Grid Connected Photovoltaic Power Systems

Overviews operation, design, control and grid integration of photovoltaic energy

Photovoltaic (PV) technology is one of the fastest growing energy technologies in the world, with the potential to become the most important renewable energy technology globally. Having reached grid parity in some countries, it is expected that the continuous reduction in system costs will continue to accelerate industry growth. As such, there is an increasing need for qualified professionals with more understanding of the design, operation, control, and grid integration aspects of photovoltaic power. Grid Connected Photovoltaic Power Systems contributes to this need, taking a uniquely holistic look at the generation and integration of photovoltaic energy into the grid. The key elements of the photovoltaic system are described, together with modelling and control methods. These are applied to exemplify the design and optimization of a PV power plant. Finally, the process for integrating the PV energy into the grid is detailed, including grid requirements, plant control and grid support functionalities.

Key features:

• Overall view on PV power systems, from panels to grid integration.
• Comprehensive and structured overview of PV modelling and PV inverter technology.
• The latest grid integration requirements along with grid support functions.
• Additional material provided in the form of Matlab and PLECS simulation models, as well as a collection of slides, freely available via a companion website.

 
Prepared by leading experts in energy conversion, this resource is essential reading for graduate students with a background in electrical engineering, as well as professionals in the PV systems industry.

Dezso Sera received his BSc and MSc degrees in Electrical Engineering from the Technical University of Cluj, Romania in 2001 and 2002, respectively. In 2005, he graduated from the MSc program at Aalborg University, Denmark, in the Department of Energy Technology (DET) and in 2008 he received his PhD degree from the same department, where he currently works as Associate Professor. Since 2009 he has been the coordinator of the Photovoltaic Systems Research Programme at DET. His current research activities are in photovoltaic power systems, specifically in the modelling, characterisation, diagnostics and maximum power point tracking (MPPT) of PV systems, grid integration of PV power, and power electronics.

Remus Teodorescu received the Dipl.Ing. degree in electrical engineering from Polytechnical University of Bucharest, Romania in 1989, and PhD. degree in power electronics from University of Galati, Romania, in 1994. In 1998, he joined Aalborg University, Department of Energy Technology, where he currently works as a professor.? Since 2013 he?has been a?visiting professor with Chalmers University of Technology, Division of Electric Power Engineering. He is a Fellow Member of IEEE. He has co-authored more than 200 papers and 8 patents and was awarded ISI “Highly Cited Researcher” in 2002-2012? by Thomson Reuters.?He was the coordinator of Vestas Power Program (2007 - 2013), involving 10 PhD projects in the areas of power electronics, power systems and energy storage. His areas of interests are: MMC, HVDC/FACTS,? HV SiC MosFet, design and control of power converters for wind power systems and PV, and energy storage systems based on Li batteries.

Tamas Kerekes obtained the Electrical Engineer diploma in 2002 from Technical University of Cluj, Romania, with specialization in Electric Drives and Robots. In 2005, he graduated from the Master of Science program at Aalborg University, Institute of Energy Technology, in the field of Power Electronics and Drives. In September 2009 he obtained the PhD degree from the Institute of Energy Technology, Aalborg University. The topic of the PhD program was: "Analysis and modeling of transformerless PV inverter systems". Since 2012 he?has been?employed at Aalborg University as an Associate professor. His research interests include power electronics for renewable energy systems, optimization of PV power plants, solid-state transformers and control of grid-connected systems.

Laszlo Mathe received?a B.Sc. degree in electrical engineering and?a M.Sc. degree from the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca from Romania, in 2000 and respectively 2002. Between 2002 and 2007, he worked as a Control Development Engineer for the industry. From 2007 to 2010 he was enrolled as Ph.D. fellow at the Department of Energy Technology, Aalborg University, where he obtained?a Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering. Currently he is an Associate Professor at the same University, his current research interests include control and design of power converters, photovoltaic systems design, control of electrical drives, modulation techniques (MMC, two level inverters), and vehicle electrification.

Sergiu Viorel Sp?taru obtained?a B.Sc. degree in electrical engineering in 2009, from the “Politehnica” University of Timisoara (UPT), Romania. In 2011 he received?a M.Sc. degree in wind power systems from Aalborg University (AAU), Denmark, where in 2015 he obtained?a Ph.D. degree in characterization and diagnostic methods for PV modules and arrays. His current research interests include reliability modelling and testing of potential-induced degradation of crystalline silicon photovoltaic modules, diagnostic electroluminescence imaging, modelling and machine learning methods applied to diagnostic, and condition monitoring of photovoltaic systems.