microgrid setups. Experimental results were demonstrated for both decentralized and distributed control approaches. Secondary and tertiary control levels of a microgrid were demonstrated for decentralized hierarchical control case study. A consensus-based economic dispatch case study was demonstrated as a distributed control example. Finally, it was shown that the developed agent platform is industrially applicable for actual smart grid field deployment.« less

Distributed Storage Inverter and Legacy Generator Integration Plus Renewables Solution for Microgrids

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-07-01

Reactive kVAR Kilo Watts kW Lithium Ion Li Ion Lithium-Titanate Oxide nLTO Natural gas NG Performance Objectives PO Photovoltaic PV Power ...cloud covered) periods. The demonstration features a large (relative to the overall system power requirements) photovoltaic solar array, whose inverter...microgrid with less expensive power storage instead of large scale energy storage and that the renewable energy with small-scale power storage can

Energy Systems Integration Partnerships: NREL + Cogent Energy Systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Berdahl, Sonja E

2017-08-09

NREL is collaborating with Cogent Energy Systems (Cogent) to introduce small-scale waste-to-energy technology in microgrids.The focus of the project is to test and demonstrate the feasibility, reliability, and usefulness of integrating electricity generated using a simulated syngas composition matching the syngas stream to be produced by a HelioStorm-based WTE gasifier to power a microgrid as a means of addressing and complementing the intermittency of other sources of electricity.

Non-uniformity calibration for MWIR polarization imagery obtained with integrated microgrid polarimeters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Hai-Zheng; Shi, Ze-Lin; Feng, Bin; Hui, Bin; Zhao, Yao-Hong

2016-03-01

Integrating microgrid polarimeters on focal plane array (FPA) of an infrared detector causes non-uniformity of polarization response. In order to reduce the effect of polarization non-uniformity, this paper constructs an experimental setup for capturing raw flat-field images and proposes a procedure for acquiring non-uniform calibration (NUC) matrix and calibrating raw polarization images. The proposed procedure takes the incident radiation as a polarization vector and offers a calibration matrix for each pixel. Both our matrix calibration and two-point calibration are applied to our mid-wavelength infrared (MWIR) polarization imaging system with integrated microgrid polarimeters. Compared with two point calibration, our matrix calibration reduces non-uniformity by 30 40% under condition of flat-field data test with polarization. The ourdoor scene observation experiment indicates that our calibration can effectively reduce polarization non-uniformity and improve the image quality of our MWIR polarization imaging system.

Optimal model of PDIG based microgrid and design of complementary stabilizer using ICA.

PubMed

Amini, R Mohammad; Safari, A; Ravadanegh, S Najafi

2016-09-01

The generalized Heffron-Phillips model (GHPM) for a microgrid containing a photovoltaic (PV)-diesel machine (DM)-induction motor (IM)-governor (GV) (PDIG) has been developed at the low voltage level. A GHPM is calculated by linearization method about a loading condition. An effective Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) approach for PV network has been done using sliding mode control (SMC) to maximize output power. Additionally, to improve stability of microgrid for more penetration of renewable energy resources with nonlinear load, a complementary stabilizer has been presented. Imperialist competitive algorithm (ICA) is utilized to design of gains for the complementary stabilizer with the multiobjective function. The stability analysis of the PDIG system has been completed with eigenvalues analysis and nonlinear simulations. Robustness and validity of the proposed controllers on damping of electromechanical modes examine through time domain simulation under input mechanical torque disturbances. Copyright © 2016 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Design and evaluation of a microgrid for PEV charging with flexible distribution of energy sources and storage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pyne, Moinak

This thesis aspires to model and control, the flow of power in a DC microgrid. Specifically, the energy sources are a photovoltaic system and the utility grid, a lead acid battery based energy storage system and twenty PEV charging stations as the loads. Theoretical principles of large scale state space modeling are applied to model the considerable number of power electronic converters needed for controlling voltage and current thresholds. The energy storage system is developed using principles of neural networks to facilitate a stable and uncomplicated model of the lead acid battery. Power flow control is structured as a hierarchical problem with multiple interactions between individual components of the microgrid. The implementation is done using fuzzy logic with scheduling the maximum use of available solar energy and compensating demand or excess power with the energy storage system, and minimizing utility grid use, while providing multiple speeds of charging the PEVs.

Technical Analysis Feasibility Study on Smart Microgrid System in Sekolah Tinggi Teknik PLN

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suyanto, Heri

2018-02-01

Nowadays application of new and renewable energy as main resource of power plant has greatly increased. High penetration of renewable energy into the grid will influence the quality and reliability of the electricity system, due to the intermittent characteristic of new and renewable energy resources. Smart grid or microgrid technology has the ability to deal with this intermittent characteristic especially if these renewable energy resources integrated to grid in large scale, so it can improve the reliability and efficiency of the grid. We plan to implement smart microgrid system at Sekolah Tinggi Teknik PLN as a pilot project. Before the pilot project start, the feasibility study must be conducted. In this feasibility study, the renewable energy resources and load characteristic at the site will be measured. Then the technical aspect of this feasibility study will be analyzed. This paper explains that analysis of ths feasibility study.

Robustness of delayed multistable systems with application to droop-controlled inverter-based microgrids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Efimov, Denis; Schiffer, Johannes; Ortega, Romeo

2016-05-01

Motivated by the problem of phase-locking in droop-controlled inverter-based microgrids with delays, the recently developed theory of input-to-state stability (ISS) for multistable systems is extended to the case of multistable systems with delayed dynamics. Sufficient conditions for ISS of delayed systems are presented using Lyapunov-Razumikhin functions. It is shown that ISS multistable systems are robust with respect to delays in a feedback. The derived theory is applied to two examples. First, the ISS property is established for the model of a nonlinear pendulum and delay-dependent robustness conditions are derived. Second, it is shown that, under certain assumptions, the problem of phase-locking analysis in droop-controlled inverter-based microgrids with delays can be reduced to the stability investigation of the nonlinear pendulum. For this case, corresponding delay-dependent conditions for asymptotic phase-locking are given.

Added Value of Reliability to a Microgrid: Simulations of Three California Buildings

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Marnay, Chris; Lai, Judy; Stadler, Michael

The Distributed Energy Resources Customer Adoption Model is used to estimate the value an Oakland nursing home, a Riverside high school, and a Sunnyvale data center would need to put on higher electricity service reliability for them to adopt a Consortium for Electric Reliability Technology Solutions Microgrid (CM) based on economics alone. A fraction of each building's load is deemed critical based on its mission, and the added cost of CM capability to meet it added to on-site generation options. The three sites are analyzed with various resources available as microgrid components. Results show that the value placed on highermore » reliability often does not have to be significant for CM to appear attractive, about 25 $/kWcdota and up, but the carbon footprint consequences are mixed because storage is often used to shift cheaper off-peak electricity to use during afternoon hours in competition with the solar sources.« less

Analysis and Experimental Verification of New Power Flow Control for Grid-Connected Inverter with LCL Filter in Microgrid

PubMed Central

Gu, Herong; Guan, Yajuan; Wang, Huaibao; Wei, Baoze; Guo, Xiaoqiang

2014-01-01

Microgrid is an effective way to integrate the distributed energy resources into the utility networks. One of the most important issues is the power flow control of grid-connected voltage-source inverter in microgrid. In this paper, the small-signal model of the power flow control for the grid-connected inverter is established, from which it can be observed that the conventional power flow control may suffer from the poor damping and slow transient response. While the new power flow control can mitigate these problems without affecting the steady-state power flow regulation. Results of continuous-domain simulations in MATLAB and digital control experiments based on a 32-bit fixed-point TMS320F2812 DSP are in good agreement, which verify the small signal model analysis and effectiveness of the proposed method. PMID:24672304

LWIR Microgrid Polarimeter for Remote Sensing Studies

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-02-28

Polarimeter for Remote Sensing Studies 5b. GRANT NUMBER FA9550-08-1-0295 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) 5d. PROJECT NUMBER 1. Scott Tyo 5e. TASK...and tested at the University of Arizona, and preliminary images are shown in this final report. 15. SUBJECT TERMS Remote Sensing , polarimetry 16...7.0 LWIR Microgrid Polarimeter for Remote Sensing Studies J. Scott Tyo College of Optical Sciences University of Arizona Tucson, AZ, 85721 tyo

An Improved Distributed Secondary Control Method for DC Microgrids With Enhanced Dynamic Current Sharing Performance

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Panbao; Lu, Xiaonan; Yang, Xu

This paper proposes an improved distributed secondary control scheme for dc microgrids (MGs), aiming at overcoming the drawbacks of conventional droop control method. The proposed secondary control scheme can remove the dc voltage deviation and improve the current sharing accuracy by using voltage-shifting and slope-adjusting approaches simultaneously. Meanwhile, the average value of droop coefficients is calculated, and then it is controlled by an additional controller included in the distributed secondary control layer to ensure that each droop coefficient converges at a reasonable value. Hence, by adjusting the droop coefficient, each participating converter has equal output impedance, and the accurate proportionalmore » load current sharing can be achieved with different line resistances. Furthermore, the current sharing performance in steady and transient states can be enhanced by using the proposed method. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by detailed experimental tests based on a 3 × 1 kW prototype with three interface converters.« less

Vehicle-to-Grid Automatic Load Sharing with Driver Preference in Micro-Grids

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Yubo; Nazaripouya, Hamidreza; Chu, Chi-Cheng

Integration of Electrical Vehicles (EVs) with power grid not only brings new challenges for load management, but also opportunities for distributed storage and generation. This paper comprehensively models and analyzes distributed Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) for automatic load sharing with driver preference. In a micro-grid with limited communications, V2G EVs need to decide load sharing based on their own power and voltage profile. A droop based controller taking into account driver preference is proposed in this paper to address the distributed control of EVs. Simulations are designed for three fundamental V2G automatic load sharing scenarios that include all system dynamics of suchmore » applications. Simulation results demonstrate that active power sharing is achieved proportionally among V2G EVs with consideration of driver preference. In additional, the results also verify the system stability and reactive power sharing analysis in system modelling, which sheds light on large scale V2G automatic load sharing in more complicated cases.« less

Autonomous Decentralized Control of Supply and Demand by Inverter Based Distributed Generations in Isolated Microgrid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shiki, Akira; Yokoyama, Akihiko; Baba, Jyunpei; Takano, Tomihiro; Gouda, Takahiro; Izui, Yoshio

Recently, because of the environmental burden mitigation, energy conservations, energy security, and cost reductions, distributed generations are attracting our strong attention. These distributed generations (DGs) have been already installed to the distribution system, and much more DGs will be expected to be connected in the future. On the other hand, a new concept called “Microgrid” which is a small power supply network consisting of only DGs was proposed and some prototype projects are ongoing in Japan. The purpose of this paper is to develop the three-phase instantaneous valued digital simulator of microgrid consisting of a lot of inverter based DGs and to develop a supply and demand control method in isolated microgrid. First, microgrid is modeled using MATLAB/SIMULINK. We develop models of three-phase instantaneous valued inverter type CVCF generator, PQ specified generator, PV specified generator, PQ specified load as storage battery, photovoltaic generation, fuel cell and inverter load respectively. Then we propose an autonomous decentralized control method of supply and demand in isolated microgrid where storage batteries, fuel cells, photovoltaic generations and loads are connected. It is proposed here that the system frequency is used as a means to control DG output. By changing the frequency of the storage battery due to unbalance of supply and demand, all inverter based DGs detect the frequency fluctuation and change their own outputs. Finally, a new frequency control method in autonomous decentralized control of supply and demand is proposed. Though the frequency is used to transmit the information on the supply and demand unbalance to DGs, after the frequency plays the role, the frequency finally has to return to a standard value. To return the frequency to the standard value, the characteristic curve of the fuel cell is shifted in parallel. This control is carried out corresponding to the fluctuation of the load. The simulation shows that the frequency can be controlled well and has been made clear the effectiveness of the frequency control system.

Local digital control of power electronic converters in a dc microgrid based on a-priori derivation of switching surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Banerjee, Bibaswan

In power electronic basedmicrogrids, the computational requirements needed to implement an optimized online control strategy can be prohibitive. The work presented in this dissertation proposes a generalized method of derivation of geometric manifolds in a dc microgrid that is based on the a-priori computation of the optimal reactions and trajectories for classes of events in a dc microgrid. The proposed states are the stored energies in all the energy storage elements of the dc microgrid and power flowing into them. It is anticipated that calculating a large enough set of dissimilar transient scenarios will also span many scenarios not specifically used to develop the surface. These geometric manifolds will then be used as reference surfaces in any type of controller, such as a sliding mode hysteretic controller. The presence of switched power converters in microgrids involve different control actions for different system events. The control of the switch states of the converters is essential for steady state and transient operations. A digital memory look-up based controller that uses a hysteretic sliding mode control strategy is an effective technique to generate the proper switch states for the converters. An example dcmicrogrid with three dc-dc boost converters and resistive loads is considered for this work. The geometric manifolds are successfully generated for transient events, such as step changes in the loads and the sources. The surfaces corresponding to a specific case of step change in the loads are then used as reference surfaces in an EEPROM for experimentally validating the control strategy. The required switch states corresponding to this specific transient scenario are programmed in the EEPROM as a memory table. This controls the switching of the dc-dc boost converters and drives the system states to the reference manifold. In this work, it is shown that this strategy effectively controls the system for a transient condition such as step changes in the loads for the example case.

Distributed Energy Resources and Dynamic Microgrid: An Integrated Assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shang, Duo Rick

The overall goal of this thesis is to improve understanding in terms of the benefit of DERs to both utility and to electricity end-users when integrated in power distribution system. To achieve this goal, a series of two studies was conducted to assess the value of DERs when integrated with new power paradigms. First, the arbitrage value of DERs was examined in markets with time-variant electricity pricing rates (e.g., time of use, real time pricing) under a smart grid distribution paradigm. This study uses a stochastic optimization model to estimate the potential profit from electricity price arbitrage over a five-year period. The optimization process involves two types of PHEVs (PHEV-10, and PHEV-40) under three scenarios with different assumptions on technology performance, electricity market and PHEV owner types. The simulation results indicate that expected arbitrage profit is not a viable option to engage PHEVs in dispatching and in providing ancillary services without more favorable policy and PHEV battery technologies. Subsidy or change in electricity tariff or both are needed. Second, it examined the concept of dynamic microgrid as a measure to improve distribution resilience, and estimates the prices of this emerging service. An economic load dispatch (ELD) model is developed to estimate the market-clearing price in a hypothetical community with single bid auction electricity market. The results show that the electricity market clearing price on the dynamic microgrid is predominantly decided by power output and cost of electricity of each type of DGs. At circumstances where CHP is the only source, the electricity market clearing price in the island is even cheaper than the on-grid electricity price at normal times. Integration of PHEVs in the dynamic microgrid will increase electricity market clearing prices. It demonstrates that dynamic microgrid is an economically viable alternative to enhance grid resilience.

Grid parity analysis of stand-alone hybrid microgrids: A comparative study of Germany, Pakistan, South Africa and the United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Siddiqui, Jawad M.

Grid parity for alternative energy resources occurs when the cost of electricity generated from the source is lower than or equal to the purchasing price of power from the electricity grid. This thesis aims to quantitatively analyze the evolution of hybrid stand-alone microgrids in the US, Germany, Pakistan and South Africa to determine grid parity for a solar PV/Diesel/Battery hybrid system. The Energy System Model (ESM) and NREL's Hybrid Optimization of Multiple Energy Resources (HOMER) software are used to simulate the microgrid operation and determine a Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) figure for each location. This cost per kWh is then compared with two distinct estimates of future retail electricity prices at each location to determine grid parity points. Analysis results reveal that future estimates of LCOE for such hybrid stand-alone microgrids range within the 35-55 cents/kWh over the 25 year study period. Grid parity occurs earlier in locations with higher power prices or unreliable grids. For Pakistan grid parity is already here, while Germany hits parity between the years 2023-2029. Results for South Africa suggest a parity time range of the years 2040-2045. In the US, places with low grid prices do not hit parity during the study period. Sensitivity analysis results reveal the significant impact of financing and the cost of capital on these grid parity points, particularly in developing markets of Pakistan and South Africa. Overall, the study helps conclude that variations in energy markets may determine the fate of emerging energy technologies like microgrids. However, policy interventions have a significant impact on the final outcome, such as the grid parity in this case. Measures such as eliminating uncertainty in policies and improving financing can help these grids overcome barriers in developing economies, where they may find a greater use much earlier in time.

Advanced Micro Grid Energy Management Coupled with Integrated Volt/VAR Control for Improved Energy Efficiency, Energy Security, and Power Quality at DoD Installations

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-10-28

assumptions. List of Assumptions: Price of electrical energy : $0.07/kWh flat rate for energy at the base Price of peak power: $15/MW peak power...EW-201147) Advanced Micro-Grid Energy Management Coupled with Integrated Volt/VAR Control for Improved Energy Efficiency, Energy Security, and...12-C-0002 5b. GRANT NUMBER Advanced Micro-Grid Energy Management Coupled with Integrated Volt/VAR Control for Improved Energy Efficiency, Energy

Hybrid PV/Wind Power Systems Incorporating Battery Storage and Considering the Stochastic Nature of Renewable Resources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barnawi, Abdulwasa Bakr

Hybrid power generation system and distributed generation technology are attracting more investments due to the growing demand for energy nowadays and the increasing awareness regarding emissions and their environmental impacts such as global warming and pollution. The price fluctuation of crude oil is an additional reason for the leading oil producing countries to consider renewable resources as an alternative. Saudi Arabia as the top oil exporter country in the word announced the "Saudi Arabia Vision 2030" which is targeting to generate 9.5 GW of electricity from renewable resources. Two of the most promising renewable technologies are wind turbines (WT) and photovoltaic cells (PV). The integration or hybridization of photovoltaics and wind turbines with battery storage leads to higher adequacy and redundancy for both autonomous and grid connected systems. This study presents a method for optimal generation unit planning by installing a proper number of solar cells, wind turbines, and batteries in such a way that the net present value (NPV) is minimized while the overall system redundancy and adequacy is maximized. A new renewable fraction technique (RFT) is used to perform the generation unit planning. RFT was tested and validated with particle swarm optimization and HOMER Pro under the same conditions and environment. Renewable resources and load randomness and uncertainties are considered. Both autonomous and grid-connected system designs were adopted in the optimal generation units planning process. An uncertainty factor was designed and incorporated in both autonomous and grid connected system designs. In the autonomous hybrid system design model, the strategy including an additional amount of operation reserve as a percent of the hourly load was considered to deal with resource uncertainty since the battery storage system is the only backup. While in the grid-connected hybrid system design model, demand response was incorporated to overcome the impact of uncertainty and perform energy trading between the hybrid grid utility and main grid utility in addition to the designed uncertainty factor. After the generation unit planning was carried out and component sizing was determined, adequacy evaluation was conducted by calculating the loss of load expectation adequacy index for different contingency criteria considering probability of equipment failure. Finally, a microgrid planning was conducted by finding the proper size and location to install distributed generation units in a radial distribution network.

Multi-Criteria Optimization of the Deployment of a Grid for Rural Electrification Based on a Heuristic Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ortiz-Matos, L.; Aguila-Tellez, A.; Hincapié-Reyes, R. C.; González-Sanchez, J. W.

2017-07-01

In order to design electrification systems, recent mathematical models solve the problem of location, type of electrification components, and the design of possible distribution microgrids. However, due to the amount of points to be electrified increases, the solution to these models require high computational times, thereby becoming unviable practice models. This study posed a new heuristic method for the electrification of rural areas in order to solve the problem. This heuristic algorithm presents the deployment of rural electrification microgrids in the world, by finding routes for optimal placement lines and transformers in transmission and distribution microgrids. The challenge is to obtain a display with equity in losses, considering the capacity constraints of the devices and topology of the land at minimal economic cost. An optimal scenario ensures the electrification of all neighbourhoods to a minimum investment cost in terms of the distance between electric conductors and the amount of transformation devices.

Decentralized DC Microgrid Monitoring and Optimization via Primary Control Perturbations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Angjelichinoski, Marko; Scaglione, Anna; Popovski, Petar; Stefanovic, Cedomir

2018-06-01

We treat the emerging power systems with direct current (DC) MicroGrids, characterized with high penetration of power electronic converters. We rely on the power electronics to propose a decentralized solution for autonomous learning of and adaptation to the operating conditions of the DC Mirogrids; the goal is to eliminate the need to rely on an external communication system for such purpose. The solution works within the primary droop control loops and uses only local bus voltage measurements. Each controller is able to estimate (i) the generation capacities of power sources, (ii) the load demands, and (iii) the conductances of the distribution lines. To define a well-conditioned estimation problem, we employ decentralized strategy where the primary droop controllers temporarily switch between operating points in a coordinated manner, following amplitude-modulated training sequences. We study the use of the estimator in a decentralized solution of the Optimal Economic Dispatch problem. The evaluations confirm the usefulness of the proposed solution for autonomous MicroGrid operation.

18.4%-Efficient Heterojunction Si Solar Cells Using Optimized ITO/Top Electrode.

PubMed

Kim, Namwoo; Um, Han-Don; Choi, Inwoo; Kim, Ka-Hyun; Seo, Kwanyong

2016-05-11

We optimize the thickness of a transparent conducting oxide (TCO) layer, and apply a microscale mesh-pattern metal electrode for high-efficiency a-Si/c-Si heterojunction solar cells. A solar cell equipped with the proposed microgrid metal electrode demonstrates a high short-circuit current density (JSC) of 40.1 mA/cm(2), and achieves a high efficiency of 18.4% with an open-circuit voltage (VOC) of 618 mV and a fill factor (FF) of 74.1% as result of the shortened carrier path length and the decreased electrode area of the microgrid metal electrode. Furthermore, by optimizing the process sequence for electrode formation, we are able to effectively restore the reduction in VOC that occurs during the microgrid metal electrode formation process. This work is expected to become a fundamental study that can effectively improve current loss in a-Si/c-Si heterojunction solar cells through the optimization of transparent and metal electrodes.

Intelligent Energy Management System for PV-Battery-based Microgrids in Future DC Homes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chauhan, R. K.; Rajpurohit, B. S.; Gonzalez-Longatt, F. M.; Singh, S. N.

2016-06-01

This paper presents a novel intelligent energy management system (IEMS) for a DC microgrid connected to the public utility (PU), photovoltaic (PV) and multi-battery bank (BB). The control objectives of the proposed IEMS system are: (i) to ensure the load sharing (according to the source capacity) among sources, (ii) to reduce the power loss (high efficient) in the system, and (iii) to enhance the system reliability and power quality. The proposed IEMS is novel because it follows the ideal characteristics of the battery (with some assumptions) for the power sharing and the selection of the closest source to minimize the power losses. The IEMS allows continuous and accurate monitoring with intelligent control of distribution system operations such as battery bank energy storage (BBES) system, PV system and customer utilization of electric power. The proposed IEMS gives the better operational performance for operating conditions in terms of load sharing, loss minimization, and reliability enhancement of the DC microgrid.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shahidehpour, Mohammad

Starting in October 2008, Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), in collaboration with over 20 participating members, led an extensive effort to develop, demonstrate, promote, and commercialize a microgrid system and offer supporting technologies that will achieve Perfect Power at the main campus of IIT. A Perfect Power system, as defined by the Galvin Electricity Initiative (GEI), is a system that cannot fail to meet the electric needs of the individual end-user. The Principle Investigator of this Perfect Power project was Dr. Mohammad Shahidehpour, Director of the Robert W. Galvin Center for Electricity Innovation at IIT. There were six overall objectivesmore » of the Perfect Power project: (1) Demonstrate the higher reliability introduced by the microgrid system at IIT; (2) Demonstrate the economics of microgrid operations; (3) Allow for a decrease of fifty percent (50%) of grid electricity load; (4) Create a permanent twenty percent (20%) decrease in peak load from 2007 level; (5) Defer planned substation through load reduction; (6) Offer a distribution system design that can be replicated in urban communities.« less

Behavioral states may be associated with distinct spatial patterns in electrocorticogram.

PubMed

Panagiotides, Heracles; Freeman, Walter J; Holmes, Mark D; Pantazis, Dimitrios

2011-03-01

To determine if behavioral states are associated with unique spatial electrocorticographic (ECoG) patterns, we obtained recordings with a microgrid electrode array applied to the cortical surface of a human subject. The array was constructed with the intent of extracting maximal spatial information by optimizing interelectrode distances. A 34-year-old patient with intractable epilepsy underwent intracranial ECoG monitoring after standard methods failed to reveal localization of seizures. During the 8-day period of invasive recording, in addition to standard clinical electrodes a square 1 × 1 cm microgrid array with 64 electrodes (1.25 mm separation) was placed on the right inferior temporal gyrus. Careful review of video recordings identified four extended naturalistic behaviors: reading, conversing on the telephone, looking at photographs, and face-to-face interactions. ECoG activity recorded with the microgrid that corresponded to these behaviors was collected and ECoG spatial patterns were analyzed. During periods of ECoG selected for analysis, no electrographic seizures or epileptiform patterns were present. Moments of maximal spatial variance are shown to cluster by behavior. Comparisons between conditions using a permutation test reveal significantly different spatial patterns for each behavior. We conclude that ECoG recordings obtained on the cortical surface with optimal high spatial frequency resolution reveal distinct local spatial patterns that reflect different behavioral states, and we predict that similar patterns will be found in many if not most cortical areas on which a microgrid is placed.

A Three-Phase Microgrid Restoration Model Considering Unbalanced Operation of Distributed Generation

DOE PAGES

Wang, Zeyu; Wang, Jianhui; Chen, Chen

2016-12-07

Recent severe outages highlight the urgency of improving grid resiliency in the U.S. Microgrid formation schemes are proposed to restore critical loads after outages occur. Most distribution networks have unbalanced configurations that are not represented in sufficient detail by single-phase models. This study provides a microgrid formation plan that adopts a three-phase network model to represent unbalanced distribution networks. The problem formulation has a quadratic objective function with mixed-integer linear constraints. The three-phase network model enables us to examine the three-phase power outputs of distributed generators (DGs), preventing unbalanced operation that might trip DGs. Because the DG unbalanced operation constraintmore » is non-convex, an iterative process is presented that checks whether the unbalanced operation limits for DGs are satisfied after each iteration of optimization. We also develop a relatively conservative linear approximation on the unbalanced operation constraint to handle larger networks. Compared with the iterative solution process, the conservative linear approximation is able to accelerate the solution process at the cost of sacrificing optimality to a limited extent. Simulation in the IEEE 34 node and IEEE 123 test feeders indicate that the proposed method yields more practical microgrid formations results. In addition, this paper explores the coordinated operation of DGs and energy storage (ES) installations. The unbalanced three-phase outputs of ESs combined with the relatively balanced outputs of DGs could supply unbalanced loads. In conclusion, the case study also validates the DG-ES coordination.« less

A Three-Phase Microgrid Restoration Model Considering Unbalanced Operation of Distributed Generation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Zeyu; Wang, Jianhui; Chen, Chen

Recent severe outages highlight the urgency of improving grid resiliency in the U.S. Microgrid formation schemes are proposed to restore critical loads after outages occur. Most distribution networks have unbalanced configurations that are not represented in sufficient detail by single-phase models. This study provides a microgrid formation plan that adopts a three-phase network model to represent unbalanced distribution networks. The problem formulation has a quadratic objective function with mixed-integer linear constraints. The three-phase network model enables us to examine the three-phase power outputs of distributed generators (DGs), preventing unbalanced operation that might trip DGs. Because the DG unbalanced operation constraintmore » is non-convex, an iterative process is presented that checks whether the unbalanced operation limits for DGs are satisfied after each iteration of optimization. We also develop a relatively conservative linear approximation on the unbalanced operation constraint to handle larger networks. Compared with the iterative solution process, the conservative linear approximation is able to accelerate the solution process at the cost of sacrificing optimality to a limited extent. Simulation in the IEEE 34 node and IEEE 123 test feeders indicate that the proposed method yields more practical microgrid formations results. In addition, this paper explores the coordinated operation of DGs and energy storage (ES) installations. The unbalanced three-phase outputs of ESs combined with the relatively balanced outputs of DGs could supply unbalanced loads. In conclusion, the case study also validates the DG-ES coordination.« less

Micro-Grids for Colonias (TX)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dean Schneider; Michael Martin; Renee Berry

2012-07-31

This report describes the results of the final implementation and testing of a hybrid micro-grid system designed for off-grid applications in underserved Colonias along the Texas/Mexico border. The project is a federally funded follow-on to a project funded by the Texas State Energy Conservation Office in 2007 that developed and demonstrated initial prototype hybrid generation systems consisting of a proprietary energy storage technology, high efficiency charging and inverting systems, photovoltaic cells, a wind turbine, and bio-diesel generators. This combination of technologies provided continuous power to dwellings that are not grid connected, with a significant savings in fuel by allowing powermore » generation at highly efficient operating conditions. The objective of this project was to complete development of the prototype systems and to finalize and engineering design; to install and operate the systems in the intended environment, and to evaluate the technical and economic effectiveness of the systems. The objectives of this project were met. This report documents the final design that was achieved and includes the engineering design documents for the system. The system operated as designed, with the system availability limited by maintenance requirements of the diesel gensets. Overall, the system achieved a 96% availability over the operation of the three deployed systems. Capital costs of the systems were dependent upon both the size of the generation system and the scope of the distribution grid, but, in this instance, the systems averaged $0.72/kWh delivered. This cost would decrease significantly as utilization of the system increased. The system with the highest utilization achieved a capitol cost amortized value of $0.34/kWh produced. The average amortized fuel and maintenance cost was $0.48/kWh which was dependent upon the amount of maintenance required by the diesel generator. Economically, the system is difficult to justify as an alternative to grid power. However, the operational costs are reasonable if grid power is unavailable, e.g. in a remote area or in a disaster recovery situation. In fact, avoided fuel costs for the smaller of the systems in use during this project would have a payback of the capital costs of that system in 2.3 years, far short of the effective system life.« less

Improved microgrid arrangement for integrated imaging polarimeters.

PubMed

LeMaster, Daniel A; Hirakawa, Keigo

2014-04-01

For almost 20 years, microgrid polarimetric imaging systems have been built using a 2×2 repeating pattern of polarization analyzers. In this Letter, we show that superior spatial resolution is achieved over this 2×2 case when the analyzers are arranged in a 2×4 repeating pattern. This unconventional result, in which a more distributed sampling pattern results in finer spatial resolution, is also achieved without affecting the conditioning of the polarimetric data-reduction matrix. Proof is provided theoretically and through Stokes image reconstruction of synthesized data.

Application of Improved APO Algorithm in Vulnerability Assessment and Reconstruction of Microgrid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, Jili; Ma, Hailing

2018-01-01

Artificial Physics Optimization (APO) has good global search ability and can avoid the premature convergence phenomenon in PSO algorithm, which has good stability of fast convergence and robustness. On the basis of APO of the vector model, a reactive power optimization algorithm based on improved APO algorithm is proposed for the static structure and dynamic operation characteristics of microgrid. The simulation test is carried out through the IEEE 30-bus system and the result shows that the algorithm has better efficiency and accuracy compared with other optimization algorithms.

Increasing Resiliency Through Renewable Energy Microgrids

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Anderson, Katherine H; DiOrio, Nicholas A; Cutler, Dylan S

This paper describes a methodology to quantify the economic and resiliency benefit provided by renewable energy (RE) in a hybrid RE-storage-diesel microgrid. We present a case study to show how this methodology is applied to a multi-use/ multi-function telecommunications facility in southern California. In the case study, we first identify photovoltaic (PV) and battery energy storage system (BESS) technologies that minimize the lifecycle cost of energy at the site under normal, grid-connected operation. We then evaluate how those technologies could be incorporated alongside existing diesel generators in a microgrid to increase resiliency at the site, where resiliency is quantified inmore » terms of the amount of time that the microgrid can sustain the critical load during a grid outage. We find that adding PV and BESS to the existing backup diesel generators with a fixed fuel supply extends the amount of time the site could survive an outage by 1.8 days, from 1.7 days for the existing diesel-only backup system to 3.5 days for the PV/diesel/BESS hybrid system. Furthermore, even after diesel fuel supplies are exhausted, the site can continue to operate critical loads during daytime hours using just the PV/BESS when there is sufficient solar resource. We find that the site can save approximately $100,000 in energy costs over the 25-year lifecycle while doubling the amount of time they can survive an outage. The methodology presented here provides a template for increasing resiliency at telecomm sites by implementing renewable energy solutions, which provide additional benefits of carbon emission reduction and energy cost savings.« less

Biogrid--a microfluidic device for large-scale enzyme-free dissociation of stem cell aggregates.

PubMed

Wallman, Lars; Åkesson, Elisabet; Ceric, Dario; Andersson, Per Henrik; Day, Kelly; Hovatta, Outi; Falci, Scott; Laurell, Thomas; Sundström, Erik

2011-10-07

Culturing stem cells as free-floating aggregates in suspension facilitates large-scale production of cells in closed systems, for clinical use. To comply with GMP standards, the use of substances such as proteolytic enzymes should be avoided. Instead of enzymatic dissociation, the growing cell aggregates may be mechanically cut at passage, but available methods are not compatible with large-scale cell production and hence translation into the clinic becomes a severe bottle-neck. We have developed the Biogrid device, which consists of an array of micrometerscale knife edges, micro-fabricated in silicon, and a manifold in which the microgrid is placed across the central fluid channel. By connecting one side of the Biogrid to a syringe or a pump and the other side to the cell culture, the culture medium with suspended cell aggregates can be aspirated, forcing the aggregates through the microgrid, and ejected back to the cell culture container. Large aggregates are thereby dissociated into smaller fragments while small aggregates pass through the microgrid unaffected. As proof-of-concept, we demonstrate that the Biogrid device can be successfully used for repeated passage of human neural stem/progenitor cells cultured as so-called neurospheres, as well as for passage of suspension cultures of human embryonic stem cells. We also show that human neural stem/progenitor cells tolerate transient pressure changes far exceeding those that will occur in a fluidic system incorporating the Biogrid microgrids. Thus, by using the Biogrid device it is possible to mechanically passage large quantities of cells in suspension cultures in closed fluidic systems, without the use of proteolytic enzymes.

Efficient Certificate Verification for Vehicle-to-Grid Communications

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Akkaya, Kemal; Saputro, Nico; Tonyali, Samet

While public charging stations are typically used for Electric Vehicle (EV) such as charging, home microgrids that may act as private charging stations are also expected to be used for meeting the increased EV charging demands in the future. Such home microgrids can be accessible through their smart meters, which makes advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) a viable alternative for vehicle-to-grid (V2G) communications. However, to ensure secure V2G communications using public-keys, smart meters will need to maintain certificate revocation lists (CRLs) not just for the AMI network but also for large number of EVs that may interact with them. For resource-constrainedmore » smart meters, this will increase the storage requirements and introduce additional overhead in terms of delay and CRL maintenance. To eliminate this burden, we propose keeping merely non-revoked certificates that belong to EVs, which are usually driven within the vicinity of that particular microgrid. The motivation comes from the fact that it is inefficient to distribute and store a large CRL that has revocation information about all EVs in the whole system as most of these EVs will never come to the geographic vicinity of that home microgrid. The approach ensures that any status changes of these certificates are communicated to the smart meters. We implemented the proposed approach in a realistic V2G communication scenario by using IEEE 802.11s mesh as the underlying AMI infrastructure using ns-3 simulator. The results confirmed that the proposed approach significantly reduces the certificate verification time and the storage requirements on smart meters.« less

Super-resolution for imagery from integrated microgrid polarimeters.

PubMed

Hardie, Russell C; LeMaster, Daniel A; Ratliff, Bradley M

2011-07-04

Imagery from microgrid polarimeters is obtained by using a mosaic of pixel-wise micropolarizers on a focal plane array (FPA). Each distinct polarization image is obtained by subsampling the full FPA image. Thus, the effective pixel pitch for each polarization channel is increased and the sampling frequency is decreased. As a result, aliasing artifacts from such undersampling can corrupt the true polarization content of the scene. Here we present the first multi-channel multi-frame super-resolution (SR) algorithms designed specifically for the problem of image restoration in microgrid polarization imagers. These SR algorithms can be used to address aliasing and other degradations, without sacrificing field of view or compromising optical resolution with an anti-aliasing filter. The new SR methods are designed to exploit correlation between the polarimetric channels. One of the new SR algorithms uses a form of regularized least squares and has an iterative solution. The other is based on the faster adaptive Wiener filter SR method. We demonstrate that the new multi-channel SR algorithms are capable of providing significant enhancement of polarimetric imagery and that they outperform their independent channel counterparts.

A Multiagent Energy Management System for a Small Microgrid Equipped with Power Sources and Energy Storage Units

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Radziszewska, Weronika; Nahorski, Zbigniew

An Energy Management System (EMS) for a small microgrid is presented, with both demand and production side management. The microgrid is equipped with renewable and controllable power sources (like a micro gas turbine), energy storage units (batteries and flywheels). Energy load is partially scheduled to avoid extreme peaks of power demand and to possibly match forecasted energy supply from the renewable power sources. To balance the energy in the network on line, a multiagent system is used. Intelligent agents of each device are proactively acting towards balancing the energy in the network, and at the same time optimizing the cost of operation of the whole system. A semi-market mechanism is used to match a demand and a production of the energy. Simulations show that the time of reaching a balanced state does not exceed 1 s, which is fast enough to let execute proper balancing actions, e.g. change an operating point of a controllable energy source. Simulators of sources and consumption devices were implemented in order to carry out exhaustive tests.

Stokes image reconstruction for two-color microgrid polarization imaging systems.

PubMed

Lemaster, Daniel A

2011-07-18

The Air Force Research Laboratory has developed a new microgrid polarization imaging system capable of simultaneously reconstructing linear Stokes parameter images in two colors on a single focal plane array. In this paper, an effective method for extracting Stokes images is presented for this type of camera system. It is also shown that correlations between the color bands can be exploited to significantly increase overall spatial resolution. Test data is used to show the advantages of this approach over bilinear interpolation. The bounds (in terms of available reconstruction bandwidth) on image resolution are also provided.

Employment of a metal microgrid as a front electrode in a sandwich-structured photodetector.

PubMed

Zhang, Junying; Cai, Chao; Pan, Feng; Hao, Weichang; Zhang, Weiwei; Wang, Tianmin

2009-07-01

A highly UV-transparent metal microgrid was prepared and employed as the front electrode in a sandwich-structured ultraviolet (UV) photodetector using TiO(2) thin film as the semiconductor layer. The photo-generated charger carriers travel a shorter distance before reaching the electrodes in comparison with a photodetector using large-spaced interdigitated metal electrodes (where distance between fingers is several to tens of micrometers) on the surface of the semiconductor film. This photodetector responds to UV light irradiation, and the photocurrent intensity increases linearly with the irradiation intensity below 0.2 mW/cm(2).

Total elimination of sampling errors in polarization imagery obtained with integrated microgrid polarimeters.

PubMed

Tyo, J Scott; LaCasse, Charles F; Ratliff, Bradley M

2009-10-15

Microgrid polarimeters operate by integrating a focal plane array with an array of micropolarizers. The Stokes parameters are estimated by comparing polarization measurements from pixels in a neighborhood around the point of interest. The main drawback is that the measurements used to estimate the Stokes vector are made at different locations, leading to a false polarization signature owing to instantaneous field-of-view (IFOV) errors. We demonstrate for the first time, to our knowledge, that spatially band limited polarization images can be ideally reconstructed with no IFOV error by using a linear system framework.

The Technology of Suppressing Harmonics with Complex Neural Network is Applied to Microgrid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Jing; Li, Zhan-Ying; Wang, Yan-ping; Li, Yang; Zong, Ke-yong

2018-03-01

According to the traits of harmonics in microgrid, a new CANN controller which combines BP and RBF neural network is proposed to control APF to detect and suppress harmonics. This controller has the function of current prediction. By simulation in Matlab / Simulink, this design can shorten the delay time nearly 0.02s (a power supply current cycle) in comparison with the traditional controller based on ip-iq method. The new controller also has higher compensation accuracy and better dynamic tracking traits, it can greatly suppress the harmonics and improve the power quality.

Calibration method of microgrid polarimeters with image interpolation.

PubMed

Chen, Zhenyue; Wang, Xia; Liang, Rongguang

2015-02-10

Microgrid polarimeters have large advantages over conventional polarimeters because of the snapshot nature and because they have no moving parts. However, they also suffer from several error sources, such as fixed pattern noise (FPN), photon response nonuniformity (PRNU), pixel cross talk, and instantaneous field-of-view (IFOV) error. A characterization method is proposed to improve the measurement accuracy in visible waveband. We first calibrate the camera with uniform illumination so that the response of the sensor is uniform over the entire field of view without IFOV error. Then a spline interpolation method is implemented to minimize IFOV error. Experimental results show the proposed method can effectively minimize the FPN and PRNU.

Load Frequency Control of AC Microgrid Interconnected Thermal Power System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lal, Deepak Kumar; Barisal, Ajit Kumar

2017-08-01

In this paper, a microgrid (MG) power generation system is interconnected with a single area reheat thermal power system for load frequency control study. A new meta-heuristic optimization algorithm i.e. Moth-Flame Optimization (MFO) algorithm is applied to evaluate optimal gains of the fuzzy based proportional, integral and derivative (PID) controllers. The system dynamic performance is studied by comparing the results with MFO optimized classical PI/PID controllers. Also the system performance is investigated with fuzzy PID controller optimized by recently developed grey wolf optimizer (GWO) algorithm, which has proven its superiority over other previously developed algorithm in many interconnected power systems.

Image processing methods to compensate for IFOV errors in microgrid imaging polarimeters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ratliff, Bradley M.; Boger, James K.; Fetrow, Matthew P.; Tyo, J. Scott; Black, Wiley T.

2006-05-01

Long-wave infrared imaging Stokes vector polarimeters are used in many remote sensing applications. Imaging polarimeters require that several measurements be made under optically different conditions in order to estimate the polarization signature at a given scene point. This multiple-measurement requirement introduces error in the signature estimates, and the errors differ depending upon the type of measurement scheme used. Here, we investigate a LWIR linear microgrid polarimeter. This type of instrument consists of a mosaic of micropolarizers at different orientations that are masked directly onto a focal plane array sensor. In this scheme, each polarization measurement is acquired spatially and hence each is made at a different point in the scene. This is a significant source of error, as it violates the requirement that each polarization measurement have the same instantaneous field-of-view (IFOV). In this paper, we first study the amount of error introduced by the IFOV handicap in microgrid instruments. We then proceed to investigate means for mitigating the effects of these errors to improve the quality of polarimetric imagery. In particular, we examine different interpolation schemes and gauge their performance. These studies are completed through the use of both real instrumental and modeled data.

Impacts of Various Characteristics of Electricity and Heat Demand on the Optimal Configuration of a Microgrid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bando, Shigeru; Watanabe, Hiroki; Asano, Hiroshi; Tsujita, Shinsuke

A methodology was developed to design the number and capacity for each piece of equipment (e.g. gas engines, batteries, thermal storage tanks) in microgrids with combined heat and power systems. We analyzed three types of microgrids; the first one consists of an office building and an apartment, the second one consists of a hospital and an apartment, the third one consists of a hotel, office and retails. In the methodology, annual cost is minimized by considering the partial load efficiency of a gas engine and its scale economy, and the optimal number and capacity of each piece of equipment and the annual operational schedule are determined by using the optimal planning method. Based on calculations using this design methodology, it is found that the optimal number of gas engines is determined by the ratio of bottom to peak of the electricity demand and the ratio of heat to electricity demand. The optimal capacity of a battery required to supply electricity for a limited time during a peak demand period is auxiliary. The thermal storage tank for space cooling and space heating is selected to minimize the use of auxiliary equipment such as a gas absorption chiller.

The added economic and environmental value of plug-in electric vehicles connected to commercial building microgrids

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stadler, Michael; Momber, Ilan; Megel, Olivier

2010-08-25

Connection of electric storage technologies to smartgrids or microgrids will have substantial implications for building energy systems. In addition to potentially supplying ancillary services directly to the traditional centralized grid (or macrogrid), local storage will enable demand response. As an economically attractive option, mobile storage devices such as plug-in electric vehicles (EVs) are in direct competition with conventional stationary sources and storage at the building. In general, it is assumed that they can improve the financial as well as environmental attractiveness of renewable and fossil based on-site generation (e.g. PV, fuel cells, or microturbines operating with or without combined heatmore » and power). Also, mobile storage can directly contribute to tariff driven demand response in commercial buildings. In order to examine the impact of mobile storage on building energy costs and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, a microgrid/distributed-energy-resources (DER) adoption problem is formulated as a mixed-integer linear program with minimization of annual building energy costs applying CO2 taxes/CO2 pricing schemes. The problem is solved for a representative office building in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2020. By using employees' EVs for energy management, the office building can arbitrage its costs. But since the car battery lifetime is reduced, a business model that also reimburses car owners for the degradation will be required. In general, the link between a microgrid and an electric vehicle can create a win-win situation, wherein the microgrid can reduce utility costs by load shifting while the electric vehicle owner receives revenue that partially offsets his/her expensive mobile storage investment. For the California office building with EVs connected under a business model that distributes benefits, it is found that the economic impact is very limited relative to the costs of mobile storage for the site analyzed, i.e. cost reductions from electric vehicle connections are modest. Nonetheless, this example shows that some economic benefit is created because of avoided demand charges and on-peak energy. The strategy adopted by the office building is to avoid these high on-peak costs by using energy from the mobile storage in the business hours. CO2 emission reduction strategy results indicate that EVs' contribution at the selected office building are minor.« less

Development of a Real-Time Hardware-in- the-Loop Power Systems Simulation Platform to Evaluate Commercial Microgrid Controllers

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-02-23

52 A.3 Solar irradiance profile. 53 xi LIST OF TABLES Table Page No. 1 Cable Impedances 14 2 PV Component Specifications 25 3 ESS...of the physical DER devices, including gensets, a battery-based energy storage system with a bidirectional power converter, a solar photovoltaic ( PV ...this was done for the energy storage, solar PV , and breakers.) Implement several relay protection functions to actuate the breakers. Implement various

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Simpkins, Travis; Cutler, Dylan; Hirsch, Brian

There are thousands of isolated, diesel-powered microgrids that deliver energy to remote communities around the world at very high energy costs. The Remote Communities Renewable Energy program aims to help these communities reduce their fuel consumption and lower their energy costs through the use of high penetration renewable energy. As part of this program, the REopt modeling platform for energy system integration and optimization was used to analyze cost-optimal pathways toward achieving a combined 75% reduction in diesel fuel and fuel oil consumption in a select Alaskan village. In addition to the existing diesel generator and fuel oil heating technologies,more » the model was able to select from among wind, battery storage, and dispatchable electric heaters to meet the electrical and thermal loads. The model results indicate that while 75% fuel reduction appears to be technically feasible it may not be economically viable at this time. When the fuel reduction target was relaxed, the results indicate that by installing high-penetration renewable energy, the community could lower their energy costs by 21% while still reducing their fuel consumption by 54%.« less

Solar thermoelectricity via advanced latent heat storage: A cost-effective small-scale CSP application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Glatzmaier, G. C.; Rea, J.; Olsen, M. L.; Oshman, C.; Hardin, C.; Alleman, J.; Sharp, J.; Weigand, R.; Campo, D.; Hoeschele, G.; Parilla, P. A.; Siegel, N. P.; Toberer, E. S.; Ginley, D. S.

2017-06-01

We are developing a novel concentrating solar electricity-generating technology that is both modular and dispatchable. Solar ThermoElectricity via Advanced Latent heat Storage (STEALS) uses concentrated solar flux to generate high-temperature thermal energy, which directly converts to electricity via thermoelectric generators (TEGs), stored within a phase-change material (PCM) for electricity generation at a later time, or both allowing for simultaneous charging of the PCM and electricity generation. STEALS has inherent features that drive its cost-competitive scale to be much smaller than current commercial concentrating solar power (CSP) plants. Most obvious is modularity of the solid-state TEG, which favors smaller scales in the kilowatt range as compared to CSP steam turbines, which are minimally 50 MWe for commercial power plants. Here, we present techno-economic and market analyses that show STEALS can be a cost-effective electricity-generating technology with particular appeal to small-scale microgrid applications. We evaluated levelized cost of energy (LCOE) for STEALS and for a comparable photovoltaic (PV) system with battery storage. For STEALS, we estimated capital costs and the LCOE as functions of the type of PCM including the use of recycled aluminum alloys, and evaluated the cost tradeoffs between plasma spray coatings and solution-based boron coatings that are applied to the wetted surfaces of the PCM subsystem. We developed a probabilistic cost model that accounts for uncertainties in the cost and performance inputs to the LCOE estimation. Our probabilistic model estimated LCOE for a 100-kWe STEALS system that had 5 hours of thermal storage and 8-10 hours of total daily power generation. For these cases, the solar multiple for the heliostat field varied between 1.12 and 1.5. We identified microgrids as a likely market for the STEALS system. We characterized microgrid markets in terms of nominal power, dispatchability, geographic location, and customer type, and specified additional features for STEALS that are needed to meet the needs of this growing power market.

A Green Prison: Santa Rita Jail Creeps Towards Zero Net Energy (ZNE)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Marnay, Chris; DeForest, Nicholas; Stadler, Michael

2011-03-18

A large project is underway at Alameda County's twenty-year old 45 ha 4,000-inmate Santa Rita Jail, about 70 km east of San Francisco. Often described as a green prison, it has a considerable installed base of distributed energy resources including a seven-year old 1.2 MW PV array, a four-year old 1 MW fuel cell with heat recovery, and efficiency investments. A current US$14 M expansion will add approximately 2 MW of NaS batteries, and undetermined wind capacity and a concentrating solar thermal system. This ongoing effort by a progressive local government with considerable Federal and State support provides some excellentmore » lessons for the struggle to lower building carbon footprint. The Distributed Energy Resources Customer Adoption Model (DER-CAM) finds true optimal combinations of equipment and operating schedules for microgrids that minimize energy bills and/or carbon emissions without 2 of 12 significant searching or rules-of-thumb prioritization, such as"efficiency first then on-site generation." The results often recommend complex systems, and sensitivities show how policy changes will affect choices. This paper reports an analysis of the historic performance of the PV system and fuel cell, describes the complex optimization applied to the battery scheduling, and shows how results will affect the jail's operational costs, energy consumption, and carbon footprint. DER-CAM is used to assess the existing and proposed DER equipment in its ability to reduce tariff charges.« less

Price Based Local Power Distribution Management System (Local Power Distribution Manager) v1.0

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

BROWN, RICHARD E.; CZARNECKI, STEPHEN; SPEARS, MICHAEL

2016-11-28

A trans-active energy micro-grid controller is implemented in the VOLTTRON distributed control platform. The system uses the price of electricity as the mechanism for conducting transactions that are used to manage energy use and to balance supply and demand. In order to allow testing and analysis of the control system, the implementation is designed to run completely as a software simulation, while allowing the inclusion of selected hardware that physically manages power. Equipment to be integrated with the micro-grid controller must have an IP (Internet Protocol)-based network connection and a software "driver" must exist to translate data communications between themore » device and the controller.« less

On the Adaptive Protection of Microgrids: A Review on How to Mitigate Cyber Attacks and Communication Failures

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Habib, Hany F; Lashway, Christopher R; Mohammed, Osama A

One main challenge in the practical implementation of a microgrid is the design of an adequate protection scheme in both grid connected and islanded modes. Conventional overcurrent protection schemes face selectivity and sensitivity issues during grid and microgrid faults since the fault current level is different in both cases for the same relay. Various approaches have been implemented in the past to deal with this problem, yet the most promising ones are the implementation of adaptive protection techniques abiding by the IEC 61850 communication standard. This paper presents a critical review of existing adaptive protection schemes, the technical challenges formore » the use of classical protection techniques and the need for an adaptive, smart protection system. However, the risk of communication link failures and cyber security threats still remain a challenge in implementing a reliable adaptive protection scheme. A contingency is needed where a communication issue prevents the relay from adjusting to a lower current level during islanded mode. An adaptive protection scheme is proposed that utilizes energy storage (ES) and hybrid ES (HESS) already available in the network as a mechanism to source the higher fault current. Four common grid ES and HESS are reviewed for their suitability in feeding the fault while some solutions are proposed.« less

Robust backstepping control of an interlink converter in a hybrid AC/DC microgrid based on feedback linearisation method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dehkordi, N. Mahdian; Sadati, N.; Hamzeh, M.

2017-09-01

This paper presents a robust dc-link voltage as well as a current control strategy for a bidirectional interlink converter (BIC) in a hybrid ac/dc microgrid. To enhance the dc-bus voltage control, conventional methods strive to measure and feedforward the load or source power in the dc-bus control scheme. However, the conventional feedforward-based approaches require remote measurement with communications. Moreover, conventional methods suffer from stability and performance issues, mainly due to the use of the small-signal-based control design method. To overcome these issues, in this paper, the power from DG units of the dc subgrid imposed on the BIC is considered an unmeasurable disturbance signal. In the proposed method, in contrast to existing methods, using the nonlinear model of BIC, a robust controller that does not need the remote measurement with communications effectively rejects the impact of the disturbance signal imposed on the BIC's dc-link voltage. To avoid communication links, the robust controller has a plug-and-play feature that makes it possible to add a DG/load to or remove it from the dc subgrid without distorting the hybrid microgrid stability. Finally, Monte Carlo simulations are conducted to confirm the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy in MATLAB/SimPowerSystems software environment.

Control of a Vanadium Redox Battery and supercapacitor using a Three-Level Neutral Point Clamped converter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Etxeberria, A.; Vechiu, I.; Baudoin, S.; Camblong, H.; Kreckelbergh, S.

2014-02-01

The increasing use of distributed generators, which are mainly based on renewable sources, can create several issues in the operation of the electric grid. The microgrid is being analysed as a solution to the integration in the grid of the renewable sources at a high penetration level in a controlled way. The storage systems play a vital role in order to keep the energy and power balance of the microgrid. Due to the technical limitations of the currently available storage systems, it is necessary to use more than one storage technology to satisfy the requirements of the microgrid application. This work validates in simulations and experimentally the use of a Three-Level Neutral Point Clamped converter to control the power flow of a hybrid storage system formed by a SuperCapacitor and a Vanadium Redox Battery. The operation of the system is validated in two case studies in the experimental platform installed in ESTIA. The experimental results prove the validity of the proposed system as well as the designed control algorithm. The good agreement among experimental and simulation results also validates the simulation model, that can therefore be used to analyse the operation of the system in different case studies.

Model Predictive Control techniques with application to photovoltaic, DC Microgrid, and a multi-sourced hybrid energy system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shadmand, Mohammad Bagher

Renewable energy sources continue to gain popularity. However, two major limitations exist that prevent widespread adoption: availability and variability of the electricity generated and the cost of the equipment. The focus of this dissertation is Model Predictive Control (MPC) for optimal sized photovoltaic (PV), DC Microgrid, and multi-sourced hybrid energy systems. The main considered applications are: maximum power point tracking (MPPT) by MPC, droop predictive control of DC microgrid, MPC of grid-interaction inverter, MPC of a capacitor-less VAR compensator based on matrix converter (MC). This dissertation firstly investigates a multi-objective optimization technique for a hybrid distribution system. The variability of a high-penetration PV scenario is also studied when incorporated into the microgrid concept. Emerging (PV) technologies have enabled the creation of contoured and conformal PV surfaces; the effect of using non-planar PV modules on variability is also analyzed. The proposed predictive control to achieve maximum power point for isolated and grid-tied PV systems speeds up the control loop since it predicts error before the switching signal is applied to the converter. The low conversion efficiency of PV cells means we want to ensure always operating at maximum possible power point to make the system economical. Thus the proposed MPPT technique can capture more energy compared to the conventional MPPT techniques from same amount of installed solar panel. Because of the MPPT requirement, the output voltage of the converter may vary. Therefore a droop control is needed to feed multiple arrays of photovoltaic systems to a DC bus in microgrid community. Development of a droop control technique by means of predictive control is another application of this dissertation. Reactive power, denoted as Volt Ampere Reactive (VAR), has several undesirable consequences on AC power system network such as reduction in power transfer capability and increase in transmission loss if not controlled appropriately. Inductive loads which operate with lagging power factor consume VARs, thus load compensation techniques by capacitor bank employment locally supply VARs needed by the load. Capacitors are highly unreliable components due to their failure modes and aging inherent. Approximately 60% of power electronic devices failure such as voltage-source inverter based static synchronous compensator (STATCOM) is due to the use of aluminum electrolytic DC capacitors. Therefore, a capacitor-less VAR compensation is desired. This dissertation also investigates a STATCOM capacitor-less reactive power compensation that uses only inductors combined with predictive controlled matrix converter.

Integration of energy analytics and smart energy microgrid into mobile medicine operations for the 2012 Democratic National Convention.

PubMed

McCahill, Peter W; Noste, Erin E; Rossman, A J; Callaway, David W

2014-12-01

Disasters create major strain on energy infrastructure in affected communities. Advances in microgrid technology offer the potential to improve "off-grid" mobile disaster medical response capabilities beyond traditional diesel generation. The Carolinas Medical Center's mobile emergency medical unit (MED-1) Green Project (M1G) is a multi-phase project designed to demonstrate the benefits of integrating distributive generation (DG), high-efficiency batteries, and "smart" energy utilization in support of major out-of-hospital medical response operations. Carolinas MED-1 is a mobile medical facility composed of a fleet of vehicles and trailers that provides comprehensive medical care capacities to support disaster response and special-event operations. The M1G project partnered with local energy companies to deploy energy analytics and an energy microgrid in support of mobile clinical operations for the 2012 Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Charlotte, North Carolina (USA). Energy use data recorded throughout the DNC were analyzed to create energy utilization models that integrate advanced battery technology, solar photovoltaic (PV), and energy conservation measures (ECM) to improve future disaster response operations. The generators that supply power for MED-1 have a minimum loading ratio (MLR) of 30 kVA. This means that loads below 30 kW lead to diesel fuel consumption at the same rate as a 30 kW load. Data gathered from the two DNC training and support deployments showed the maximum load of MED-1 to be around 20 kW. This discrepancy in MLR versus actual load leads to significant energy waste. The lack of an energy storage system reduces generator efficiency and limits integration of alternative energy generation strategies. A storage system would also allow for alternative generation sources, such as PV, to be incorporated. Modeling with a 450 kWh battery bank and 13.5 kW PV array showed a 2-fold increase in potential deployment times using the same amount of fuel versus the current conventional system. The M1G Project demonstrated that the incorporation of a microgrid energy management system and a modern battery system maximize the MED-1 generators' output. Using a 450 kWh battery bank and 13.5 kW PV array, deployment operations time could be more than doubled before refueling. This marks a dramatic increase in patient care capabilities and has significant public health implications. The results highlight the value of smart-microgrid technology in developing energy independent mobile medical capabilities and expanding cost-effective, high-quality medical response.

Study of Stand-Alone Microgrid under Condition of Faults on Distribution Line

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malla, S. G.; Bhende, C. N.

2014-10-01

The behavior of stand-alone microgrid is analyzed under the condition of faults on distribution feeders. During fault since battery is not able to maintain dc-link voltage within limit, the resistive dump load control is presented to do so. An inverter control is proposed to maintain balanced voltages at PCC under the unbalanced load condition and to reduce voltage unbalance factor (VUF) at load points. The proposed inverter control also has facility to protect itself from high fault current. Existing maximum power point tracker (MPPT) algorithm is modified to limit the speed of generator during fault. Extensive simulation results using MATLAB/SIMULINK established that the performance of the controllers is quite satisfactory under different fault conditions as well as unbalanced load conditions.

The impact of short-term stochastic variability in solar irradiance on optimal microgrid design

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schittekatte, Tim; Stadler, Michael; Cardoso, Gonçalo

2016-07-01

This paper proposes a new methodology to capture the impact of fast moving clouds on utility power demand charges observed in microgrids with photovoltaic (PV) arrays, generators, and electrochemical energy storage. It consists of a statistical approach to introduce sub-hourly events in the hourly economic accounting process. The methodology is implemented in the Distributed Energy Resources Customer Adoption Model (DER-CAM), a state of the art mixed integer linear model used to optimally size DER in decentralized energy systems. Results suggest that previous iterations of DER-CAM could undersize battery capacities. The improved model depicts more accurately the economic value of PVmore » as well as the synergistic benefits of pairing PV with storage.« less

Carishma Gokhale-Welch | NREL

Science.gov Websites

planning and strategy. Carishma also supports renewable energy and microgrid projects, energy resilience planning, and assists communities with energy transitions. Education Master of Environmental Management

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Anderson, Katherine H.; Cutler, Dylan S.; Olis, Daniel R.

REopt is a techno-economic decision support model used to optimize energy systems for buildings, campuses, communities, and microgrids. The primary application of the model is for optimizing the integration and operation of behind-the-meter energy assets. This report provides an overview of the model, including its capabilities and typical applications; inputs and outputs; economic calculations; technology descriptions; and model parameters, variables, and equations. The model is highly flexible, and is continually evolving to meet the needs of each analysis. Therefore, this report is not an exhaustive description of all capabilities, but rather a summary of the core components of the model.

Architecture, Voltage, and Components for a Turboelectric Distributed Propulsion Electric Grid

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Armstrong, Michael J.; Blackwelder, Mark; Bollman, Andrew; Ross, Christine; Campbell, Angela; Jones, Catherine; Norman, Patrick

2015-01-01

The development of a wholly superconducting turboelectric distributed propulsion system presents unique opportunities for the aerospace industry. However, this transition from normally conducting systems to superconducting systems significantly increases the equipment complexity necessary to manage the electrical power systems. Due to the low technology readiness level (TRL) nature of all components and systems, current Turboelectric Distributed Propulsion (TeDP) technology developments are driven by an ambiguous set of system-level electrical integration standards for an airborne microgrid system (Figure 1). While multiple decades' worth of advancements are still required for concept realization, current system-level studies are necessary to focus the technology development, target specific technological shortcomings, and enable accurate prediction of concept feasibility and viability. An understanding of the performance sensitivity to operating voltages and an early definition of advantageous voltage regulation standards for unconventional airborne microgrids will allow for more accurate targeting of technology development. Propulsive power-rated microgrid systems necessitate the introduction of new aircraft distribution system voltage standards. All protection, distribution, control, power conversion, generation, and cryocooling equipment are affected by voltage regulation standards. Information on the desired operating voltage and voltage regulation is required to determine nominal and maximum currents for sizing distribution and fault isolation equipment, developing machine topologies and machine controls, and the physical attributes of all component shielding and insulation. Voltage impacts many components and system performance.

TiO2 film/Cu2O microgrid heterojunction with photocatalytic activity under solar light irradiation.

PubMed

Zhang, Junying; Zhu, Hailing; Zheng, Shukai; Pan, Feng; Wang, Tianmin

2009-10-01

Coupling a narrow-band-gap semiconductor with TiO(2) is an effective method to produce photocatalysts that work under UV-vis light irradiation. Usually photocatalytic coupled-semiconductors exist mainly as powders, and photocatalytic activity is only favored when a small loading amount of narrow-band-gap semiconductor is used. Here we propose a heavy-loading photocatalyst configuration in which 51% of the surface of the TiO(2) film is covered by a Cu(2)O microgrid. The coupled system shows higher photocatalytic activity under solar light irradiation than TiO(2) and Cu(2)O films. This improved performance is due to the efficient charge transfer between the two phases and the similar opportunity each has to be exposed to irradiation and adsorbates.

Single image super-resolution via regularized extreme learning regression for imagery from microgrid polarimeters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sargent, Garrett C.; Ratliff, Bradley M.; Asari, Vijayan K.

2017-08-01

The advantage of division of focal plane imaging polarimeters is their ability to obtain temporally synchronized intensity measurements across a scene; however, they sacrifice spatial resolution in doing so due to their spatially modulated arrangement of the pixel-to-pixel polarizers and often result in aliased imagery. Here, we propose a super-resolution method based upon two previously trained extreme learning machines (ELM) that attempt to recover missing high frequency and low frequency content beyond the spatial resolution of the sensor. This method yields a computationally fast and simple way of recovering lost high and low frequency content from demosaicing raw microgrid polarimetric imagery. The proposed method outperforms other state-of-the-art single-image super-resolution algorithms in terms of structural similarity and peak signal-to-noise ratio.

Test report :

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rose, David Martin; Schenkman, Benjamin L.; Borneo, Daniel R.

2013-08-01

The Department of Energy Office of Electricity (DOE/OE), Sandia National Laboratory (SNL) and the Base Camp Integration Lab (BCIL) partnered together to incorporate an energy storage system into a microgrid configured Forward Operating Base to reduce the fossil fuel consumption and to ultimately save lives. Energy storage vendors have supplied their systems to SNL Energy Storage Test Pad (ESTP) for functional testing and a subset of these systems were selected for performance evaluation at the BCIL. The technologies tested were electro-chemical energy storage systems comprised of lead acid, lithium-ion or zinc-bromide. MILSPRAY Military Technologies has developed an energy storage systemmore » that utilizes lead acid batteries to save fuel on a military microgrid. This report contains the testing results and some limited assessment of the Milspray Scorpion Energy Storage Device.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rose, David Martin; Schenkman, Benjamin L.; Borneo, Daniel R.

The Department of Energy Office of Electricity (DOE/OE), Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) and the Base Camp Integration Lab (BCIL) partnered together to incorporate an energy storage system into a microgrid configured Forward Operating Base to reduce the fossil fuel consumption and to ultimately save lives. Energy storage vendors will be sending their systems to SNL Energy Storage Test Pad (ESTP) for functional testing and then to the BCIL for performance evaluation. The technologies that will be tested are electro-chemical energy storage systems comprising of lead acid, lithium-ion or zinc-bromide. GS Battery and EPC Power have developed an energy storage systemmore » that utilizes zinc-bromide flow batteries to save fuel on a military microgrid. This report contains the testing results and some limited analysis of performance of the GS Battery, EPC Power HES RESCU.« less

New power sharing control for inverter-dominated microgrid based on impedance match concept.

PubMed

Gu, Herong; Wang, Deyu; Shen, Hong; Zhao, Wei; Guo, Xiaoqiang

2013-01-01

Power flow control is one of the most important issues for operating the inverter-dominated autonomous microgrid. A technical challenge is how to achieve the accurate active/reactive power sharing of inverters. P-F and Q-V droop control schemes have been widely used for power sharing in the past decades. But they suffer from the poor power sharing in the presence of unequal line impedance. In order to solve the problem, a comprehensive analysis of the power droop control is presented, and a new droop control based on the impedance match concept is proposed in this paper. In addition, the design guidelines of control coefficients and virtual impedance are provided. Finally, the performance evaluation is carried out, and the evaluation results verify the effectiveness of the proposed method.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Moslehi, Salim; Reddy, T. Agami; Katipamula, Srinivas

This research was undertaken to evaluate different inverse models for predicting power output of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems under different practical scenarios. In particular, we have investigated whether PV power output prediction accuracy can be improved if module/cell temperature was measured in addition to climatic variables, and also the extent to which prediction accuracy degrades if solar irradiation is not measured on the plane of array but only on a horizontal surface. We have also investigated the significance of different independent or regressor variables, such as wind velocity and incident angle modifier in predicting PV power output and cell temperature.more » The inverse regression model forms have been evaluated both in terms of their goodness-of-fit, and their accuracy and robustness in terms of their predictive performance. Given the accuracy of the measurements, expected CV-RMSE of hourly power output prediction over the year varies between 3.2% and 8.6% when only climatic data are used. Depending on what type of measured climatic and PV performance data is available, different scenarios have been identified and the corresponding appropriate modeling pathways have been proposed. The corresponding models are to be implemented on a controller platform for optimum operational planning of microgrids and integrated energy systems.« less

Samuel Booth | NREL

Science.gov Websites

on renewable energy and microgrid projects. He is currently leading work to support the Power Africa also currently helping Marine Corps installation Miramar to build the most advanced installation scale

Solar Thermoelectricity via Advanced Latent Heat Storage: A Cost-Effective Small-Scale CSP Application

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Glatzmaier, Greg C.; Rea, J.; Olsen, Michele L.

We are developing a novel concentrating solar electricity-generating technology that is both modular and dispatchable. Solar ThermoElectricity via Advanced Latent heat Storage (STEALS) uses concentrated solar flux to generate high-temperature thermal energy, which directly converts to electricity via thermoelectric generators (TEGs), stored within a phase-change material (PCM) for electricity generation at a later time, or both allowing for simultaneous charging of the PCM and electricity generation. STEALS has inherent features that drive its cost-competitive scale to be much smaller than current commercial concentrating solar power (CSP) plants. Most obvious is modularity of the solid-state TEG, which favors smaller scales inmore » the kilowatt range as compared to CSP steam turbines, which are minimally 50 MWe for commercial power plants. Here, we present techno-economic and market analyses that show STEALS can be a cost-effective electricity-generating technology with particular appeal to small-scale microgrid applications. We evaluated levelized cost of energy (LCOE) for STEALS and for a comparable photovoltaic (PV) system with battery storage. For STEALS, we estimated capital costs and the LCOE as functions of the type of PCM including the use of recycled aluminum alloys, and evaluated the cost tradeoffs between plasma spray coatings and solution-based boron coatings that are applied to the wetted surfaces of the PCM subsystem. We developed a probabilistic cost model that accounts for uncertainties in the cost and performance inputs to the LCOE estimation. Our probabilistic model estimated LCOE for a 100-kWe STEALS system that had 5 hours of thermal storage and 8-10 hours of total daily power generation. For these cases, the solar multiple for the heliostat field varied between 1.12 and 1.5. We identified microgrids as a likely market for the STEALS system. We characterized microgrid markets in terms of nominal power, dispatchability, geographic location, and customer type, and specified additional features for STEALS that are needed to meet the needs of this growing power market.« less

Test report : Raytheon / KTech RK30 Energy Storage System

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rose, David Martin; Schenkman, Benjamin L.; Borneo, Daniel R.

2013-10-01

The Department of Energy Office of Electricity (DOE/OE), Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) and the Base Camp Integration Lab (BCIL) partnered together to incorporate an energy storage system into a microgrid configured Forward Operating Base to reduce the fossil fuel consumption and to ultimately save lives. Energy storage vendors will be sending their systems to SNL Energy Storage Test Pad (ESTP) for functional testing and then to the BCIL for performance evaluation. The technologies that will be tested are electro-chemical energy storage systems comprising of lead acid, lithium-ion or zinc-bromide. Raytheon/KTech has developed an energy storage system that utilizes zinc-bromide flowmore » batteries to save fuel on a military microgrid. This report contains the testing results and some limited analysis of performance of the Raytheon/KTech Zinc-Bromide Energy Storage System.« less

An optimal autonomous microgrid cluster based on distributed generation droop parameter optimization and renewable energy sources using an improved grey wolf optimizer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moazami Goodarzi, Hamed; Kazemi, Mohammad Hosein

2018-05-01

Microgrid (MG) clustering is regarded as an important driver in improving the robustness of MGs. However, little research has been conducted on providing appropriate MG clustering. This article addresses this shortfall. It proposes a novel multi-objective optimization approach for finding optimal clustering of autonomous MGs by focusing on variables such as distributed generation (DG) droop parameters, the location and capacity of DG units, renewable energy sources, capacitors and powerline transmission. Power losses are minimized and voltage stability is improved while virtual cut-set lines with minimum power transmission for clustering MGs are obtained. A novel chaotic grey wolf optimizer (CGWO) algorithm is applied to solve the proposed multi-objective problem. The performance of the approach is evaluated by utilizing a 69-bus MG in several scenarios.

Interpolation strategies for reducing IFOV artifacts in microgrid polarimeter imagery.

PubMed

Ratliff, Bradley M; LaCasse, Charles F; Tyo, J Scott

2009-05-25

Microgrid polarimeters are composed of an array of micro-polarizing elements overlaid upon an FPA sensor. In the past decade systems have been designed and built in all regions of the optical spectrum. These systems have rugged, compact designs and the ability to obtain a complete set of polarimetric measurements during a single image capture. However, these systems acquire the polarization measurements through spatial modulation and each measurement has a varying instantaneous field-of-view (IFOV). When these measurements are combined to estimate the polarization images, strong edge artifacts are present that severely degrade the estimated polarization imagery. These artifacts can be reduced when interpolation strategies are first applied to the intensity data prior to Stokes vector estimation. Here we formally study IFOV error and the performance of several bilinear interpolation strategies used for reducing it.

A network approach to decentralized coordination of energy production-consumption grids.

PubMed

Omodei, Elisa; Arenas, Alex

2018-01-01

Energy grids are facing a relatively new paradigm consisting in the formation of local distributed energy sources and loads that can operate in parallel independently from the main power grid (usually called microgrids). One of the main challenges in microgrid-like networks management is that of self-adapting to the production and demands in a decentralized coordinated way. Here, we propose a stylized model that allows to analytically predict the coordination of the elements in the network, depending on the network topology. Surprisingly, almost global coordination is attained when users interact locally, with a small neighborhood, instead of the obvious but more costly all-to-all coordination. We compute analytically the optimal value of coordinated users in random homogeneous networks. The methodology proposed opens a new way of confronting the analysis of energy demand-side management in networked systems.

One-step sub-10 μm patterning of carbon-nanotube thin films for transparent conductor applications.

PubMed

Fukaya, Norihiro; Kim, Dong Young; Kishimoto, Shigeru; Noda, Suguru; Ohno, Yutaka

2014-04-22

We propose a technique for one-step micropatterning of as-grown carbon-nanotube films on a plastic substrate with sub-10 μm resolution on the basis of the dry transfer process. By utilizing this technique, we demonstrated the novel high-performance flexible carbon-nanotube transparent conductive film with a microgrid structure, which enabled improvement of the performance over the trade-off between the sheet resistance and transmittance of a conventional uniform carbon-nanotube film. The sheet resistance was reduced by 46% at its maximum by adding the microgrid, leading to a value of 53 Ω/sq at a transmittance of 80%. We also demonstrated easy fabrication of multitouch projected capacitive sensors with 12 × 12 electrodes. The technique is quite promising for energy-saving production of transparent conductor devices with 100% material utilization.

Storage Free Smart Energy Management for Frequency Control in a Diesel-PV-Fuel Cell-Based Hybrid AC Microgrid.

PubMed

Sekhar, P C; Mishra, S

2016-08-01

This paper proposes a novel, smart energy management scheme for a microgrid, consisting of a diesel generator and power electronic converter interfaced renewable energy-based generators, such as photovoltaic (PV) and fuel cell, for frequency regulation without any storage. In the proposed strategy, output of the PV is controlled in coordination with other generators using neurofuzzy controller, either only for transient frequency regulation or for both transient and steady-state frequency regulation, depending on the load demand, thereby eliminating the huge storage requirements. The option of demand response control is also explored along with the generation control. For accurate and quick tracking of maximum power point and its associated reserve power from the PV generator, this paper also proposes a novel adaptive-predictor-corrector-based tracking mechanism.

New Power Sharing Control for Inverter-Dominated Microgrid Based on Impedance Match Concept

PubMed Central

Gu, Herong; Wang, Deyu; Shen, Hong; Zhao, Wei; Guo, Xiaoqiang

2013-01-01

Power flow control is one of the most important issues for operating the inverter-dominated autonomous microgrid. A technical challenge is how to achieve the accurate active/reactive power sharing of inverters. P-F and Q-V droop control schemes have been widely used for power sharing in the past decades. But they suffer from the poor power sharing in the presence of unequal line impedance. In order to solve the problem, a comprehensive analysis of the power droop control is presented, and a new droop control based on the impedance match concept is proposed in this paper. In addition, the design guidelines of control coefficients and virtual impedance are provided. Finally, the performance evaluation is carried out, and the evaluation results verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. PMID:24453910

A derived heuristics based multi-objective optimization procedure for micro-grid scheduling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Xin; Deb, Kalyanmoy; Fang, Yanjun

2017-06-01

With the availability of different types of power generators to be used in an electric micro-grid system, their operation scheduling as the load demand changes with time becomes an important task. Besides satisfying load balance constraints and the generator's rated power, several other practicalities, such as limited availability of grid power and restricted ramping of power output from generators, must all be considered during the operation scheduling process, which makes it difficult to decide whether the optimization results are accurate and satisfactory. In solving such complex practical problems, heuristics-based customized optimization algorithms are suggested. However, due to nonlinear and complex interactions of variables, it is difficult to come up with heuristics in such problems off-hand. In this article, a two-step strategy is proposed in which the first task deciphers important heuristics about the problem and the second task utilizes the derived heuristics to solve the original problem in a computationally fast manner. Specifically, the specific operation scheduling is considered from a two-objective (cost and emission) point of view. The first task develops basic and advanced level knowledge bases offline from a series of prior demand-wise optimization runs and then the second task utilizes them to modify optimized solutions in an application scenario. Results on island and grid connected modes and several pragmatic formulations of the micro-grid operation scheduling problem clearly indicate the merit of the proposed two-step procedure.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sumner, Dennis; Vosburg, Tom; Brunner, Steve

This project titled “Research, Development and Demonstration of Peak Load Reduction on Distribution Feeders Using Distributed Energy Resources for the City of Fort Collins” evolved in response to the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Number DE-PS26-07NT43119. Also referred to as the Fort Collins Renewable and Distributed System Integration (RDSI) Project, the effort was undertaken by a diverse group of local government, higher education and business organizations; and was driven by three overarching goals: I. Fulfill the requirements of the DOE FOA’s Area of Interest 2: Renewable and Distributed System Integration; most notably, to demonstrate the ability tomore » reduce electric system distribution feeder peak load by 15% or more through the coordinated use of Distributed Energy Resources (DER). II. Advance the expertise, technologies and infrastructure necessary to support the long term vision of the Fort Collins Zero Energy District (FortZED) and move towards creating a zero energy district in the Fort Collins “Old Town” area. III. Further the goals of the City of Fort Collins Energy Policy, including the development of a Smart Grid-enabled distribution system in Fort Collins, expanded use of renewable energy, increased energy conservation, and peak load reduction. Through the collaborative efforts of the partner organizations, the Fort Collins RDSI project was successful in achieving all three of these goals. This report is organized into two distinct sections corresponding to the two phases of the project: • Part 1: Feeder Peak Load Reduction and the FortZED Initiative. • Part 2: Forming and Operating Utility Microgrids and Managing Load and Production Variability The original project scope addressed the Part 1 feeder peak load reduction. That work took place from 2009 through 2011 and was largely complete when the project scope was amended to include a demonstration of microgrid operations. While leveraging the assets, partner relationships, and lessons learned from Part 1, Part 2 was managed and executed as a distinct and substantially independent sub-project during the spring and summer of 2013. Both Parts 1 and 2 of the overall RDSI project can be viewed as cohesive stand-alone bodies of work and are presented as such within this report. In addition to the narratives, this document includes two Appendices that were compiled to supplement information about the various aspects of activities performed during Parts 1 and 2 of the project. Moreover, these Appendices are organized (as outlined below) so as to directly relate to the narratives in Part 1 and 2 of this report. • Appendix - Part 1: describes the roles of each project participant in regards to the feeder peak load reduction effort, and • Appendix - Part 2: deals with the microgrid research/demonstration.« less

Microgrids | Energy Systems Integration Facility | NREL

Science.gov Websites

Manager, Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Miramar Network Simulator-in-the-Loop Testing OMNeT++: simulates a network and links with real computers and virtual hosts. Power Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulation

Integrated Energy Solutions | NREL

Science.gov Websites

Transitions A man and woman standing in front of a large, color 3D visualization screen that spans the height a woman and a man testing a scaled model of a microgrid controller in a laboratory setting

A network approach to decentralized coordination of energy production-consumption grids

PubMed Central

Arenas, Alex

2018-01-01

Energy grids are facing a relatively new paradigm consisting in the formation of local distributed energy sources and loads that can operate in parallel independently from the main power grid (usually called microgrids). One of the main challenges in microgrid-like networks management is that of self-adapting to the production and demands in a decentralized coordinated way. Here, we propose a stylized model that allows to analytically predict the coordination of the elements in the network, depending on the network topology. Surprisingly, almost global coordination is attained when users interact locally, with a small neighborhood, instead of the obvious but more costly all-to-all coordination. We compute analytically the optimal value of coordinated users in random homogeneous networks. The methodology proposed opens a new way of confronting the analysis of energy demand-side management in networked systems. PMID:29364962

Time for a revolution: smart energy and microgrid use in disaster response.

PubMed

Callaway, David Wayne; Noste, Erin; McCahill, Peter Woods; Rossman, A J; Lempereur, Dominique; Kaney, Kathleen; Swanson, Doug

2014-06-01

Modern health care and disaster response are inextricably linked to high volume, reliable, quality power. Disasters place major strain on energy infrastructure in affected communities. Advances in renewable energy and microgrid technology offer the potential to improve mobile disaster medical response capabilities. However, very little is known about the energy requirements of and alternative power sources in disaster response. A gap analysis of the energy components of modern disaster response reveals multiple deficiencies. The MED-1 Green Project has been executed as a multiphase project designed to identify energy utilization inefficiencies, decrease demands on diesel generators, and employ modern energy management strategies to expand operational independence. This approach, in turn, allows for longer deployments in potentially more austere environments and minimizes the unit's environmental footprint. The ultimate goal is to serve as a proof of concept for other mobile medical units to create strategies for energy independence.

Maximum bandwidth snapshot channeled imaging polarimeter with polarization gratings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

LaCasse, Charles F.; Redman, Brian J.; Kudenov, Michael W.; Craven, Julia M.

2016-05-01

Compact snapshot imaging polarimeters have been demonstrated in literature to provide Stokes parameter estimations for spatially varying scenes using polarization gratings. However, the demonstrated system does not employ aggressive modulation frequencies to take full advantage of the bandwidth available to the focal plane array. A snapshot imaging Stokes polarimeter is described and demonstrated through results. The simulation studies the challenges of using a maximum bandwidth configuration for a snapshot polarization grating based polarimeter, such as the fringe contrast attenuation that results from higher modulation frequencies. Similar simulation results are generated and compared for a microgrid polarimeter. Microgrid polarimeters are instruments where pixelated polarizers are superimposed onto a focal plan array, and this is another type of spatially modulated polarimeter, and the most common design uses a 2x2 super pixel of polarizers which maximally uses the available bandwidth of the focal plane array.

Improving Energy Use Forecast for Campus Micro-grids using Indirect Indicators

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Aman, Saima; Simmhan, Yogesh; Prasanna, Viktor K.

2011-12-11

The rising global demand for energy is best addressed by adopting and promoting sustainable methods of power consumption. We employ an informatics approach towards forecasting the energy consumption patterns in a university campus micro-grid which can be used for energy use planning and conservation. We use novel indirect indicators of energy that are commonly available to train regression tree models that can predict campus and building energy use for coarse (daily) and fine (15-min) time intervals, utilizing 3 years of sensor data collected at 15min intervals from 170 smart power meters. We analyze the impact of individual features used inmore » the models to identify the ones best suited for the application. Our models show a high degree of accuracy with CV-RMSE errors ranging from 7.45% to 19.32%, and a reduction in error from baseline models by up to 53%.« less

ARPA-E: Improving Military Energy Security

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Willson, Bryan; Mahvi, Allison; Stepien, Tom

The U.S. military has a vested interest in advancing microgrid technologies that can power forward operating bases. These technologies could not only help the military significantly reduce its energy demand both at home and abroad, but also they could reduce the number of fuel-supply convoys required on the battlefield and the number of troops killed in fuel-supply convoy attacks. This video highlights two ARPA-E projects that have formed strategic partnerships with the military to enable these microgrids at forward operating bases. Georgia Tech is developing an innovative absorption heat pump that utilizes exhaust heat to provide heating and cooling, whichmore » could cut the amount of energy used to heat and cool forward operating bases by 50%. Primus Power is developing a low-cost, energy-dense storage system that could store enough energy to operate a base for several days in the event of a disruption.« less

ARPA-E: Improving Military Energy Security

ScienceCinema

Willson, Bryan; Mahvi, Allison; Stepien, Tom; Wasco, Mick

2018-06-08

The U.S. military has a vested interest in advancing microgrid technologies that can power forward operating bases. These technologies could not only help the military significantly reduce its energy demand both at home and abroad, but also they could reduce the number of fuel-supply convoys required on the battlefield and the number of troops killed in fuel-supply convoy attacks. This video highlights two ARPA-E projects that have formed strategic partnerships with the military to enable these microgrids at forward operating bases. Georgia Tech is developing an innovative absorption heat pump that utilizes exhaust heat to provide heating and cooling, which could cut the amount of energy used to heat and cool forward operating bases by 50%. Primus Power is developing a low-cost, energy-dense storage system that could store enough energy to operate a base for several days in the event of a disruption.

In situ cannulation, microgrid follow-up and low-density plating provide first passage endothelial cell masscultures for in vitro lining.

PubMed

Zilla, P; Fasol, R; Dudeck, U; Siedler, S; Preiss, P; Fischlein, T; Müller-Glauser, W; Baitella, G; Sanan, D; Odell, J

1990-08-01

A rapid and reliable harvest and culture technique was developed to provide a sufficient number of autologous endothelial cells for the confluent in vitro lining of cardiovascular prostheses. Enzymatic endothelial cell detachment was achieved by the in situ application of collagenase to short vessel segments. This harvest technique resulted in a complete lack of contaminating smooth muscle cells in all of 124 cultures from nonhuman primates and 13 cultures from human adults. The use of a microgrid technique enabled the daily in situ quantification of available endothelial cells. To assess ideal plating densities after passage the population doubling time was continuously related to the cell density. Surprisingly, a low plating density of 1.5 X 10(3) endothelial cells/cm2 achieved 43% shorter cell cycles than the usual plating density of 1.0 X 10(4) endothelial cells/cm2. Moreover, low density plating enabled mass cultures after one single cell passage, thereby reducing the cell damaging effect of trypsin. When the growth characteristics of endothelial cells from five anatomically different vessel sites were compared, the external jugular vein--which would be easily accessible and dispensable in each patient--proved to be an excellent source for endothelial cell cultures. By applying in situ administration of collagenase, low density plating and microgrid follow-up to adult human saphenous vein endothelial cells, 14,000,000 first passage endothelial cells--sufficient for the in vitro lining of long vascular prostheses--were obtained 26.2 days after harvest. (95% confidence interval:22.3 to 32.2 days).

Renewable Hydrogen for Carbon-Free Data Center

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kurtz, Jennifer M; Ma, Zhiwen; Hammond, Steven W

NREL, in collaboration with Hewlett Packard Enterprise, has developed a system model for simulating both grid-tied and island microgrid power for hydrogen production and data center operation (assumed at 50 MW, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week).

Evaluation of Data-Driven Models for Predicting Solar Photovoltaics Power Output

DOE PAGES

Moslehi, Salim; Reddy, T. Agami; Katipamula, Srinivas

2017-09-10

This research was undertaken to evaluate different inverse models for predicting power output of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems under different practical scenarios. In particular, we have investigated whether PV power output prediction accuracy can be improved if module/cell temperature was measured in addition to climatic variables, and also the extent to which prediction accuracy degrades if solar irradiation is not measured on the plane of array but only on a horizontal surface. We have also investigated the significance of different independent or regressor variables, such as wind velocity and incident angle modifier in predicting PV power output and cell temperature.more » The inverse regression model forms have been evaluated both in terms of their goodness-of-fit, and their accuracy and robustness in terms of their predictive performance. Given the accuracy of the measurements, expected CV-RMSE of hourly power output prediction over the year varies between 3.2% and 8.6% when only climatic data are used. Depending on what type of measured climatic and PV performance data is available, different scenarios have been identified and the corresponding appropriate modeling pathways have been proposed. The corresponding models are to be implemented on a controller platform for optimum operational planning of microgrids and integrated energy systems.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Anderson, K.; Markel, T.; Simpson, M.

The U.S. Army's Fort Carson installation was selected to serve as a prototype for net zero energy assessment and planning. NREL performed the comprehensive assessment to appraise the potential of Fort Carson to achieve net zero energy status through energy efficiency, renewable energy, and electric vehicle integration. This report summarizes the results of the assessment and provides energy recommendations. This study is part of a larger cross-laboratory effort that also includes an assessment of renewable opportunities at seven other DoD Front Range installations, a microgrid design for Fort Carson critical loads and an assessment of regulatory and market-based barriers tomore » a regional secure smart grid.« less

Dual coil ignition system

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Huberts, Garlan J.; Qu, Qiuping; Czekala, Michael Damian

2017-03-28

A dual coil ignition system is provided. The dual coil ignition system includes a first inductive ignition coil including a first primary winding and a first secondary winding, and a second inductive ignition coil including a second primary winding and a second secondary winding, the second secondary winding connected in series to the first secondary winding. The dual coil ignition system further includes a diode network including a first diode and a second diode connected between the first secondary winding and the second secondary winding.

Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Distributed Generation Systems - Control and Protection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yi, Zhehan

This dissertation proposes a comprehensive control, power management, and fault detection strategy for solar photovoltaic (PV) distribution generations. Battery storages are typically employed in PV systems to mitigate the power fluctuation caused by unstable solar irradiance. With AC and DC loads, a PV-battery system can be treated as a hybrid microgrid which contains both DC and AC power resources and buses. In this thesis, a control power and management system (CAPMS) for PV-battery hybrid microgrid is proposed, which provides 1) the DC and AC bus voltage and AC frequency regulating scheme and controllers designed to track set points; 2) a power flow management strategy in the hybrid microgrid to achieve system generation and demand balance in both grid-connected and islanded modes; 3) smooth transition control during grid reconnection by frequency and phase synchronization control between the main grid and microgrid. Due to the increasing demands for PV power, scales of PV systems are getting larger and fault detection in PV arrays becomes challenging. High-impedance faults, low-mismatch faults, and faults occurred in low irradiance conditions tend to be hidden due to low fault currents, particularly, when a PV maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithm is in-service. If remain undetected, these faults can considerably lower the output energy of solar systems, damage the panels, and potentially cause fire hazards. In this dissertation, fault detection challenges in PV arrays are analyzed in depth, considering the crossing relations among the characteristics of PV, interactions with MPPT algorithms, and the nature of solar irradiance. Two fault detection schemes are then designed as attempts to address these technical issues, which detect faults inside PV arrays accurately even under challenging circumstances, e.g., faults in low irradiance conditions or high-impedance faults. Taking advantage of multi-resolution signal decomposition (MSD), a powerful signal processing technique based on discrete wavelet transformation (DWT), the first attempt is devised, which extracts the features of both line-to-line (L-L) and line-to-ground (L-G) faults and employs a fuzzy inference system (FIS) for the decision-making stage of fault detection. This scheme is then improved as the second attempt by further studying the system's behaviors during L-L faults, extracting more efficient fault features, and devising a more advanced decision-making stage: the two-stage support vector machine (SVM). For the first time, the two-stage SVM method is proposed in this dissertation to detect L-L faults in PV system with satisfactory accuracies. Numerous simulation and experimental case studies are carried out to verify the proposed control and protection strategies. Simulation environment is set up using the PSCAD/EMTDC and Matlab/Simulink software packages. Experimental case studies are conducted in a PV-battery hybrid microgrid using the dSPACE real-time controller to demonstrate the ease of hardware implementation and the controller performance. Another small-scale grid-connected PV system is set up to verify both fault detection algorithms which demonstrate promising performances and fault detecting accuracies.

Embedded Metal Electrode for Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Nanowire Solar Cells.

PubMed

Um, Han-Don; Choi, Deokjae; Choi, Ahreum; Seo, Ji Hoon; Seo, Kwanyong

2017-06-27

We demonstrate here an embedded metal electrode for highly efficient organic-inorganic hybrid nanowire solar cells. The electrode proposed here is an effective alternative to the conventional bus and finger electrode which leads to a localized short circuit at a direct Si/metal contact and has a poor collection efficiency due to a nonoptimized electrode design. In our design, a Ag/SiO 2 electrode is embedded into a Si substrate while being positioned between Si nanowire arrays underneath poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS), facilitating suppressed recombination at the Si/Ag interface and notable improvements in the fabrication reproducibility. With an optimized microgrid electrode, our 1 cm 2 hybrid solar cells exhibit a power conversion efficiency of up to 16.1% with an open-circuit voltage of 607 mV and a short circuit current density of 34.0 mA/cm 2 . This power conversion efficiency is more than twice as high as that of solar cells using a conventional electrode (8.0%). The microgrid electrode significantly minimizes the optical and electrical losses. This reproducibly yields a superior quantum efficiency of 99% at the main solar spectrum wavelength of 600 nm. In particular, our solar cells exhibit a significant increase in the fill factor of 78.3% compared to that of a conventional electrode (61.4%); this is because of the drastic reduction in the metal/contact resistance of the 1 μm-thick Ag electrode. Hence, the use of our embedded microgrid electrode in the construction of an ideal carrier collection path presents an opportunity in the development of highly efficient organic-inorganic hybrid solar cells.

Two new families of high-gain dc-dc power electronic converters for dc-microgrids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prabhala, Venkata Anand Kishore

Distributing the electric power in dc form is an appealing solution in many applications such as telecommunications, data centers, commercial buildings, and microgrids. A high gain dc-dc power electronic converter can be used to individually link low-voltage elements such as solar panels, fuel cells, and batteries to the dc voltage bus which is usually 400 volts. This way, it is not required to put such elements in a series string to build up their voltages. Consequently, each element can function at it optimal operating point regardless of the other elements in the system. In this dissertation, first a comparative study of dc microgrid architectures and their advantages over their ac counterparts is presented. Voltage level selection of dc distribution systems is discussed from the cost, reliability, efficiency, and safety standpoints. Next, a new family of non-isolated high-voltage-gain dc-dc power electronic converters with unidirectional power flow is introduced. This family of converters benefits from a low voltage stress across its switches. The proposed topologies are versatile as they can be utilized as single-input or double-input power converters. In either case, they draw continuous currents from their sources. Lastly, a bidirectional high-voltage-gain dc-dc power electronic converter is proposed. This converter is comprised of a bidirectional boost converter which feeds a switched-capacitor architecture. The switched-capacitor stage suggested here has several advantages over the existing approaches. For example, it benefits from a higher voltage gain while it uses less number of capacitors. The proposed converters are highly efficient and modular. The operating modes, dc voltage gain, and design procedure for each converter are discussed in details. Hardware prototypes have been developed in the lab. The results obtained from the hardware agree with those of the simulation models.

Modelling and control synthesis of a micro-combined heat and power interface for a concentrating solar power system in off-grid rural power applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prinsloo, Gerro; Dobson, Robert; Brent, Alan; Mammoli, Andrea

2016-05-01

Concentrating solar power co-generation systems have been identified as potential stand-alone solar energy supply solutions in remote rural energy applications. This study describes the modelling and synthesis of a combined heat and power Stirling CSP system in order to evaluate its potential performance in small off-grid rural village applications in Africa. This Stirling micro-Combined Heat and Power (micro-CHP) system has a 1 kW electric capacity, with 3 kW of thermal generation capacity which is produced as waste heat recovered from the solar power generation process. As part of the development of an intelligent microgrid control and distribution solution, the Trinum micro-CHP system and other co-generation systems are systematically being modelled on the TRNSYS simulation platform. This paper describes the modelling and simulation of the Trinum micro-CHP configuration on TRNSYS as part of the process to develop the control automation solution for the smart rural microgrid in which the Trinum will serve as a solar powerpack. The results present simulated performance outputs for the Trinum micro-CHP system for a number of remote rural locations in Africa computed from real-time TRNSYS solar irradiation and weather data (yearly, monthly, daily) for the relevant locations. The focus of this paper is on the parametric modelling of the Trinum Stirling micro-CHP system, with specific reference to this system as a TRNSYS functional block in the microgrid simulation. The model is used to forecast the solar energy harvesting potential of the Trinum micro-CHP unit at a number of remote rural sites in Africa.

Distributed Storage Inverter and Legacy Generator Integration Plus Renewable Solution for Microgrids

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-07-01

24 6.6 DEMONSTRATION 6: PV + STORAGE SUPPORT MANAGING VARIABLE SOLAR ...Table 2. Energy generated by solar PV for 1 month. .......................................................... 23 Table 3. NG generators energy...saving with solar PV . ........................................................ 24 Table 4. NG generators fuel saving with solar PV

Robustness of spatial micronetworks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McAndrew, Thomas C.; Danforth, Christopher M.; Bagrow, James P.

2015-04-01

Power lines, roadways, pipelines, and other physical infrastructure are critical to modern society. These structures may be viewed as spatial networks where geographic distances play a role in the functionality and construction cost of links. Traditionally, studies of network robustness have primarily considered the connectedness of large, random networks. Yet for spatial infrastructure, physical distances must also play a role in network robustness. Understanding the robustness of small spatial networks is particularly important with the increasing interest in microgrids, i.e., small-area distributed power grids that are well suited to using renewable energy resources. We study the random failures of links in small networks where functionality depends on both spatial distance and topological connectedness. By introducing a percolation model where the failure of each link is proportional to its spatial length, we find that when failures depend on spatial distances, networks are more fragile than expected. Accounting for spatial effects in both construction and robustness is important for designing efficient microgrids and other network infrastructure.

Optimal planning and design of a renewable energy based supply system for microgrids

DOE PAGES

Hafez, Omar; Bhattacharya, Kankar

2012-03-03

This paper presents a technique for optimal planning and design of hybrid renewable energy systems for microgrid applications. The Distributed Energy Resources Customer Adoption Model (DER-CAM) is used to determine the optimal size and type of distributed energy resources (DERs) and their operating schedules for a sample utility distribution system. Using the DER-CAM results, an evaluation is performed to evaluate the electrical performance of the distribution circuit if the DERs selected by the DER-CAM optimization analyses are incorporated. Results of analyses regarding the economic benefits of utilizing the optimal locations identified for the selected DER within the system are alsomore » presented. The actual Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) campus electrical network is used as an example to show the effectiveness of this approach. The results show that these technical and economic analyses of hybrid renewable energy systems are essential for the efficient utilization of renewable energy resources for microgird applications.« less

Energy Systems Integration News - September 2016 | Energy Systems

Science.gov Websites

, Smarter Grid Solutions demonstrated a new distributed energy resources (DER) software control platform utility interconnections require distributed generation (DG) devices to disconnect from the grid during OpenFMB distributed applications on the microgrid test site to locally optimize renewable energy resources

Advanced Grid Control Technologies Workshop Series | Energy Systems

Science.gov Websites

on advanced distribution management systems (ADMS) and microgrid controls. The workshops were held at . July 7, 2015: Advanced Distribution Management Systems (ADMS) Welcome and NREL Overview Dr. Murali Keynote: Next-Generation Distribution Management Systems and Distributed Resource Energy Management

Energy Systems Integration Facility Videos | Energy Systems Integration

Science.gov Websites

Facility | NREL Energy Systems Integration Facility Videos Energy Systems Integration Facility Integration Facility NREL + SolarCity: Maximizing Solar Power on Electrical Grids Redefining What's Possible for Renewable Energy: Grid Integration Robot-Powered Reliability Testing at NREL's ESIF Microgrid

Influence of Forecast Accuracy of Photovoltaic Power Output on Capacity Optimization of Microgrid Composition under 30 min Power Balancing Control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sone, Akihito; Kato, Takeyoshi; Shimakage, Toyonari; Suzuoki, Yasuo

A microgrid (MG) is one of the measures for enhancing the high penetration of renewable energy (RE)-based distributed generators (DGs). If a number of MGs are controlled to maintain the predetermined electricity demand including RE-based DGs as negative demand, they would contribute to supply-demand balancing of whole electric power system. For constructing a MG economically, the capacity optimization of controllable DGs against RE-based DGs is essential. By using a numerical simulation model developed based on a demonstrative study on a MG using PAFC and NaS battery as controllable DGs and photovoltaic power generation system (PVS) as a RE-based DG, this study discusses the influence of forecast accuracy of PVS output on the capacity optimization. Three forecast cases with different accuracy are compared. The main results are as follows. Even with no forecast error during every 30 min. as the ideal forecast method, the required capacity of NaS battery reaches about 40% of PVS capacity for mitigating the instantaneous forecast error within 30 min. The required capacity to compensate for the forecast error is doubled with the actual forecast method. The influence of forecast error can be reduced by adjusting the scheduled power output of controllable DGs according to the weather forecast. Besides, the required capacity can be reduced significantly if the error of balancing control in a MG is acceptable for a few percentages of periods, because the total periods of large forecast error is not so often.

Annual Cybersecurity & Resilience Workshop | Energy Systems Integration

Science.gov Websites

architecture for DER. Cross-Cutting Panels and Breakout Sessions Workshop attendees participated in three cross , business, and policy perspective. The below videos showcase one of the three cross-cutting panel Architecture: Toward a Buildable Architecture Supporting Fractal Microgrids Toby Considine, President, TC9 Inc

Hybrid power system intelligent operation and protection involving distributed architectures and pulsed loads

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohamed, Ahmed

Efficient and reliable techniques for power delivery and utilization are needed to account for the increased penetration of renewable energy sources in electric power systems. Such methods are also required for current and future demands of plug-in electric vehicles and high-power electronic loads. Distributed control and optimal power network architectures will lead to viable solutions to the energy management issue with high level of reliability and security. This dissertation is aimed at developing and verifying new techniques for distributed control by deploying DC microgrids, involving distributed renewable generation and energy storage, through the operating AC power system. To achieve the findings of this dissertation, an energy system architecture was developed involving AC and DC networks, both with distributed generations and demands. The various components of the DC microgrid were designed and built including DC-DC converters, voltage source inverters (VSI) and AC-DC rectifiers featuring novel designs developed by the candidate. New control techniques were developed and implemented to maximize the operating range of the power conditioning units used for integrating renewable energy into the DC bus. The control and operation of the DC microgrids in the hybrid AC/DC system involve intelligent energy management. Real-time energy management algorithms were developed and experimentally verified. These algorithms are based on intelligent decision-making elements along with an optimization process. This was aimed at enhancing the overall performance of the power system and mitigating the effect of heavy non-linear loads with variable intensity and duration. The developed algorithms were also used for managing the charging/discharging process of plug-in electric vehicle emulators. The protection of the proposed hybrid AC/DC power system was studied. Fault analysis and protection scheme and coordination, in addition to ideas on how to retrofit currently available protection concepts and devices for AC systems in a DC network, were presented. A study was also conducted on the effect of changing the distribution architecture and distributing the storage assets on the various zones of the network on the system's dynamic security and stability. A practical shipboard power system was studied as an example of a hybrid AC/DC power system involving pulsed loads. Generally, the proposed hybrid AC/DC power system, besides most of the ideas, controls and algorithms presented in this dissertation, were experimentally verified at the Smart Grid Testbed, Energy Systems Research Laboratory. All the developments in this dissertation were experimentally verified at the Smart Grid Testbed.

Wind turbine/generator set and method of making same

DOEpatents

Bevington, Christopher M.; Bywaters, Garrett L.; Coleman, Clint C.; Costin, Daniel P.; Danforth, William L.; Lynch, Jonathan A.; Rolland, Robert H.

2013-06-04

A wind turbine comprising an electrical generator that includes a rotor assembly. A wind rotor that includes a wind rotor hub is directly coupled to the rotor assembly via a simplified connection. The wind rotor and generator rotor assembly are rotatably mounted on a central spindle via a bearing assembly. The wind rotor hub includes an opening having a diameter larger than the outside diameter of the central spindle adjacent the bearing assembly so as to allow access to the bearing assembly from a cavity inside the wind rotor hub. The spindle is attached to a turret supported by a tower. Each of the spindle, turret and tower has an interior cavity that permits personnel to traverse therethrough to the cavity of the wind rotor hub. The wind turbine further includes a frictional braking system for slowing, stopping or keeping stopped the rotation of the wind rotor and rotor assembly.

Wind turbine/generator set having a stator cooling system located between stator frame and active coils

DOEpatents

Bevington, Christopher M.; Bywaters, Garrett L.; Coleman, Clint C.; Costin, Daniel P.; Danforth, William L.; Lynch, Jonathan A.; Rolland, Robert H.

2012-11-13

A wind turbine comprising an electrical generator that includes a rotor assembly. A wind rotor that includes a wind rotor hub is directly coupled to the rotor assembly via a simplified connection. The wind rotor and generator rotor assembly are rotatably mounted on a central spindle via a bearing assembly. The wind rotor hub includes an opening having a diameter larger than the outside diameter of the central spindle adjacent the bearing assembly so as to allow access to the bearing assembly from a cavity inside the wind rotor hub. The spindle is attached to a turret supported by a tower. Each of the spindle, turret and tower has an interior cavity that permits personnel to traverse therethrough to the cavity of the wind rotor hub. The wind turbine further includes a frictional braking system for slowing, stopping or keeping stopped the rotation of the wind rotor and rotor assembly.

Wind turbine having a direct-drive drivetrain

DOEpatents

Bevington, Christopher M.; Bywaters, Garrett L.; Coleman, Clint C.; Costin, Daniel P.; Danforth, William L.; Lynch, Jonathan A.; Rolland, Robert H.

2011-02-22

A wind turbine comprising an electrical generator that includes a rotor assembly. A wind rotor that includes a wind rotor hub is directly coupled to the rotor assembly via a simplified connection. The wind rotor and generator rotor assembly are rotatably mounted on a central spindle via a bearing assembly. The wind rotor hub includes an opening having a diameter larger than the outside diameter of the central spindle adjacent the bearing assembly so as to allow access to the bearing assembly from a cavity inside the wind rotor hub. The spindle is attached to a turret supported by a tower. Each of the spindle, turret and tower has an interior cavity that permits personnel to traverse therethrough to the cavity of the wind rotor hub. The wind turbine further includes a frictional braking system for slowing, stopping or keeping stopped the rotation of the wind rotor and rotor assembly.

Renewable Energy on the Front Lines - Continuum Magazine | NREL

Science.gov Websites

, vehicles, the microgrid, and intelligent controls. Functional models of this system could be used to of the multi-year, multi-agency Smart Power Infrastructure Demonstration for Energy Reliability and Security (SPIDERS) project, which focuses on improving energy surety for military installations. Funded by

Energy Systems Integration News | Energy Systems Integration Facility |

Science.gov Websites

simulation and testing platforms from each organization. Power-hardware-in-the-loop technology at the power-hardware-in-the-loop and modeling capabilities together with real data from Duke Energy and GE's , communities, and microgrids. Hardware-in-the-loop testing for power systems will be used to verify the

NREL Expert Honored for Energy Systems Innovations | News | NREL

Science.gov Websites

Research and Social Science, a new academic journal dedicated to examining the relationship between energy and distributed energy systems. Kroposki conducted original research that led to several IEEE standards and chaired IEEE 1547.4, which was the first international standard on microgrids. In 2007

Resilient Energy Systems | Integrated Energy Solutions | NREL

Science.gov Websites

of microgrids Business model and valuation analysis for resilience Photovoltaic plus storage analysis Framework for Mini-Grids NREL has teamed with the Global Lighting and Energy Access Partnership and the U.S mini-grids. NREL Enhances Energy Resiliency at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar NREL has partnered with

Big Data-Based Approach to Detect, Locate, and Enhance the Stability of an Unplanned Microgrid Islanding

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jiang, Huaiguang; Li, Yan; Zhang, Yingchen

In this paper, a big data-based approach is proposed for the security improvement of an unplanned microgrid islanding (UMI). The proposed approach contains two major steps: the first step is big data analysis of wide-area monitoring to detect a UMI and locate it; the second step is particle swarm optimization (PSO)-based stability enhancement for the UMI. First, an optimal synchrophasor measurement device selection (OSMDS) and matching pursuit decomposition (MPD)-based spatial-temporal analysis approach is proposed to significantly reduce the volume of data while keeping appropriate information from the synchrophasor measurements. Second, a random forest-based ensemble learning approach is trained to detectmore » the UMI. When combined with grid topology, the UMI can be located. Then the stability problem of the UMI is formulated as an optimization problem and the PSO is used to find the optimal operational parameters of the UMI. An eigenvalue-based multiobjective function is proposed, which aims to improve the damping and dynamic characteristics of the UMI. Finally, the simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed approach.« less

Collective neurodynamic optimization for economic emission dispatch problem considering valve point effect in microgrid.

PubMed

Wang, Tiancai; He, Xing; Huang, Tingwen; Li, Chuandong; Zhang, Wei

2017-09-01

The economic emission dispatch (EED) problem aims to control generation cost and reduce the impact of waste gas on the environment. It has multiple constraints and nonconvex objectives. To solve it, the collective neurodynamic optimization (CNO) method, which combines heuristic approach and projection neural network (PNN), is attempted to optimize scheduling of an electrical microgrid with ten thermal generators and minimize the plus of generation and emission cost. As the objective function has non-derivative points considering valve point effect (VPE), differential inclusion approach is employed in the PNN model introduced to deal with them. Under certain conditions, the local optimality and convergence of the dynamic model for the optimization problem is analyzed. The capability of the algorithm is verified in a complicated situation, where transmission loss and prohibited operating zones are considered. In addition, the dynamic variation of load power at demand side is considered and the optimal scheduling of generators within 24 h is described. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Parallel algorithms for islanded microgrid with photovoltaic and energy storage systems planning optimization problem: Material selection and quantity demand optimization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, Yang; Liu, Chun; Huang, Yuehui; Wang, Tieqiang; Sun, Chenjun; Yuan, Yue; Zhang, Xinsong; Wu, Shuyun

2017-02-01

With the development of roof photovoltaic power (PV) generation technology and the increasingly urgent need to improve supply reliability levels in remote areas, islanded microgrid with photovoltaic and energy storage systems (IMPE) is developing rapidly. The high costs of photovoltaic panel material and energy storage battery material have become the primary factors that hinder the development of IMPE. The advantages and disadvantages of different types of photovoltaic panel materials and energy storage battery materials are analyzed in this paper, and guidance is provided on material selection for IMPE planners. The time sequential simulation method is applied to optimize material demands of the IMPE. The model is solved by parallel algorithms that are provided by a commercial solver named CPLEX. Finally, to verify the model, an actual IMPE is selected as a case system. Simulation results on the case system indicate that the optimization model and corresponding algorithm is feasible. Guidance for material selection and quantity demand for IMPEs in remote areas is provided by this method.

PV based converter with integrated charger for DC micro-grid applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salve, Rima

This thesis presents a converter topology for photovoltaic panels. This topology minimizes the number of switching devices used thereby reducing power losses that arise from high frequency switching operations. The control strategy is implemented using a simple microcontroller that implements the proportional plus integral control. All the control loops are closed feedback loops hence minimizing error instantaneously and adjusting efficiently to system variations. The energy management between three components, namely, the photovoltaic panel, a battery and a DC link for a microgrid is shown distributed over three modes. These modes are dependent on the irradiance from the sunlight. All three modes are simulated. The maximum power point tracking of the system plays a crutial role in this configuration as it is one of the main challenge tackled by the control system. Various methods of MPPT are discussed and the Perturb and Observe method is employed and is described in detail. Experimental results are shown for the maximum power point tracking of this system with a scaled down version of the panel's actual capability.

Smart Grid Development Issues for Terrestrial and Space Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Soeder, James F.

2011-01-01

The development of the so called Smart Grid has as many definitions as individuals working in the area. Based on the technology or technologies that are of interest, be it high speed communication, renewable generation, smart meters, energy storage, advanced sensors, etc. they can become the individual defining characteristic of the Smart Grid. In reality the smart grid encompasses all of these items and quite at bit more. This discussion attempts to look at what the needs are for the grid of the future, such as the issues of increased power flow capability, use of renewable energy, increased security and efficiency and common power and data standards. It also shows how many of these issues are common with the needs of NASA for future exploration programs. A common theme to address both terrestrial and space exploration issues is to develop micro-grids that advertise the ability to enable the load leveling of large power generation facilities. However, for microgrids to realize their promise there needs to a holistic systems approach to their development and integration. The overall system integration issues are presented along with potential solution methodologies.

Smart Grid Development Issues for Terrestrial and Space Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Soeder, James F.

2014-01-01

The development of the so called Smart Grid has as many definitions as individuals working in the area. Based on the technology or technologies that are of interest, be it high speed communication, renewable generation, smart meters, energy storage, advanced sensors, etc. they can become the individual defining characteristic of the Smart Grid. In reality the smart grid encompasses all of these items and quite at bit more. This discussion attempts to look at what the needs are for the grid of the future, such as the issues of increased power flow capability, use of renewable energy, increased security and efficiency and common power and data standards. It also shows how many of these issues are common with the needs of NASA for future exploration programs. A common theme to address both terrestrial and space exploration issues is to develop micro-grids that advertise the ability to enable the load leveling of large power generation facilities. However, for microgrids to realize their promise there needs to a holistic systems approach to their development and integration. The overall system integration issues are presented along with potential solution methodologies.

Methods and apparatus for reducing peak wind turbine loads

DOEpatents

Moroz, Emilian Mieczyslaw

2007-02-13

A method for reducing peak loads of wind turbines in a changing wind environment includes measuring or estimating an instantaneous wind speed and direction at the wind turbine and determining a yaw error of the wind turbine relative to the measured instantaneous wind direction. The method further includes comparing the yaw error to a yaw error trigger that has different values at different wind speeds and shutting down the wind turbine when the yaw error exceeds the yaw error trigger corresponding to the measured or estimated instantaneous wind speed.

Wind energy utilization: A bibliography

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1975-01-01

Bibliography cites documents published to and including 1974 with abstracts and references, and is indexed by topic, author, organization, title, and keywords. Topics include: Wind Energy Potential and Economic Feasibility, Utilization, Wind Power Plants and Generators, Wind Machines, Wind Data and Properties, Energy Storage, and related topics.

Wind turbine having a direct-drive drivetrain

DOEpatents

Bevington, Christopher M.; Bywaters, Garrett L.; Coleman, Clint C.; Costin, Daniel P.; Danforth, William L.; Lynch, Jonathan A.; Rolland, Robert H.

2008-10-07

A wind turbine (100) comprising an electrical generator (108) that includes a rotor assembly (112). A wind rotor (104) that includes a wind rotor hub (124) is directly coupled to the rotor assembly via a simplified connection. The wind rotor and generator rotor assembly are rotatably mounted on a central spindle (160) via a bearing assembly (180). The wind rotor hub includes an opening (244) having a diameter larger than the outside diameter of the central spindle adjacent the bearing assembly so as to allow access to the bearing assembly from a cavity (380) inside the wind rotor hub. The spindle is attached to a turret (140) supported by a tower (136). Each of the spindle, turret and tower has an interior cavity (172, 176, 368) that permits personnel to traverse therethrough to the cavity of the wind rotor hub. The wind turbine further includes a frictional braking system (276) for slowing, stopping or keeping stopped the rotation of the wind rotor and rotor assembly.

Army Energy Initiatives Task Force Industry Summit (portfolio)

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-11-03

IY Q N’ZWrt• r Q N’ZWarte US Army Kw•J•I•Io. Atoll. R•public of Monhollltl.nd• fotta..a..,.,., Puerto Rico a (11Jf:!;!6£1) Assistant...Turbine Engines Vehicle connected microgrid to provide assured power Low Speed Electric Vehicles 11 Vehicle Power Energy Initiatives Task Force

Method Of Wire Insertion For Electric Machine Stators

DOEpatents

Brown, David L; Stabel, Gerald R; Lawrence, Robert Anthony

2005-02-08

A method of inserting coils in slots of a stator is provided. The method includes interleaving a first set of first phase windings and a first set of second phase windings on an insertion tool. The method also includes activating the insertion tool to radially insert the first set of first phase windings and the first set of second phase windings in the slots of the stator. In one embodiment, interleaving the first set of first phase windings and the first set of second phase windings on the insertion tool includes forming the first set of first phase windings in first phase openings defined in the insertion tool, and forming the first set of second phase windings in second phase openings defined in the insertion tool.

Wind Power Finance and Investment Workshop 2004

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

anon.

2004-11-01

The workshop had 33 presentations by the leading industry experts in the wind finance and investment area. The workshop presented wind industry opportunities and advice to the financial community. The program also included two concurrent sessions, Wind 100, which offered wind energy novices a comprehensive introduction to wind energy fundamentals, and Transmission Policy and Regulations. Other workshop topics included: Bringing environmental and other issues into perspective; Policy impacts on wind financing; Technical/wind issues; Monetizing green attributes (Sale of green tags); Contractual issues; Debt issues; and Equity issues. There were approximately 230 attendees.

Wind energy applications guide

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

anon.

2001-01-01

The brochure is an introduction to various wind power applications for locations with underdeveloped transmission systems, from remote water pumping to village electrification. It includes an introductory section on wind energy, including wind power basics and system components and then provides examples of applications, including water pumping, stand-alone systems for home and business, systems for community centers, schools, and health clinics, and examples in the industrial area. There is also a page of contacts, plus two specific example applications for a wind-diesel system for a remote station in Antarctica and one on wind-diesel village electrification in Russia.

Recent Trend of New Type Power Delivery System and its Demonstrative Project in Japan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morozumi, Satoshi; Nara, Koichi

Recently many such distributed generating systems as co-generation, photovoltaic, wind, fuel cells etc. are introduced into power distribution system, and the power system must cope with the situation with distributed generators. Moreover, such industries as IT request reliable and high quality power to preserve their businesses, and some other electric energy based industries request less reliable but cheaper electricity. From these backgrounds, several new type power delivery systems are emerging where lots of distributed generators (DGs) can be connected and many benefits offered by DGs can be realized without affecting the existing power system. They are referred to various names. In U.S.A., Microgrid, Power Park and Virtual Utilities, etc. are proposed. In Europe, DISPOWER or Smart Grid is under developing. In Japan, FRIENDS and Demand Area Network System etc. are proposed and tested in real sites. In this paper, first, general concepts of such new type power delivery systems and new businesses expected to be created by using DGs are introduced. Then, recent research activities in this area in Japan are introduced so as to stimulate new business opportunities. In the later part of this paper, related NEDO's demonstrative projects are introduced. NEDO is the largest public R&D management organization and promoting several projects regarding grid connecting issues on the power system. Those projects were planned to solve several problems on the power system where distributed renewable energy resources are installed.

Distributed Energy Planning for Climate Resilience

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stout, Sherry R; Hotchkiss, Elizabeth L; Day, Megan H

At various levels of government across the United States and globally climate resilient solutions are being adopted and implemented. Solutions vary based on predicted hazards, community context, priorities, complexity, and available resources. Lessons are being learned through the implementation process, which can be replicated regardless of level or type of government entity carrying out the resiliency planning. Through a number of analyses and technical support across the world, NREL has learned key lessons related to resilience planning associated with power generation and water distribution. Distributed energy generation is a large factor in building resilience with clean energy technologies and solutions.more » The technical and policy solutions associated with distributed energy implementation for resilience fall into a few major categories, including spatial diversification, microgrids, water-energy nexus, policy, and redundancy.« less

HD Diesel Hybrid Truck Powertrain Study

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-09-11

Z39-18 Command Chain ij Army Materiel Command (AMC) - Huntsville, AL :""V-..... Research, Development & Engineering Command (RDECOM) -Aberdeen, MD...WARFIGHTER FOCUSED. Unclassified Li-lon I Ultracap Hybrid Energy Storage Microgrids Radiators Power Controllers for Power Management JP-8 Fuel...hybrid electric vehicle ( Honda Insight) entered this market in 1999 while the first commercial diesel-electric hybrid truck was produced by Navistar in

[Detection of transgenic crop with gene chip].

PubMed

Huang, Ying-Chun; Sun, Chun-Yun; Feng, Hong; Hu, Xiao-Dong; Yin, Hai-Bin

2003-05-01

Some selected available sequences of reporter genes,resistant genes, promoters and terminators are amplified by PCR for the probes of transgenic crop detection gene chip. These probes are arrayed at definite density and printed on the surface of amino-slides by bioRobot MicroGrid II. Results showed that gene chip worked quickly and correctly, when transgenic rice, pawpaw,maize and soybean were applied.

NREL and Cogent Energy Systems | Energy Systems Integration Facility | NREL

Science.gov Websites

to one of ESIF's 250-kVA resistive/inductive/capacitive load banks in order to simulate the WTE combined load of a standalone microgrid. Once the team demonstrates the system's ability to operate in a response to load demands that exceed solar energy output. By operating this way, the system can be used to

Power Quality Improvement Utilizing Photovoltaic Generation Connected to a Weak Grid

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Muljadi, Eduard; Tumbelaka, Hanny H.; Gao, Wenzhong

Microgrid research and development in the past decades have been one of the most popular topics. Similarly, the photovoltaic generation has been surging among renewable generation in the past few years, thanks to the availability, affordability, technology maturity of the PV panels and the PV inverter in the general market. Unfortunately, quite often, the PV installations are connected to weak grids and may have been considered as the culprit of poor power quality affecting other loads in particular sensitive loads connected to the same point of common coupling (PCC). This paper is intended to demystify the renewable generation, and turnsmore » the negative perception into positive revelation of the superiority of PV generation to the power quality improvement in a microgrid system. The main objective of this work is to develop a control method for the PV inverter so that the power quality at the PCC will be improved under various disturbances. The method is to control the reactive current based on utilizing the grid current to counteract the negative impact of the disturbances. The proposed control method is verified in PSIM platform. Promising results have been obtained.« less

A robust nonlinear stabilizer as a controller for improving transient stability in micro-grids.

PubMed

Azimi, Seyed Mohammad; Afsharnia, Saeed

2017-01-01

This paper proposes a parametric-Lyapunov approach to the design of a stabilizer aimed at improving the transient stability of micro-grids (MGs). This strategy is applied to electronically-interfaced distributed resources (EI-DRs) operating with a unified control configuration applicable to all operational modes (i.e. grid-connected mode, islanded mode, and mode transitions). The proposed approach employs a simple structure compared with other nonlinear controllers, allowing ready implementation of the stabilizer. A new parametric-Lyapunov function is proposed rendering the proposed stabilizer more effective in damping system transition transients. The robustness of the proposed stabilizer is also verified based on both time-domain simulations and mathematical proofs, and an ultimate bound has been derived for the frequency transition transients. The proposed stabilizer operates by deploying solely local information and there are no needs for communication links. The deteriorating effects of the primary resource delays on the transient stability are also treated analytically. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed stabilizer is evaluated through time-domain simulations and compared with the recently-developed stabilizers performed on a multi-resource MG. Copyright © 2016 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Revisiting control establishments for emerging energy hubs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nasirian, Vahidreza

Emerging small-scale energy systems, i.e., microgrids and smartgrids, rely on centralized controllers for voltage regulation, load sharing, and economic dispatch. However, the central controller is a single-point-of-failure in such a design as either the controller or attached communication links failure can render the entire system inoperable. This work seeks for alternative distributed control structures to improve system reliability and help to the scalability of the system. A cooperative distributed controller is proposed that uses a noise-resilient voltage estimator and handles global voltage regulation and load sharing across a DC microgrid. Distributed adaptive droop control is also investigated as an alternative solution. A droop-free distributed control is offered to handle voltage/frequency regulation and load sharing in AC systems. This solution does not require frequency measurement and, thus, features a fast frequency regulation. Distributed economic dispatch is also studied, where a distributed protocol is designed that controls generation units to merge their incremental costs into a consensus and, thus, push the entire system to generate with the minimum cost. Experimental verifications and Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) simulations are used to study efficacy of the proposed control protocols.

Dynamic Appliances Scheduling in Collaborative MicroGrids System

PubMed Central

Bilil, Hasnae; Aniba, Ghassane; Gharavi, Hamid

2017-01-01

In this paper a new approach which is based on a collaborative system of MicroGrids (MG’s), is proposed to enable household appliance scheduling. To achieve this, appliances are categorized into flexible and non-flexible Deferrable Loads (DL’s), according to their electrical components. We propose a dynamic scheduling algorithm where users can systematically manage the operation of their electric appliances. The main challenge is to develop a flattening function calculus (reshaping) for both flexible and non-flexible DL’s. In addition, implementation of the proposed algorithm would require dynamically analyzing two successive multi-objective optimization (MOO) problems. The first targets the activation schedule of non-flexible DL’s and the second deals with the power profiles of flexible DL’s. The MOO problems are resolved by using a fast and elitist multi-objective genetic algorithm (NSGA-II). Finally, in order to show the efficiency of the proposed approach, a case study of a collaborative system that consists of 40 MG’s registered in the load curve for the flattening program has been developed. The results verify that the load curve can indeed become very flat by applying the proposed scheduling approach. PMID:28824226

Balancing autonomy and utilization of solar power and battery storage for demand based microgrids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lawder, Matthew T.; Viswanathan, Vilayanur; Subramanian, Venkat R.

2015-04-01

The growth of intermittent solar power has developed a need for energy storage systems in order to decouple generation and supply of energy. Microgrid (MG) systems comprising of solar arrays with battery energy storage studied in this paper desire high levels of autonomy, seeking to meet desired demand at all times. Large energy storage capacity is required for high levels of autonomy, but much of this expensive capacity goes unused for a majority of the year due to seasonal fluctuations of solar generation. In this paper, a model-based study of MGs comprised of solar generation and battery storage shows the relationship between system autonomy and battery utilization applied to multiple demand cases using a single particle battery model (SPM). The SPM allows for more accurate state-of-charge and utilization estimation of the battery than previous studies of renewably powered systems that have used empirical models. The increased accuracy of battery state estimation produces a better assessment of system performance. Battery utilization will depend on the amount of variation in solar insolation as well as the type of demand required by the MG. Consumers must balance autonomy and desired battery utilization of a system within the needs of their grid.

Method and apparatus for wind turbine air gap control

DOEpatents

Grant, James Jonathan; Bagepalli, Bharat Sampathkumaran; Jansen, Patrick Lee; DiMascio, Paul Stephen; Gadre, Aniruddha Dattatraya; Qu, Ronghai

2007-02-20

Methods and apparatus for assembling a wind turbine generator are provided. The wind turbine generator includes a core and a plurality of stator windings circumferentially spaced about a generator longitudinal axis, a rotor rotatable about the generator longitudinal axis wherein the rotor includes a plurality of magnetic elements coupled to a radially outer periphery of the rotor such that an airgap is defined between the stator windings and the magnetic elements and the plurality of magnetic elements including a radially inner periphery having a first diameter. The wind turbine generator also includes a bearing including a first member in rotatable engagement with a radially inner second member, the first member including a radially outer periphery, a diameter of the radially outer periphery of the first member being substantially equal to the first diameter, the rotor coupled to the stator through the bearing such that a substantially uniform airgap is maintained.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shahidehpour, Mohammad

Integrating 20% or more wind energy into the system and transmitting large sums of wind energy over long distances will require a decision making capability that can handle very large scale power systems with tens of thousands of buses and lines. There is a need to explore innovative analytical and implementation solutions for continuing reliable operations with the most economical integration of additional wind energy in power systems. A number of wind integration solution paths involve the adoption of new operating policies, dynamic scheduling of wind power across interties, pooling integration services, and adopting new transmission scheduling practices. Such practicesmore » can be examined by the decision tool developed by this project. This project developed a very efficient decision tool called Wind INtegration Simulator (WINS) and applied WINS to facilitate wind energy integration studies. WINS focused on augmenting the existing power utility capabilities to support collaborative planning, analysis, and wind integration project implementations. WINS also had the capability of simulating energy storage facilities so that feasibility studies of integrated wind energy system applications can be performed for systems with high wind energy penetrations. The development of WINS represents a major expansion of a very efficient decision tool called POwer Market Simulator (POMS), which was developed by IIT and has been used extensively for power system studies for decades. Specifically, WINS provides the following superiorities; (1) An integrated framework is included in WINS for the comprehensive modeling of DC transmission configurations, including mono-pole, bi-pole, tri-pole, back-to-back, and multi-terminal connection, as well as AC/DC converter models including current source converters (CSC) and voltage source converters (VSC); (2) An existing shortcoming of traditional decision tools for wind integration is the limited availability of user interface, i.e., decision results are often text-based demonstrations. WINS includes a powerful visualization tool and user interface capability for transmission analyses, planning, and assessment, which will be of great interest to power market participants, power system planners and operators, and state and federal regulatory entities; and (3) WINS can handle extended transmission models for wind integration studies. WINS models include limitations on transmission flow as well as bus voltage for analyzing power system states. The existing decision tools often consider transmission flow constraints (dc power flow) alone which could result in the over-utilization of existing resources when analyzing wind integration. WINS can be used to assist power market participants including transmission companies, independent system operators, power system operators in vertically integrated utilities, wind energy developers, and regulatory agencies to analyze economics, security, and reliability of various options for wind integration including transmission upgrades and the planning of new transmission facilities. WINS can also be used by industry for the offline training of reliability and operation personnel when analyzing wind integration uncertainties, identifying critical spots in power system operation, analyzing power system vulnerabilities, and providing credible decisions for examining operation and planning options for wind integration. Researches in this project on wind integration included (1) Development of WINS; (2) Transmission Congestion Analysis in the Eastern Interconnection; (3) Analysis of 2030 Large-Scale Wind Energy Integration in the Eastern Interconnection; (4) Large-scale Analysis of 2018 Wind Energy Integration in the Eastern U.S. Interconnection. The research resulted in 33 papers, 9 presentations, 9 PhD degrees, 4 MS degrees, and 7 awards. The education activities in this project on wind energy included (1) Wind Energy Training Facility Development; (2) Wind Energy Course Development.« less

Method and apparatus for wind turbine braking

DOEpatents

Barbu, Corneliu [Laguna Hills, CA; Teichmann, Ralph [Nishkayuna, NY; Avagliano, Aaron [Houston, TX; Kammer, Leonardo Cesar [Niskayuna, NY; Pierce, Kirk Gee [Simpsonville, SC; Pesetsky, David Samuel [Greenville, SC; Gauchel, Peter [Muenster, DE

2009-02-10

A method for braking a wind turbine including at least one rotor blade coupled to a rotor. The method includes selectively controlling an angle of pitch of the at least one rotor blade with respect to a wind direction based on a design parameter of a component of the wind turbine to facilitate reducing a force induced into the wind turbine component as a result of braking.

Wind Power Today and Tomorrow

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

Wind Power Today and Tomorrow is an annual publication that provides an overview of the wind research conducted under the U.S. Department of Energy's Wind and Hydropower Technologies Program. The purpose of Wind Power Today and Tomorrow is to show how DOE supports wind turbine research and deployment in hopes of furthering the advancement of wind technologies that produce clean, low-cost, reliable energy. Content objectives include: educate readers about the advantages and potential for widespread deployment of wind energy; explain the program's objectives and goals; describe the program's accomplishments in research and application; examine the barriers to widespread deployment; describemore » the benefits of continued research and development; facilitate technology transfer; and attract cooperative wind energy projects with industry. This 2003 edition of the program overview also includes discussions about wind industry growth in 2003, how DOE is taking advantage of low wind speed region s through advancing technology, and distributed applications for small wind turbines.« less

Large wind turbine generators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thomas, R. L.; Donovon, R. M.

1978-01-01

The development associated with large wind turbine systems is briefly described. The scope of this activity includes the development of several large wind turbines ranging in size from 100 kW to several megawatt levels. A description of the wind turbine systems, their programmatic status and a summary of their potential costs is included.

A Reserve-based Method for Mitigating the Impact of Renewable Energy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krad, Ibrahim

The fundamental operating paradigm of today's power systems is undergoing a significant shift. This is partially motivated by the increased desire for incorporating variable renewable energy resources into generation portfolios. While these generating technologies offer clean energy at zero marginal cost, i.e. no fuel costs, they also offer unique operating challenges for system operators. Perhaps the biggest operating challenge these resources introduce is accommodating their intermittent fuel source availability. For this reason, these generators increase the system-wide variability and uncertainty. As a result, system operators are revisiting traditional operating strategies to more efficiently incorporate these generation resources to maximize the benefit they provide while minimizing the challenges they introduce. One way system operators have accounted for system variability and uncertainty is through the use of operating reserves. Operating reserves can be simplified as excess capacity kept online during real time operations to help accommodate unforeseen fluctuations in demand. With new generation resources, a new class of operating reserves has emerged that is generally known as flexibility, or ramping, reserves. This new reserve class is meant to better position systems to mitigate severe ramping in the net load profile. The best way to define this new requirement is still under investigation. Typical requirement definitions focus on the additional uncertainty introduced by variable generation and there is room for improvement regarding explicit consideration for the variability they introduce. An exogenous reserve modification method is introduced in this report that can improve system reliability with minimal impacts on total system wide production costs. Another potential solution to this problem is to formulate the problem as a stochastic programming problem. The unit commitment and economic dispatch problems are typically formulated as deterministic problems due to fast solution times and the solutions being sufficient for operations. Improvements in technical computing hardware have reignited interest in stochastic modeling. The variability of wind and solar naturally lends itself to stochastic modeling. The use of explicit reserve requirements in stochastic models is an area of interest for power system researchers. This report introduces a new reserve modification implementation based on previous results to be used in a stochastic modeling framework. With technological improvements in distributed generation technologies, microgrids are currently being researched and implemented. Microgrids are small power systems that have the ability to serve their demand with their own generation resources and may have a connection to a larger power system. As battery technologies improve, they are becoming a more viable option in these distributed power systems and research is necessary to determine the most efficient way to utilize them. This report will investigate several unique operating strategies for batteries in small power systems and analyze their benefits. These new operating strategies will help reduce operating costs and improve system reliability.

Program to determine space vehicle response to wind turbulence

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilkening, H. D.

1972-01-01

Computer program was developed as prelaunch wind monitoring tool for Saturn 5 vehicle. Program accounts for characteristic wind changes including turbulence power spectral density, wind shear, peak wind velocity, altitude, and wind direction using stored variational statistics.

Passive Resonant Bidirectional Converter with Galvanic Barrier

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rosenblad, Nathan S. (Inventor)

2014-01-01

A passive resonant bidirectional converter system that transports energy across a galvanic barrier includes a converter using at least first and second converter sections, each section including a pair of transfer terminals, a center tapped winding; a chopper circuit interconnected between the center tapped winding and one of the transfer terminals; an inductance feed winding interconnected between the other of the transfer terminals and the center tap and a resonant tank circuit including at least the inductance of the center tap winding and the parasitic capacitance of the chopper circuit for operating the converter section at resonance; the center tapped windings of the first and second converter sections being disposed on a first common winding core and the inductance feed windings of the first and second converter sections being disposed on a second common winding core for automatically synchronizing the resonant oscillation of the first and second converter sections and transferring energy between the converter sections until the voltage across the pairs of transfer terminals achieves the turns ratio of the center tapped windings.

Post-processing method for wind speed ensemble forecast using wind speed and direction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sofie Eide, Siri; Bjørnar Bremnes, John; Steinsland, Ingelin

2017-04-01

Statistical methods are widely applied to enhance the quality of both deterministic and ensemble NWP forecasts. In many situations, like wind speed forecasting, most of the predictive information is contained in one variable in the NWP models. However, in statistical calibration of deterministic forecasts it is often seen that including more variables can further improve forecast skill. For ensembles this is rarely taken advantage of, mainly due to that it is generally not straightforward how to include multiple variables. In this study, it is demonstrated how multiple variables can be included in Bayesian model averaging (BMA) by using a flexible regression method for estimating the conditional means. The method is applied to wind speed forecasting at 204 Norwegian stations based on wind speed and direction forecasts from the ECMWF ensemble system. At about 85 % of the sites the ensemble forecasts were improved in terms of CRPS by adding wind direction as predictor compared to only using wind speed. On average the improvements were about 5 %, but mainly for moderate to strong wind situations. For weak wind speeds adding wind direction had more or less neutral impact.

IEA Wind Task 26 - Multi-national Case Study of the Financial Cost of Wind Energy; Work Package 1 Final Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schwabe, P.; Lensink, S.; Hand, M.

2011-03-01

The lifetime cost of wind energy is comprised of a number of components including the investment cost, operation and maintenance costs, financing costs, and annual energy production. Accurate representation of these cost streams is critical in estimating a wind plant's cost of energy. Some of these cost streams will vary over the life of a given project. From the outset of project development, investors in wind energy have relatively certain knowledge of the plant's lifetime cost of wind energy. This is because a wind energy project's installed costs and mean wind speed are known early on, and wind generation generallymore » has low variable operation and maintenance costs, zero fuel cost, and no carbon emissions cost. Despite these inherent characteristics, there are wide variations in the cost of wind energy internationally, which is the focus of this report. Using a multinational case-study approach, this work seeks to understand the sources of wind energy cost differences among seven countries under International Energy Agency (IEA) Wind Task 26 - Cost of Wind Energy. The participating countries in this study include Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States. Due to data availability, onshore wind energy is the primary focus of this study, though a small sample of reported offshore cost data is also included.« less

Microgrid Enabled Distributed Energy Solutions (MEDES) - Fort Bliss Military Reservation

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-04-01

Security Act EPA Environmental Protection Agency EPAct05 Energy Policy Act of 2005 EPDF Enlisted Personnel Dining Facility EPEC El Paso Electric Company...Retrofitting the existing electrical infrastructure was a challenge, especially with the existing switchboard layout restricting the addition of motor ...operators (to allow for load shedding). The Lockheed Martin team installed as many motor operators as physically possible in the existing

Wind Energy Modeling and Simulation | Wind | NREL

Science.gov Websites

Wind Energy Modeling and Simulation Wind Turbine Modeling and Simulation Wind turbines are unique wind turbines. It enables the analysis of a range of wind turbine configurations, including: Two- or (SOWFA) employs computational fluid dynamics to allow users to investigate wind turbine and wind power

The NASA/MSFC global reference atmospheric model: MOD 3 (with spherical harmonic wind model)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Justus, C. G.; Fletcher, G. R.; Gramling, F. E.; Pace, W. B.

1980-01-01

Improvements to the global reference atmospheric model are described. The basic model includes monthly mean values of pressure, density, temperature, and geostrophic winds, as well as quasi-biennial and small and large scale random perturbations. A spherical harmonic wind model for the 25 to 90 km height range is included. Below 25 km and above 90 km, the GRAM program uses the geostrophic wind equations and pressure data to compute the mean wind. In the altitudes where the geostrophic wind relations are used, an interpolation scheme is employed for estimating winds at low latitudes where the geostrophic wind relations being to mesh down. Several sample wind profiles are given, as computed by the spherical harmonic model. User and programmer manuals are presented.

Simulating Sources of Superstorm Plasmas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fok, Mei-Ching

2008-01-01

We evaluated the contributions to magnetospheric pressure (ring current) of the solar wind, polar wind, auroral wind, and plasmaspheric wind, with the surprising result that the main phase pressure is dominated by plasmaspheric protons. We used global simulation fields from the LFM single fluid ideal MHD model. We embedded the Comprehensive Ring Current Model within it, driven by the LFM transpolar potential, and supplied with plasmas at its boundary including solar wind protons, polar wind protons, auroral wind O+, and plasmaspheric protons. We included auroral outflows and acceleration driven by the LFM ionospheric boundary condition, including parallel ion acceleration driven by upward currents. Our plasmasphere model runs within the CRCM and is driven by it. Ionospheric sources were treated using our Global Ion Kinetics code based on full equations of motion. This treatment neglects inertial loading and pressure exerted by the ionospheric plasmas, and will be superceded by multifluid simulations that include those effects. However, these simulations provide new insights into the respective role of ionospheric sources in storm-time magnetospheric dynamics.

Wind blade spar cap and method of making

DOEpatents

Mohamed, Mansour H [Raleigh, NC

2008-05-27

A wind blade spar cap for strengthening a wind blade including an integral, unitary three-dimensional woven material having a first end and a second end, corresponding to a root end of the blade and a tip end of the blade, wherein the material tapers in width from the first to the second end while maintaining a constant thickness and decreasing weight therebetween, the cap being capable of being affixed to the blade for providing increased strength with controlled variation in weight from the root end to the tip end based upon the tapered width of the material thereof. The present inventions also include the method of making the wind blade spar cap and a wind blade including the wind blade spar cap.

Wind speed statistics for Goldstone, California, anemometer sites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Berg, M.; Levy, R.; Mcginness, H.; Strain, D.

1981-01-01

An exploratory wind survey at an antenna complex was summarized statistically for application to future windmill designs. Data were collected at six locations from a total of 10 anemometers. Statistics include means, standard deviations, cubes, pattern factors, correlation coefficients, and exponents for power law profile of wind speed. Curves presented include: mean monthly wind speeds, moving averages, and diurnal variation patterns. It is concluded that three of the locations have sufficiently strong winds to justify consideration for windmill sites.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Youssef, Tarek A.; El Hariri, Mohamad; Elsayed, Ahmed T.

The smart grid is seen as a power system with realtime communication and control capabilities between the consumer and the utility. This modern platform facilitates the optimization in energy usage based on several factors including environmental, price preferences, and system technical issues. In this paper a real-time energy management system (EMS) for microgrids or nanogrids was developed. The developed system involves an online optimization scheme to adapt its parameters based on previous, current, and forecasted future system states. The communication requirements for all EMS modules were analyzed and are all integrated over a data distribution service (DDS) Ethernet network withmore » appropriate quality of service (QoS) profiles. In conclusion, the developed EMS was emulated with actual residential energy consumption and irradiance data from Miami, Florida and proved its effectiveness in reducing consumers’ bills and achieving flat peak load profiles.« less

Energy 101: Wind Turbines - 2014 Update

ScienceCinema

None

2018-05-11

See how wind turbines generate clean electricity from the power of wind. The video highlights the basic principles at work in wind turbines, and illustrates how the various components work to capture and convert wind energy to electricity. This updated version also includes information on the Energy Department's efforts to advance offshore wind power. Offshore wind energy footage courtesy of Vestas.

Windstorm Impact Reduction Implementation Plan

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-01-01

wind events, including hurricanes, tornadoes and straight line winds from thunderstorms. This information is repeated in brief during severe weather...event documentation and damage analyses. Better understanding of atmospheric dynamics of straight - line winds Wind observing systems and...Developed techniques for improved extreme wind speed maps Investigation of straight - line winds Wind speed and direction analysis for input to

NREL: Renewable Resource Data Center - Wind Resource Information

Science.gov Websites

and Actual Wind Turbine Sites (September 1982) and a Wind Energy Resource Atlas of the United States Wind Resource Information Photo of five wind turbines at the Nine Canyon Wind Project. The Nine Canyon Wind Project in Benton County, Washington, includes 37 wind turbines and 48 MW of capacity

11 CFR 9034.11 - Winding down costs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 11 Federal Elections 1 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Winding down costs. 9034.11 Section 9034.11... MATCHING FUND ENTITLEMENTS § 9034.11 Winding down costs. (a) Winding down costs. Winding down costs are... administrative costs associated with winding down the campaign, including office space rental, staff salaries...

11 CFR 9034.11 - Winding down costs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 11 Federal Elections 1 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Winding down costs. 9034.11 Section 9034.11... MATCHING FUND ENTITLEMENTS § 9034.11 Winding down costs. (a) Winding down costs. Winding down costs are... administrative costs associated with winding down the campaign, including office space rental, staff salaries...

11 CFR 9034.11 - Winding down costs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 11 Federal Elections 1 2013-01-01 2012-01-01 true Winding down costs. 9034.11 Section 9034.11... MATCHING FUND ENTITLEMENTS § 9034.11 Winding down costs. (a) Winding down costs. Winding down costs are... administrative costs associated with winding down the campaign, including office space rental, staff salaries...

11 CFR 9034.11 - Winding down costs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 11 Federal Elections 1 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Winding down costs. 9034.11 Section 9034.11... MATCHING FUND ENTITLEMENTS § 9034.11 Winding down costs. (a) Winding down costs. Winding down costs are... administrative costs associated with winding down the campaign, including office space rental, staff salaries...

11 CFR 9034.11 - Winding down costs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 11 Federal Elections 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Winding down costs. 9034.11 Section 9034.11... MATCHING FUND ENTITLEMENTS § 9034.11 Winding down costs. (a) Winding down costs. Winding down costs are... administrative costs associated with winding down the campaign, including office space rental, staff salaries...

Wind turbine generators having wind assisted cooling systems and cooling methods

DOEpatents

Bagepalli, Bharat [Niskayuna, NY; Barnes, Gary R [Delanson, NY; Gadre, Aniruddha D [Rexford, NY; Jansen, Patrick L [Scotia, NY; Bouchard, Jr., Charles G.; Jarczynski, Emil D [Scotia, NY; Garg, Jivtesh [Cambridge, MA

2008-09-23

A wind generator includes: a nacelle; a hub carried by the nacelle and including at least a pair of wind turbine blades; and an electricity producing generator including a stator and a rotor carried by the nacelle. The rotor is connected to the hub and rotatable in response to wind acting on the blades to rotate the rotor relative to the stator to generate electricity. A cooling system is carried by the nacelle and includes at least one ambient air inlet port opening through a surface of the nacelle downstream of the hub and blades, and a duct for flowing air from the inlet port in a generally upstream direction toward the hub and in cooling relation to the stator.

Methods and apparatus for cooling wind turbine generators

DOEpatents

Salamah, Samir A [Niskayuna, NY; Gadre, Aniruddha Dattatraya [Rexford, NY; Garg, Jivtesh [Schenectady, NY; Bagepalli, Bharat Sampathkumaran [Niskayuna, NY; Jansen, Patrick Lee [Alplaus, NY; Carl, Jr., Ralph James

2008-10-28

A wind turbine generator includes a stator having a core and a plurality of stator windings circumferentially spaced about a generator longitudinal axis. A rotor is rotatable about the generator longitudinal axis, and the rotor includes a plurality of magnetic elements coupled to the rotor and cooperating with the stator windings. The magnetic elements are configured to generate a magnetic field and the stator windings are configured to interact with the magnetic field to generate a voltage in the stator windings. A heat pipe assembly thermally engaging one of the stator and the rotor to dissipate heat generated in the stator or rotor.

Electrostatic Solitary Waves in the Solar Wind: Evidence for Instability at Solar Wind Current Sheets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Malaspina, David M.; Newman, David L.; Wilson, Lynn Bruce; Goetz, Keith; Kellogg, Paul J.; Kerstin, Kris

2013-01-01

A strong spatial association between bipolar electrostatic solitary waves (ESWs) and magnetic current sheets (CSs) in the solar wind is reported here for the first time. This association requires that the plasma instabilities (e.g., Buneman, electron two stream) which generate ESWs are preferentially localized to solar wind CSs. Distributions of CS properties (including shear angle, thickness, solar wind speed, and vector magnetic field change) are examined for differences between CSs associated with ESWs and randomly chosen CSs. Possible mechanisms for producing ESW-generating instabilities at solar wind CSs are considered, including magnetic reconnection.

Colliding Stellar Wind Models with Orbital Motion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilkin, Francis P.; O'Connor, Brendan

2018-01-01

We present thin-shell models for the collision between two ballistic stellar winds, including orbital motion.The stellar orbits are assumed circular, so that steady-state solutions exist in the rotating frame, where we include centrifugal and Coriolis forces. Exact solutions for the pre-shock winds are incorporated. Here we discuss 2-D model results for equal wind momentum-loss rates, although we allow for the winds to have distinct speeds and mass loss rates. For these unequal wind conditions, we obtain a clear violation of skew-symmetry, despite equal momentum loss rates, due to the Coriolis force.

Continuous filament composite parts and articles of manufacture thereof

DOEpatents

Weisberg, Andrew H.

2016-06-28

An article of manufacture according to one embodiment includes a plurality of plies in a stacked configuration, where each ply includes a plurality of tape winds having edges. A distance between the edges of adjacent tape winds in the same ply is about constant along a length of the wind. Each tape wind comprises elongated fibers and a matrix, axes of the fibers being oriented about parallel to a longitudinal axis of the tape wind. Additional systems, methods and articles of manufacture are also presented.

Renewable Firming EnergyFarm Final Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stepien, Tom; Collins, Mark

2017-01-26

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 (Recovery Act) provided the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) with funds to modernize the electric power grid. One program under this initiative is the Smart Grid Demonstration program (SGDP). The SGDP mandate is to demonstrate how a suite of existing and emerging smart grid technologies can be innovatively applied and integrated to prove technical, operational, and business-model feasibility. Primus Power is a provider of low cost, long life and long duration energy storage systems. The Company’s flow batteries are shipping to US and international microgrid, utility, military, commercial and industrial customers.more » Primus Power’s EnergyPod® is a modular battery system for grid scale applications available in configurations ranging from 25 kW to more than 25 MW. The EnergyPod provides nameplate power for 5 hours. This long duration unlocks economic benefits on both sides of the electric meter. It allows commercial and industrial customers to shift low cost electricity purchased at night to offset afternoon electrical peaks to reduce utility demand charges. It also allows utilities to economically reduce power peaks and defer costly upgrades to distribution infrastructure. An EnergyPod contains one or more EnergyCells-a highly engineered flow battery core made from low cost, readily available materials. An EnergyCell includes a membrane-free stack of titanium electrodes located above a novel liquid electrolyte management system. This patented design enables reliable, low maintenance operation for decades. It is safe and robust, featuring non-flammable aqueous electrolyte, sophisticated fault detection and built-in secondary containment. Unlike Li Ion batteries, the EnergyCell is not susceptible to thermal runaway. This cooperative agreement project was started in Feb 2010. The objectives of the project are: 1. Trigger rapid adoption of grid storage systems in the US by demonstrating a low cost, robust and flexible EnergyFarm®. 2. Accelerate adoption of renewable energy and enhance grid stability by firming the output of wind & solar farms. 3. Demonstrate improved grid asset utilization by storing energy during off-peak periods for dispatch during local load peaks. 4. Establish an advanced battery manufacturing industry in the U.S. 5. Reduce CO2 emissions from utilities. This report summarizes the key milestones, data, results and lessons learned from the project. The desired goals and benefits of the cooperative agreement with the DOE have all been achieved. The project has contributed to reducing power costs, accelerating adoption of renewable energy resources, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and establishing advanced battery manufacturing in the U.S. The Recovery Act funds provided thru the DOE have been leveraged multiple times by additional private equity investment. Primus Power continues to ship low cost, long life and long duration EnergyPod® flow battery systems to utilities, commercial/industrial, microgrid and data center customers. After the conclusion of this project, Primus Power has modified the EnergyPod® design to optimize around energy performance. Primus Power has moved to a prefabricated enclosure instead of multiple EnergyCells in a container. This lowers capital and maintenance costs and can optimize site design. Utilities are starting to adopt energy storage for a variety of functions. The market will grow as the technology is proven and profitable applications expand.« less

Integration of Wind Energy Systems into Power Engineering Education Program at UW-Madison

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Venkataramanan, Giri; Lesieutre, Bernard; Jahns, Thomas

This project has developed an integrated curriculum focused on the power engineering aspects of wind energy systems that builds upon a well-established graduate educational program at UW- Madison. Five new courses have been developed and delivered to students. Some of the courses have been offered on multiple occasions. The courses include: Control of electric drives for Wind Power applications, Utility Applications of Power Electronics (Wind Power), Practicum in Small Wind Turbines, Utility Integration of Wind Power, and Wind and Weather for Scientists and Engineers. Utility Applications of Power Electronics (Wind Power) has been provided for distance education as well asmore » on-campus education. Several industrial internships for students have been organized. Numerous campus seminars that provide discussion on emerging issues related to wind power development have been delivered in conjunction with other campus events. Annual student conferences have been initiated, that extend beyond wind power to include sustainable energy topics to draw a large group of stakeholders. Energy policy electives for engineering students have been identified for students to participate through a certificate program. Wind turbines build by students have been installed at a UW-Madison facility, as a test-bed. A Master of Engineering program in Sustainable Systems Engineering has been initiated that incorporates specializations that include in wind energy curricula. The project has enabled UW-Madison to establish leadership at graduate level higher education in the field of wind power integration with the electric grid.« less

Electrical system using phase-shifted carrier signals and related operating methods

DOEpatents

Welchko, Brian A; Campbell, Jeremy B

2012-09-18

An automotive drive system and methods for making the same are provided. The system includes a three-phase motor and an inverter module. The three-phase motor includes a first set of windings each having a first magnetic polarity; and a second set of windings each having a second magnetic polarity that is opposite the first magnetic polarity. The first set of windings being electrically isolated from the second set of windings. The inverter module includes a first set of phase legs and a second set of phase legs. Each one of the first set of phase legs is coupled to a corresponding phase of the first set of windings, and each one of the second set of phase legs is coupled to a corresponding phase of the second set of windings.

Reinventing Batteries for Grid Storage

ScienceCinema

Banerjee, Sanjoy

2017-12-09

The City University of New York's Energy Institute, with the help of ARPA-E funding, is creating safe, low cost, rechargeable, long lifecycle batteries that could be used as modular distributed storage for the electrical grid. The batteries could be used at the building level or the utility level to offer benefits such as capture of renewable energy, peak shaving and microgridding, for a safer, cheaper, and more secure electrical grid.

PI and repetitive control for single phase inverter based on virtual rotating coordinate system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Mengqi; Tong, Yibin; Jiang, Jiuchun; Liang, Jiangang

2018-03-01

Microgrid technology developed rapidly and nonlinear loads were connected increasingly. A new control strategy was proposed for single phase inverter when connected nonlinear loads under island condition. PI and repetitive compound controller was realized under synchronous rotating coordinate system and acquired high quality sinusoidal voltage output without voltage spike when loads step changed. Validity and correctness were verified by simulation using MATLAB/Simulink.

Optimization of Microgrids at Military Remote Base Camps

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-12-01

DOCUMENTATION PAGE Form Approved OMB No. 0704–0188 Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per... Form 298 (Rev. 2–89) Prescribed by ANSI Std. 239–18 i THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK ii Approved for public release. Distribution is unlimited...Operational Energy Office Initiatives Quickly after establishment, the newly formed Operational Energy Office developed a list of initiatives aimed

Wind and turbine characteristics needed for integration of wind turbine arrays into a utility system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Park, G. L.

1982-01-01

Wind data and wind turbine generator (WTG) performance characteristics are often available in a form inconvenient for use by utility planners and engineers. The steps used by utility planners are summarized and the type of wind and WTG data needed for integration of WTG arrays suggested. These included long term yearly velocity averages for preliminary site feasibility, hourly velocities on a 'wind season' basis for more detailed economic analysis and for reliability studies, worst-case velocity profiles for gusts, and various minute-to-hourly velocity profiles for estimating the effect of longer-term wind fluctuations on utility operations. wind turbine data needed includes electrical properties of the generator, startup and shutdown characteristics, protection characteristics, pitch control response and control strategy, and electro-mechanical model for stability analysis.

Converter topologies and control

DOEpatents

Rodriguez, Fernando; Qin, Hengsi; Chapman, Patrick

2018-05-01

An inverter includes a transformer that includes a first winding, a second winding, and a third winding, a DC-AC inverter electrically coupled to the first winding of the transformer, a cycloconverter electrically coupled to the second winding of the transformer, an active filter electrically coupled to the third winding of the transformer. The DC-AC inverter is adapted to convert the input DC waveform to an AC waveform delivered to the transformer at the first winding. The cycloconverter is adapted to convert an AC waveform received at the second winding of the transformer to the output AC waveform having a grid frequency of the AC grid. The active filter is adapted to sink and source power with one or more energy storage devices based on a mismatch in power between the DC source and the AC grid.

A multi-mode operation control strategy for flexible microgrid based on sliding-mode direct voltage and hierarchical controls.

PubMed

Zhang, Qinjin; Liu, Yancheng; Zhao, Youtao; Wang, Ning

2016-03-01

Multi-mode operation and transient stability are two problems that significantly affect flexible microgrid (MG). This paper proposes a multi-mode operation control strategy for flexible MG based on a three-layer hierarchical structure. The proposed structure is composed of autonomous, cooperative, and scheduling controllers. Autonomous controller is utilized to control the performance of the single micro-source inverter. An adaptive sliding-mode direct voltage loop and an improved droop power loop based on virtual negative impedance are presented respectively to enhance the system disturbance-rejection performance and the power sharing accuracy. Cooperative controller, which is composed of secondary voltage/frequency control and phase synchronization control, is designed to eliminate the voltage/frequency deviations produced by the autonomous controller and prepare for grid connection. Scheduling controller manages the power flow between the MG and the grid. The MG with the improved hierarchical control scheme can achieve seamless transitions from islanded to grid-connected mode and have a good transient performance. In addition the presented work can also optimize the power quality issues and improve the load power sharing accuracy between parallel VSIs. Finally, the transient performance and effectiveness of the proposed control scheme are evaluated by theoretical analysis and simulation results. Copyright © 2015 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Transparent and stretchable strain sensors based on metal nanowire microgrids for human motion monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cho, Ji Hwan; Ha, Sung-Hun; Kim, Jong-Man

2018-04-01

Optical transparency is increasingly considered as one of the most important characteristics required in advanced stretchable strain sensors for application in body-attachable systems. In this paper, we present an entirely solution-processed fabrication route to highly transparent and stretchable resistive strain sensors based on silver nanowire microgrids (AgNW-MGs). The AgNW-MG strain sensors are readily prepared by patterning the AgNWs on a stretchable substrate into a MG geometry via a mesh-template-assisted contact-transfer printing. The MG has a unique architecture comprising the AgNWs and can be stretched to ɛ = 35%, with high gauge factors of ˜6.9 for ɛ = 0%-30% and ˜41.1 for ɛ = 30%-35%. The sensor also shows a high optical transmittance of 77.1% ± 1.5% (at 550 nm) and stably maintains the remarkable optical performance even at high strains. In addition, the sensor responses are found to be highly reversible with negligible hysteresis and are reliable even under repetitive stretching-releasing cycles (1000 cycles at ɛ = 10%). The practicality of the AgNW-MG strain sensor is confirmed by successfully monitoring a wide range of human motions in real time after firmly laminating the device onto various body parts.

Solar energy system with wind vane

DOEpatents

Grip, Robert E

2015-11-03

A solar energy system including a pedestal defining a longitudinal axis, a frame that is supported by the pedestal and that is rotateable relative to the pedestal about the longitudinal axis, the frame including at least one solar device, and a wind vane operatively connected to the frame to urge the frame relative to the pedestal about the longitudinal axis in response to wind acting on the wind vane.

Shear and Turbulence Estimates for Calculation of Wind Turbine Loads and Responses Under Hurricane Strength Winds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kosovic, B.; Bryan, G. H.; Haupt, S. E.

2012-12-01

Schwartz et al. (2010) recently reported that the total gross energy-generating offshore wind resource in the United States in waters less than 30m deep is approximately 1000 GW. Estimated offshore generating capacity is thus equivalent to the current generating capacity in the United States. Offshore wind power can therefore play important role in electricity production in the United States. However, most of this resource is located along the East Coast of the United States and in the Gulf of Mexico, areas frequently affected by tropical cyclones including hurricanes. Hurricane strength winds, associated shear and turbulence can affect performance and structural integrity of wind turbines. In a recent study Rose et al. (2012) attempted to estimate the risk to offshore wind turbines from hurricane strength winds over a lifetime of a wind farm (i.e. 20 years). According to Rose et al. turbine tower buckling has been observed in typhoons. They concluded that there is "substantial risk that Category 3 and higher hurricanes can destroy half or more of the turbines at some locations." More robust designs including appropriate controls can mitigate the risk of wind turbine damage. To develop such designs good estimates of turbine loads under hurricane strength winds are essential. We use output from a large-eddy simulation of a hurricane to estimate shear and turbulence intensity over first couple of hundred meters above sea surface. We compute power spectra of three velocity components at several distances from the eye of the hurricane. Based on these spectra analytical spectral forms are developed and included in TurbSim, a stochastic inflow turbulence code developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL, http://wind.nrel.gov/designcodes/preprocessors/turbsim/). TurbSim provides a numerical simulation including bursts of coherent turbulence associated with organized turbulent structures. It can generate realistic flow conditions that an operating turbine would encounter under hurricane strength winds. These flow fields can be used to estimate wind turbine loads and responses with AeroDyn (http://wind.nrel.gov/designcodes/simulators/aerodyn/) and FAST (http://wind.nrel.gov/designcodes/simulators/fast/) codes also developed by NREL.

Predicting Near-surface Winds with WindNinja for Wind Energy Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wagenbrenner, N. S.; Forthofer, J.; Shannon, K.; Butler, B.

2016-12-01

WindNinja is a high-resolution diagnostic wind model widely used by operational wildland fire managers to predict how near-surface winds may influence fire behavior. Many of the features which have made WindNinja successful for wildland fire are also important for wind energy applications. Some of these features include flexible runtime options which allow the user to initialize the model with coarser scale weather model forecasts, sparse weather station observations, or a simple domain-average wind for what-if scenarios; built-in data fetchers for required model inputs, including gridded terrain and vegetation data and operational weather model forecasts; relatively fast runtimes on simple hardware; an extremely user-friendly interface; and a number of output format options, including KMZ files for viewing in Google Earth and GeoPDFs which can be viewed in a GIS. The recent addition of a conservation of mass and momentum solver based on OpenFOAM libraries further increases the utility of WindNinja to modelers in the wind energy sector interested not just in mean wind predictions, but also in turbulence metrics. Here we provide an evaluation of WindNinja forecasts based on (1) operational weather model forecasts and (2) weather station observations provided by the MesoWest API. We also compare the high-resolution WindNinja forecasts to the coarser operational weather model forecasts. For this work we will use the High Resolution Rapid Refresh (HRRR) model and the North American Mesoscale (NAM) model. Forecasts will be evaluated with data collected in the Birch Creek valley of eastern Idaho, USA between June-October 2013. Near-surface wind, turbulence data, and vertical wind and temperature profiles were collected at very high spatial resolution during this field campaign specifically for use in evaluating high-resolution wind models like WindNinja. This work demonstrates the ability of WindNinja to generate very high-resolution wind forecasts for wind energy applications and evaluates the forecasts produced by two different initialization methods with data collected in a broad valley surrounded by complex terrain.

Wind for Schools: A Wind Powering America Project

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

2007-12-01

This brochure serves as an introduction to Wind Powering America's Wind for Schools Project, including a description of the project, the participants, funding sources, and the basic configurations of the project.

Not Out of Control: Analysis of the Federal Disaster Spending Trend

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-03-01

included heavy rain, excessive rainfall, tropical storms, hurricanes, flooding, coastal flooding, wind, straight line winds, high winds, tornadoes ...straight line winds, tornadoes , high winds, coastal flooding, soil saturation, and mud flow.174 Despite the high number of severe storm declarations over

C/STOL flight in wind disturbed by the presence of buildings

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frost, W.; Reddy, R.; Crosby, B.; Camp, D. W.

1978-01-01

This paper investigates the behavior of winds about block geometries characteristic of building shapes and of the flight performance of aircraft with characteristics of a DC-8 and a DHC-6 as they fly through the wind fields. The two-dimensional equations of motion for the aircraft are written to include variable winds and wind shear components. The paper also presents a discussion of the influence of those terms in the equations of motion which explicitly contain effects due to wind shear. Also included is a study of the aircrafts' flight paths over the obstacles with both a fixed stick and an automatic landing system.

Best Practices for Wind Energy Development in the Great Lakes Region

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pebbles, Victoria; Hummer, John; Haven, Celia

2011-07-19

This report offers a menu of 18 different, yet complementary, preferred practices and policies. The best practices cover all phases of the wind energy development process - from the policies that allow for wind development, to the sustainable operation of a wind project, to the best practices for decommissioning a spent turbine - including applications for offshore wind. Each best practice describes the opportunities and challenges (pros and cons), and offers a case example that illustrates how that best practice is being utilized by a particular jurisdiction or wind project. The practices described in this publication were selected by amore » diverse group of interests from the Great Lakes Wind Collaborative that included environmental groups, industry, academia, and federal, state and local government regulators. The practices were identified through a year-long process that included a literature review, online survey and interviews with individuals from the public, private and non-profit sectors. Optimally, a suite of these best practices would be applied in an appropriate combination to fit the conditions of a particular wind project or a set of wind projects within a given locality or region.« less

Tornado and extreme wind design criteria for nuclear power plants

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

1973-12-01

Nuclear power plant design criteria for tornadoes and extreme winds are presented. Data, formulas, and procedures for determining maximum wind loading on structures and parts of structures are included. Extreme wind loading is applied to structures using methods and procedures consistent with ANSI Building Code A58.1- 1972. The design wind velocities specified generally exceed 100-year recurrent interval winds. Tornado wind loading is applied to structures using procedures paralleling those for extrene winds with additional criteria resulting from the atmospheric pressure change accompanying tornadoes and tornado missile inipact effects. Tornado loading for the 48 contiguous United States is specified for twomore » major zones separated by the Continental Divide. A cross reference listing items related to Atomic Energy Commission Safety Analysis Report format is provided. Development supporting tornado criteria is included. (auth)« less

Wind Integration National Dataset Toolkit | Grid Modernization | NREL

Science.gov Websites

information, share tips The WIND Toolkit includes meteorological conditions and turbine power for more than Integration National Dataset Toolkit Wind Integration National Dataset Toolkit The Wind Integration National Dataset (WIND) Toolkit is an update and expansion of the Eastern Wind Integration Data Set and

Wind turbine acoustics research bibliography with selected annotation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hubbard, Harvey H.; Shepherd, Kevin P.

1988-01-01

Citations of documents are included, which represent the state-of-the-art of technology in each of the following acoustics subject areas: Prediction of Wind Turbine Noise; Acoustic Measurements for Wind Tunnels; Effect of Wind Turbine Noise on Building Structures, People and Communities; Atmospheric Propagation; and Measurement Technology Including Wind Screens. Documents are listed in chronological order in each section of the paper, with key documents and associated annotation listed first. The sources are given along with acquisition numbers, when available, to expedite the acquisition of copies of the documents.

DOE/NASA Mod-0 100KW wind turbine test results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Glasgow, J. C.

1978-01-01

The Wind Turbine demonstrates the capability of automatic unattended operation, including startup, achieving synchronism, and shutdown as dictated by wind conditions. During the course of these operations, a wealth of engineering data was generated. Some of the data which is associated with rotor and machine dynamics problems encountered, and the machine modifications incorporated as a solution are presented. These include high blade loads due to tower shadow, excessive nacelle yawing motion, and power oscillations. The results of efforts to correlate measured wind velocity with power output and wind turbine loads are also discussed.

Challenges in Understanding and Forecasting Winds in Complex Terrain.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mann, J.; Fernando, J.; Wilczak, J. M.

2017-12-01

An overview will be given of some of the challenges in understanding and forecasting winds in complex terrain. These challenges can occur for several different reasons including 1) gaps in our understanding of fundamental physical boundary layer processes occurring in complex terrain; 2) a lack of adequate parameterizations and/or numerical schemes in NWP models; and 3) inadequate observations for initialization of NWP model forecasts. Specific phenomena that will be covered include topographic wakes/vortices, cold pools, gap flows, and mountain-valley winds, with examples taken from several air quality and wind energy related field programs in California as well as from the recent Second Wind Forecast Improvement Program (WFIP2) field campaign in the Columbia River Gorge/Basin area of Washington and Oregon States. Recent parameterization improvements discussed will include those for boundary layer turbulence, including 3D turbulence schemes, and gravity wave drag. Observational requirements for improving wind forecasting in complex terrain will be discussed, especially in the context of forecasting pressure gradient driven gap flow events.

Reassessing Wind Potential Estimates for India: Economic and Policy Implications

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Phadke, Amol; Bharvirkar, Ranjit; Khangura, Jagmeet

2011-09-15

We assess developable on-shore wind potential in India at three different hub-heights and under two sensitivity scenarios – one with no farmland included, the other with all farmland included. Under the “no farmland included” case, the total wind potential in India ranges from 748 GW at 80m hub-height to 976 GW at 120m hub-height. Under the “all farmland included” case, the potential with a minimum capacity factor of 20 percent ranges from 984 GW to 1,549 GW. High quality wind energy sites, at 80m hub-height with a minimum capacity factor of 25 percent, have a potential between 253 GW (nomore » farmland included) and 306 GW (all farmland included). Our estimates are more than 15 times the current official estimate of wind energy potential in India (estimated at 50m hub height) and are about one tenth of the official estimate of the wind energy potential in the US.« less

Wind for Schools: A Wind Powering America Project (Alaska) (Brochure)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

2010-02-01

This brochure provides an overview of Wind Powering America's Wind for Schools Project, including a description of the project, the participants, funding sources, the basic configurations, and how interested parties can become involved.

Wind for Schools: A Wind Powering America Project (Brochure)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Baring-Gould, I.

2009-08-01

This brochure provides an overview of Wind Powering America's Wind for Schools Project, including a description of the project, the participants, funding sources, the basic configurations, and how interested parties can become involved.