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

对能源成本、能源安全和温室气体排放的日益关注促使电力行业通过分布式发电（DG）将更多的可再生能源（RES）集成到配电系统中。智能或灵活的配电网是一个新概念，可以通过提高可靠性和电能质量来实现电力行业的基础设施转变。与此同时，随着更多的非线性负载连接到系统，北美的配电网电压失真正在迅速增加。电能质量差会影响敏感负载，甚至干扰电信系统。智能配电网可以立即改善电能质量。考虑到基于RES的DG系统通过电网接口功率转换器连接到配电网，这一点尤其正确。这些电网接口转换器将RES输出电压转换为电网友好型电压，用于系统集成。然而，可再生能源的间歇性导致这些转换器通常以低于额定功率的功率运行。一个有前途的概念是使用这些DG-电网接口功率转换器的可用额定值来改善配电网的电能质量。该发现计划旨在开发使用DG-电网接口转换器的协调电能质量改善策略。将讨论三个专题：（i）谐波补偿，（ii）电压调节和无功功率支持，以及（iii）混合AC/DC系统中的电能质量控制。拟议的工作是紧迫和令人兴奋的，因为这一领域的研究进展将通过智能配电网解决日益增长的电能质量问题。建议的研究还可以提高基于RES的DG技术的竞争力，并促进可再生能源的大规模利用。开发的技术具有良好的商业化潜力，将有助于在加拿大创造高科技就业机会。

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.