Powering a community-scale DC grid to achieve zero emissions in remote areas

加拿大是致力于到2050年实现温室气体净零排放的全球运动的一部分。减少排放的一种方法是使用太阳能等可再生能源发电，而不是使用化石燃料。这对偏远和发展中地区的社区尤其重要，这些社区依靠柴油供电，由于在偏远地区建设输电线路的成本过高，这些社区往往无法接入主电网。在马尼托巴省，70%的土著人口居住在该省北部，远离主要城市，这导致了能源获取方面的不平等。基于分布式可再生能源（如太阳能）和储能系统（ESS）的离网电力系统（PS）是为家庭提供电力的另一种解决方案。然而，单个房屋的ESS容量是有限的，这就产生了能源可用性问题。这一限制可以通过发展社区规模的微电网基础设施来克服。为了实现这一目标，房屋可以相互连接并连接到中央RES和ESS，并且可以采用智能控制机制来调节MG中电力的有效使用和稳定。为了避免电力转换和传输过程中不必要的损耗，将采用直流（DC）配电取代传统的交流（AC）电网。直流电磁力发生器的设计和评估面临着诸多挑战。社区规模的mg必须与家庭规模的sub - mg隔离，以避免安全和噪音问题。电力电子变压器是连接直流电网的一种解决方案。同样，高效的太阳能和ESS转换器必须设计成与直流电网兼容。社区规模DC MG内的能源协调需要先进的机器学习算法来维持和预测电网内的能源可用性。众所周知，仿真系统与实际系统之间存在很大的技术差距，因为电力设备中存在许多不理想的部件。基于PE的电源-硬件在环（PHIL）平台可以通过在实验室中提供半物理系统来评估新型直流MG设计，从而帮助弥合技术差距。将建造一个10kW的MG PHIL系统在实验室中运行。MG原型将模拟一个小型社区PS，其中集成了RES， ESS和sub -MG，并展示新设计的控制器的控制能力。这种创新、小型、高效、实用和完全可控的MG演示器将支持这些技术向工业的转移。该计划将培养12名HQP（4名博士，3名硕士和5名学士），他们将获得PE和PS的实践经验。该计划将促进加拿大实时模拟器制造商和MG供应商的技术和业务发展。此外，它将帮助加拿大实现所有公民的电力公平，并在2050年之前实现净零排放。

Canada is part of a global movement that has committed to reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. One way to reduce emissions is to produce electricity using Renewable Energy Sources (RES) like solar, rather than fossil fuels. This is particularly relevant to communities in remote and developing areas, which rely on diesel to provide electricity and often have no access to the main grid due to the prohibitive costs of building transmission lines in remote locations. In Manitoba, 70% of the Indigenous population lives in the Northern part of the province, far from the main cities, and this has led to inequity in terms of energy access. An off-grid power system (PS) based on distributed RES, e.g. solar, and Energy Storage System (ESS) is an alternative solution to provide electric power for houses. However, the ESS capacity of a single house is limited which creates issues of energy availability. This limitation can be overcome by developing community-scale Microgrid (MG) infrastructures. To achieve this, houses could be inter-connected and connected to central RES and ESS, and smart control mechanisms can be employed to regulate the efficient use and stability of power in the MG. Direct Current (DC) distribution instead of conventional Alternating Current (AC) grid network would be used to avoid unnecessary losses in power conversion and transmission. There are challenges to the design and evaluation of a DC MG. Community-scale MGs must be isolated from house-scale Sub-MGs to avoid safety and noise issues. Power Electronics (PE) Transformers represent a solution for interfacing the DC grids. Similarly, efficient solar and ESS converters have to be designed that are compatible with a DC grid. Energy coordination within the community-scale DC MG requires advanced machine learning algorithms to maintain and predict energy availability within the grid. It is well-known that there is a large technology gap that lies between simulation and practical systems, as there are many non-ideal components in power apparatuses. A PE based Power-Hardware-In-the-Loop (PHIL) platform can help to bridge the technical gap by providing a semi-physical system for evaluation of novel DC MG designs in a lab. A 10kW MG PHIL system will be constructed to run in a lab. The MG prototype will simulate a small-scale community PS which integrates RES, ESS and Sub-MGs in houses with a demonstration of the control capability of newly designed controllers. This innovative, small, efficient, practical and fully controllable MG demonstrator will support the transfer of these technologies to industry. The proposed program will train 12 HQP (4 PhD, 3 MSc and 5 BSc), who will gain practical experience with PE and PS. The proposed system will facilitate technology and business development for both real time simulator manufacturers and MG providers in Canada. Furthermore, it will help Canada achieve power equity for all citizens and still achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.