Title :
Active power curtailment of PV inverters in diesel hybrid mini-grids
Author :
Tonkoski, R. ; Lopes, L.A.C. ; Turcotte, D.
Author_Institution :
Concordia Univ., Montreal, QC, Canada
Abstract :
Renewable energy sources such as wind and photovoltaics (PV) have great potential for reducing fuel consumption in diesel-based mini-grids in remote communities. However, the fluctuating and intermittent nature of these sources can give rise to a number of problems in mini-grids with high penetration of non-dispatchable renewables with reduced or non-existent storage units. This paper proposes the use of a frequency x power droop control strategy for curtailing the output power of PV inverters during periods of excess of power in a diesel-dominated mini-grid. This approach results in reductions of frequency variation and also reduces the operation of the diesel genset with reduced loading. The theoretical analysis is verified by means of digital simulations with PSCAD.
Keywords :
diesel-electric power stations; distributed power generation; frequency control; invertors; photovoltaic power systems; power control; power generation control; PSCAD; PV inverters; active power curtailment; diesel hybrid minigrid; digital simulations; frequency variation reduction; frequency x power droop control strategy; fuel consumption reduction; photovoltaic energy sources; renewable energy sources; theoretical analysis; wind energy sources; Costs; Energy storage; Frequency; Fuels; Inverters; Photovoltaic cells; Power generation; Renewable energy resources; Voltage; Wind energy generation; diesel driven generators; load frequency control; photovoltaic power systems; power distribution;
Conference_Titel :
Electrical Power & Energy Conference (EPEC), 2009 IEEE
Conference_Location :
Montreal, QC
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4244-4508-0
Electronic_ISBN :
978-1-4244-4509-7
DOI :
10.1109/EPEC.2009.5420964