Uncertainty Reduction for Data Centers in Energy Internet by a Compact AC-DC Energy Router and Coordinated Energy Management Strategy

Abstract

The concept of energy internet (EI) is a promising way to increase the utilization of small-scale renewable distributed generation and to reduce the effect of their intermittency on an autonomous power system. In such systems, resources are shared among the various participants in the grid, and the reliability of the overall system will increase. In the control level, an energy management strategy is required to meet the demand with respect to the available renewable distributed generation, energy storage, and flexible loads. In order to actuate the energy management strategies in an EI, controllable multiport converters are required to control energy flow. These converters are called energy routers (ERs). ERs are keystones in an EI as they control power flow and assure system power balance at local and global levels. ERs that interface AC and DC sub-grids are typically built with a combination of several converters that increase the cost and size of such converters. The higher number of ERs increases the flexibility of energy management in an EI, but the cost and size of such converter are a limiting factor at system-level design. This paper proposes a new, less expensive structure with a tailor-made control strategy to overcome these issues. The performance of the ER structure and the control strategy is confirmed with simulation and experimental results.