The renewable power generation is seen as an effective way to resolve the global energy crisis and reduce the carbon footprint. In recent years, fuel cells, micro turbines, and advanced battery technologies are emerging as potential options that can be integrated as part of the electrical supply system to enhance its availability, reliability and efficiency. The intermittent characteristics of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar energy systems give rise to great challenges on coordination and balancing issues between supply and demand.

Microgrids as a platform to incorporate renewable and alternative energy resources can provide intelligence for monitoring and control of distribution systems. They can mitigate the intermittent nature of renewable energy sources and can improve the power balance between supply and demand as well as the power quality of the supply using adaptive demand response management (DRM), unified power quality conditioner (UPQC) and advanced hybrid energy storage system (HESS), as shown in Fig.1. The aim of this program is to enhance the reliability and economic performance of microgrids.

Figure 1

Project 1: Adaptive DRM
Project 2: Improvement of Power Quality in Microgrids
Project 3: Advanced Hybrid Energy Storage Systems
Last updated on 2 May 2017