Phasor Measurement Unit Assisted Inverter—A Novel Approach for DC Microgrids Performance Enhancement

Raziq Yaqub

doi:10.3390/electricity2030020

Abstract

DC microgrids are set to change the landscape of future energy markets. However, a wide-scale deployment faces three major issues: initial synchronization of microgrid with the utility grid, slip management during its operation, and mitigation of distortions produced by the inverter. This paper proposes a Phasor Measurement Unit (PMU) Assisted Inverter (PAI) that addresses these three issues in a single solution. The proposed PAI continually receives real-time data from a Phasor Measurement Unit installed in the distribution system of a utility company and keeps constructing a real-time reference signal for the inverter. A well-constructed, real-time reference signal plays a vital role in addressing the above issues. The results show that the proposed PAI is 97.95% efficient.

Highlights

Community microgrids have emerged as an alternative to address the rising societal demands for electric infrastructures
From the entire literature review we presented above, we infer that DC microgrids face three major technical problems, i.e., initial synchronization with the utility grid, instantaneous slip management during operation, and distortions produced by the inverter electronics
Viable wide-scale deployment of community microgrids faces three major technical problems, i.e., initial synchronization with the utility grid, instantaneous slip management during operation, and distortions produced by the inverter electronics

Summary

Introduction

Community microgrids have emerged as an alternative to address the rising societal demands for electric infrastructures. They are economical and environmentally friendly and promise a long list of ambitious goals, including, premium reliability, superior power quality, improved sustainability, and smooth integration of renewable energy [1]. They are typically capable of operating in islanded or grid-connected mode. Though the technology is proven, it faces the following three major technical challenges

Initial Synchronization of DC Microgrid with the Utility’s AC Grid

Slip Management during Connected Mode Operation

Conclusions

Future Work