Background
As renewable (and usually distributed) energy sources are taking a strong foothold in the market, the interest in the integration of distributed power generation and microgrids into power grids has significantly increased. A microgrid can be a cluster of load/power generator units such as an industrial complex or an Electric Vehicle (EV)/public transportation depot and renewable energy power sources such as wind farms and solar PV. Connecting microgrids to power grids is important as the electric power must flow between the two to assure continuous, safe, and economic supply of electric energy to all loads/consumers. Existing solutions for connecting microgrids to grids, including Back-to-Back (B2B) interfaces, are bulky and costly with limitations on frequency control.
Description of the invention
Researchers at the University of Waterloo have uniquely designed a microgrid connector controller that is capable of automatic control of bidirectional electric power flow between a microgrid and a power grid or two microgrids. This arrangement and topology of electrical components, including AC-DC converters and power flow management, reduces electric ratings/size of the required components which in turn reduces the device footprint/size. The connector therefore can be manufactured at a fraction of the cost of B2B solutions (estimated 10% of the cost of comparable solutions).
Advantages
The proposed solution for connecting microgrids to power grids provides:
Potential applications
The proposed solution can be used to safely connect microgrids containing all types of loads and renewable power sources such as solar PV, wind turbine, fuel cells, etc. with power grids. Some select applications include:
The University of Waterloo, renowned for its innovative spirit and co-op education model, excels in cutting-edge research across diverse fields, including advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, sustainability, and health technologies.
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