Voltage sensing buck converter-based technique for maximum photovoltaic solar energy delivery

A voltage sensing buck converter-based technique for maximum solar power delivery to a load is presented. While retaining the features and advantages of the incremental conductance algorithm, this technique is more desirable because of single sensor use. The technique operates by maximising power at the buck converter output instead of the input.

FPGA, physics-based modeling of IGBT and pin diode for hardware co-simulation of complex power electronic converters and systems

This paper presents the steps and the challenges for implementing analytical, physics-based models for the insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) and the PIN diode in hardware and more specifically in field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). The models can be utilised in hardware co-simulation of complex power electronic converters and entire power systems in order to reduce the simulation time without compromising the accuracy of results. Such a co-simulation allows reliable prediction of the system's performance as well as accurate investigation of the power devices' behaviour during operation. Ultimately, this will allow application-specific optimisation of the devices' structure, circuit topologies as well as enhancement of the control and/or protection schemes.

Minimize frequency fluctuations of isolated power system with wind farm by using superconducting magnetic energy storage

Wind power generation as one of the most popular renewable energy applications is absorbing more and more attention all over the world. However, output power fluctuations of wind farm due to random variations of wind speed can cause network frequency and voltage flicker in power systems. The power quality consequently declines, particularly in an isolated power system such as the power system in a remote community or a small island. This paper proposes an application of superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES) to minimize output fluctuations of an isolated power system with wind farm. The isolated power system is fed by a diesel generator and a wind generator consisting of a wind turbine and squirrel cage induction machine. The control strategy is detailed and the proposed system is evaluated by simulation in Matlab/Simulink.

Interactions between building integrated photovoltaics and microclimate in urban environments

BIPV (building integrated photovoltaics) has progressed in the past years and become an element to be considered in city planning. BIPV has significant influence on microclimate in urban environments and the performance of BIPV is also affected by urban climate. The thermal model and electrical performance model of ventilated BIPV are combined to predict PV temperature and PV power output in Tianjin, China. Then, by using dynamic building energy model, the building cooling load for installing BIPV is calculated. A multi-layer model AUSSSM of urban canopy layer is used to assess the effect of BIPV on the Urban Heat Island (UHI). The simulation results show that in comparison with the conventional roof, the total building cooling load with ventilation PV roof may be decreased by 10%. The UHI effect after using BIPV relies on the surface absorptivity of original building. In this case, the daily total PV electricity output in urban areas may be reduced by 13% compared with the suburban areas due to UHI and solar radiation attenuation because of urban air pollution. The calculation results reveal that it is necessary to pay attention to and further analyze interactions between BIPV and microdimate in urban environments to decrease urban pollution, improve BIPV performance and reduce cooling load. Copyright © 2006 by ASME.

Effect of building integrated photovoltaics on microclimate of urban canopy layer

Building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) has potential of becoming the mainstream of renewable energy in the urban environment. BIPV has significant influence on the thermal performance of building envelope and changes radiation energy balance by adding or replacing conventional building elements in urban areas. PTEBU model was developed to evaluate the effect of photovoltaic (PV) system on the microclimate of urban canopy layer. PTEBU model consists of four sub-models: PV thermal model, PV electrical performance model, building energy consumption model, and urban canyon energy budget model. PTEBU model is forced with temperature, wind speed, and solar radiation above the roof level and incorporates detailed data of PV system and urban canyon in Tianjin, China. The simulation results show that PV roof and PV façade with ventilated air gap significantly change the building surface temperature and sensible heat flux density, but the air temperature of urban canyon with PV module varies little compared with the urban canyon of no PV. The PV module also changes the magnitude and pattern of diurnal variation of the storage heat flux and the net radiation for the urban canyon with PV increase slightly. The increase in the PV conversion efficiency not only improves the PV power output, but also reduces the urban canyon air temperature. © 2006.

Effect of urban climate on building integrated photovoltaics performance

It is generally recognized that BIPV (building integrated photovoltaics) has the potential to become a major source of renewable energy in the urban environment. The actual output of a PV module in the field is a function of orientation, total irradiance, spectral irradiance, wind speed, air temperature, soiling and various system-related losses. In urban areas, the attenuation of solar radiation due to air pollution is obvious, and the solar spectral content subsequently changes. The urban air temperature is higher than that in the surrounding countryside, and the wind speed in urban areas is usually less than that in rural areas. Three different models of PV power are used to investigate the effect of urban climate on PV performance. The results show that the dimming of solar radiation in the urban environment is the main reason for the decrease of PV module output using the climatic data of urban and rural sites in Mexico City for year 2003. The urban PV conversion efficiency is higher than that of the rural PV system because the PV module temperature in the urban areas is slightly lower than that in the rural areas in the case. The DC power output of PV seems to be underestimated if the spectral response of PV in the urban environment is not taken into account based on the urban hourly meteorological data of Sao Paulo for year 2004. © 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Lyapunov's stability and operational margin of grid-connected photovoltaic modules

Analyses of photovoltaic power generation based on Lyapunov's theorems are presented. The characteristics of the photovoltaic module and the power conditioning unit are analyzed in order to establish energy functions that assess the stability of solutions and define safe regions of operation. Furthermore, it is shown that grid-connected photovoltaic modules driven at maximum power may become unstable under normal grid transients. In such cases, stability can be maintained by allowing an operational margin defined as the energy difference between the stable and the unstable solutions of the system. Simulations show that modules cope well with grid transients when a sufficiently large margin is used.

Experimental investigation of quench phenomena in YBCO thin films for SFCL applications

Superconducting Fault Current Limiters (SFCLs) are regarded as key components for modern power systems. The progress in the development of YBCO thin films opens new perspectives in the design of these devices. In this paper, the quenching phenomenon in YBCO thin films is investigated experimentally, in order to gain the proper technical know-how suitable for the design of resistive type SFCLs. In particular, the origin of the quenching, as well as the propagation dynamics within a YBCO tape, is investigated for different input current waveforms. The role of a parallel-connected protective resistance on the quench dynamic is also studied. © 2009 IEEE.