Smart Distribution Grid Power Quality Control using DG-Grid Interfacing Power Converters

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Increasing concerns about energy costs, energy security, and greenhouse gas emissions, are motivating the power industry to integrate more renewable energy sources (RESs) into the power distribution system through distributed generation (DG). The smart or flexible distribution grid is a new concept that could enable this infrastructural shift in the power industry with improved reliability and power quality. In parallel with this, the distribution grid voltage distortion in North America is increasing rapidly as more nonlinear loads are connected to the system. Poor power quality affects sensitive loads and even interferes with telecommunication systems. The smart distribution grid can provide immediate improvement to power quality. This is especially true considering that RES based DG systems are connected to the distribution grid through grid-interfacing power converters. These grid-interfacing converters convert the RES output voltage to the grid-friendly voltage for system integration. However, the intermittent nature of renewable energy causes these converters to usually operate at lower than rated power. A promising concept is to use the available ratings from these DG-grid interfacing power converters to improve the power quality of the distribution grid. This Discovery program aims to develop the coordinated power quality improvement strategy using DG-grid interfacing converters. Three topics will be tackled: (i) harmonics compensation, (ii) voltage regulation and reactive power support, and (iii) power quality control in a hybrid AC/DC system. The proposed work is urgent and exciting, as research progress in this area will address the increasing power quality concerns through the smart distribution grid. The proposed research can also improve the competitiveness of RES based DG technologies and facilitate large scale utilization of renewable energy. The developed technologies have good commercialization potential, and will help to create high-technology jobs in Canada.