Study of a Computational Platform for the Interoperability of Power Electronic Converters in Microgrids

Abstract

Smart grids have been consolidated as a major trend in the electric power systems scenario, especially due to its perspective of interoperation among multiples dispersed energy devices, which aims at achieveing a more robust and efficient operation for the grid itself and/or for microgrids. Such microgrids are modern electric systems of limited size, in which a huge penetration of power electronic converters (PECs) is present, creating the need for implementing control strategies to manage the complexibility behind their mutual operation. In its turn, such PECs are responsible for interfacing renewable energy sources with the grid, and recent normatizations point towards the incorporation of remote control capabilities into their operation, having the main purpose of providing intelligent energy management for microgrids. Thus, the integration of information tecnologies into the PECs' embedded hardware has become an important research field, since the expected interoperability is only achieved by means of an adequate implementation of communication capabilities. Relying on such a perspective, this project aims to study a microprocessor-based plataform capable of being integrated to the PECs' control hardware, allowing cable- or wireless-based communication technologies to be adopted for the implementation of a local area network (LAN). Consequently, such LAN can provide means for the PECs to exchange information among themselves, supporting the deployment of a microgrid energy managament system. Beyond focusing on the methodological study of communication technologies and their data exchange capabilities, this project intends to develop a laboratory-scale prototype, allowing to the demonstrate and assess the operationalities of the communication features achieved by the PECs within the microgrid scenario.