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Large penetration of renewable energy is currently attenuated by concerns regarding their impact on the controllability and reliability of the electrical system. As the inclusion of energy storage is to a great extent the solution to these issues, this paper proposes a methodology for approaching the calculation of the size of the energy storage to be connected to a PV power plant for providing inertia emulation, primary control, and the reduction of power fluctuation. A complete control strategy, developed for the inclusion of these services in the operation of a dc-ac grid connected converter has been implemented and validated through simulation results. The obtained results are validated by experimental tests performed on a scaled 10 kW prototype., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (published version) more...

Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESSs) could contribute to the generation/consumption balance of the grid and could provide advanced functionalities at different grid levels (generation, T&D, end-user and RES integration). In this paper an analysis and comparison of Battery Energy Storage (BES) technologies for grid applications is carried out. The comparison is focused on the most installed technologies in the recent experimental BESS installations. Furthermore, the paper presents a new methodology aimed at selecting the most suitable BES technology for a specific grid application. This methodology defines a priority level for each technical and economical characteristic of the BES technologies. Finally, the proposed methodology is applied for a specific grid application confirming its contribution in the selection of the best-suited technology., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (published version) more...

This paper analyzes the minimum energy capacity ratings that an energy-storage (ES) system should accomplish in order to achieve a defined constant power production in a photovoltaic (PV) power plant. ES is a key issue for the further integration of intermittent and stochastic renewable energy sources, which are not currently dispatchable due to their dependence on real-time weather conditions, as is the case of PV technology. This paper proposes and describes an energy management strategy (EMS) for operating PV power plants with ES in the future. The goal of this EMS is to endow these power plants with a constant production that can be controlled and hence traded on electricity markets. This paper presents simulated results on the percentage of time throughout the year during which a large-scale PV+ES plant operates properly with different ES ratings and according to different configurations of this EMS. Finally, a test bench was developed, and experimental results validating this EMS were obtained, Postprint (published version) more...

This study presents a solution for reducing the frequency oscillations in multi-area interconnected power system by means of using an VSC-HVDC interconnection transmission line. The upcoming power-electronics based HVDC transmission system offers new features that can be advantageous for improving the frequency control and thus for enhancing the stability in transmission networks. This paper is structured in two main parts; the first one is be devoted to introduce the basic elements of HVDC links and the second part will be focused on the effects of the HVDC links in the frequency control of interconnected power systems. In order to show the positive effects of HVDC links under random load disturbance, a model with parallel AC-DC interconnected power system, including a new power modulation controller of bi-directional VSC-HVDC link, is proposed and simulated. Comparisons between HVAC and HVDC transmissions are presented and its performance is evaluated using Matlab/Simulink, Postprint (published version) more...

The operation of distributed power generation systems under grid fault conditions is a key issue for the massive integration of renewable energy systems. Several studies have been conducted to improve the response of such distributed generation systems under voltage dips. In spite of being less severe, unbalanced fault cause a great number of disconnections, as it may produce the injection of unbalanced currents that can easily conduct to the tripping of the converter. In this paper a current control strategy for power converters able to deal with these grid conditions, without exceeding the current ratings of the converter is introduced. Moreover, a novel flexible algorithm has been proposed in order to regulate easily the injection of positive and negative currents for general purpose applications., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (published version) more...

In this paper a modulation strategy for the DCM-232 power converter is proposed. This modulation has as particular a symmetrical ripple and that no common mode currents are presented. Some simulation and experimental results are given in order to prove the good behavior of the topology regarding common mode voltage (CMV)., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (published version) more...

Nowadays transformerless PV converters are widely used in the energy conversion stage of a PV plant, because their good characteristics regarding efficiency, size, cost and weight. The main problem in transformerless PV systems is the common mode voltage variations that can generate leakage ground currents (LGC) through the parasitic capacitance formed between the PV panels and ground. These LGC are a risk for the users in a PV system therefore they should be avoided. The LGC has a clear origin on the pulse width modulation (PWM) strategy and the converter structure. In this paper a three-phase inverter with constant common mode voltage (CMV) is proposed. Simulation results are also provided., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (published version) more...

This paper presents economically optimized energy and power management strategies for grid-friendly hydrogen based Zero Energy Buildings (ZEBs). The proposed energy management strategy is an adaptative optimization-based strategy that minimizes the operation cost of the facility taking into account RES generation prediction errors. It is shown that with an Adaptative Optimized Five-step Charge Controller (AOFC2) the use of the different equipment is optimized and the overall operation cost is minimized considering the entire life of the facility. The proposed energy management strategy is coordinated with power management strategies to offer advanced functionalities (peak-shaving, reactive power control and back-up service) that provide added-value to the facility. The paper demonstrates by means of offline and real-time simulations, that an adequate energy and power management structure permits the optimal economic exploitation of an advanced ZEB (that includes an energy storage system), providing not only a zero energy annual balance but also interesting added-value features to the grid and to the local consumers., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (published version) more...

The increasing penetration of generation power plants based on renewable energies in the electrical networks has boosted the number of systems connected to the grid. In this scenario the microgrid, providing advanced functionalities to improve the stability and operation of the network, have become very popular. In this paper a control strategy for the microgrid management is presented. The proposed system improves the performance of microgrids and its interaction with the main network, or another microgrid, under grid voltage transients. This technique gives rise to a simple and robust control scheme to ensure the appropriate microgrid disconnection, and further resynchronization and reconnection, from the main grid. In the following, the control algorithm for the intelligent connection agent will be shown, and the grid synchronization system, as well as the voltage and current control loops will be detailed. Finally, results obtained using the MATLAB/Simulink & PSIM platform will be presented and discussed., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (published version) more...

In this paper a hybrid microgrid system, composed of RES (Renewable Energy System) and CHP (Combined Heat and Power) systems together with a battery based storage system is presented. The microgrid is accompanied by a centralized energy management system (CEMS) in order to optimize the microgrid operation both in grid-connected and in stand-alone modes. In grid-connected mode the optimization of the economic exploitation of the microgrid is privileged by applying optimization techniques. In stand-alone mode, management functions are applied to improve the reliability of the facility by means of islanding operation capability. The optimization analysis has been carried out in simulation while the reliability improvement of the microgrid operation has been analyzed in simulation and proven experimentally., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (published version) more...