Publications

A quick-start manual for those interested in using the storage sizing and placement simulation application.

Diesel generators (gensets) are often the lowest-cost electric generation for reliable supply in remote microgrids. The development of converter-dominated diesel-backed microgrids requires accurate dynamic modeling to ensure power quality and system stability. Dynamic response derived using original genset system models often does not match those observed in field experiments. This paper presents the experimental system identification of a frequency dynamics model for a 400 kVA diesel genset. The genset is perturbed via active power load changes and a linearized dynamics model is fit based on power and frequency measurements using moving horizon estimation (MHE). The method is first simulated using a detailed genset model developed in MATLAB/Simulink. The simulation model is then validated against the frequency response obtained from a real 400 kVA genset system at the Power System Integration (PSI) Lab at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF). The simulation and experimental results had model errors of 3.17% and 11.65%, respectively. The resulting genset model can then be used in microgrid frequency dynamic studies, such as for the integration of renewable energy sources.

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A microgrid is characterized by a high R/X ratio, making the voltage more sensitive to active power changes unlike in bulk power systems where voltage is mostly regulated by reactive power. Because of its sensitivity to active power, control approach should incorporate active power as well. Thus, the voltage control approach for microgrids is very different from conventional power systems. The energy costs associated with these power are different. Furthermore, because of diverse generation sources and different components such as distributed energy resources, energy storage systems, etc, model-based control approaches might not perform very well. This paper proposes a reinforcement learning-based voltage support framework for a microgrid where an agent learns control policy by interacting with the microgrid without requiring a mathematical model of the system. A MATLAB/Simulink simulation study on a test system from Cordova, Alaska shows that there is a large reduction in voltage deviation (about 2.5-4.5 times). This reduction in voltage deviation can improve the power quality of the microgrid: ensuring a reliable supply, longer equipment lifespan, and stable user operations.

Low-inertia microgrids experience significant frequency deviations compared to bulk-power systems. In such microgrids, energy storage systems (ESSs) can be a viable option to provide fast-frequency support to keep frequency variations within allowable bounds. A model predictive control (MPC)-based strategy is one of the efficient control strategies to enable fast-frequency support through ESSs. MPC provides the capability to explicitly incorporate physical constraints of the microgrid and the ESS into the control formulation while allowing signifi-cant operational flexibility. MPC allows near-optimal control by optimizing the system over a rolling horizon based on a predictive model of the system. However, the effectiveness of MPC relies on the accuracy of this predictive model. This paper proposes a data-driven system identification (SI) based approach to obtain an accurate yet computationally tractable predictive model for frequency support in microgrids. The proposed data-driven MPC is compared with the conventional MPC that utilizes a simplified transfer-function-based predictive model of the system. Results show that the data-driven MPC offers a better quality of service in terms of lower frequency deviations and rate-of-change of frequency (ROCOF).

As part of the project “Designing Resilient Communities (DRC): A Consequence-Based Approach for Grid Investment,” funded by the United States (US) Department of Energy’s (DOE) Grid Modernization Laboratory Consortium (GMLC), Sandia National Laboratories (Sandia) is partnering with a variety of government, industry, and university participants to develop and test a framework for community resilience planning focused on modernization of the electric grid. This report provides a summary of the section of the project focused on hardware demonstration of “resilience nodes” concept.

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For the model-based control of low-voltage microgrids, state and parameter information are required. Different optimal estimation techniques can be employed for this purpose. However, these estimation techniques require knowledge of noise covariances (process and measurement noise). Incorrect values of noise covariances can deteriorate the estimator performance, which in turn can reduce the overall controller performance. This paper presents a method to identify noise covariances for voltage dynamics estimation in a microgrid. The method is based on the autocovariance least squares technique. A simulation study of a simplified 100 kVA, 208 V microgrid system in MATLAB/Simulink validates the method. Results show that estimation accuracy is close to the actual value for Gaussian noise, and non-Gaussian noise has a slightly larger error.

Dynamic state and parameter estimation in current and future power systems are critical for advanced monitoring, control, and protection. There are numerous methods to perform dynamic state and parameter estimation; this paper compares the accuracy and computational time of four methods (i.e., Kalman filter (KF), extended Kalman filter (EKF), unscented Kalman filter (UKF), and moving horizon estimation (MHE)) designed to estimate the states and parameters for frequency dynamics of a power system. A simulation study was conducted using Matlab/Simulink by introducing Gaussian and non-Gaussian noise in the measurements. Results under Gaussian noise showed similar accuracy performance for all filters. EKF and UKF presented convergence or numerical instability issues due to incorrect initial guesses of parameters. MHE did not present convergence issues, however, required comparatively higher computation time. Nonetheless, the MHE could still be implemented in real-time for state and parameter estimation of power system. The impact of non-Gaussian noise on the methods was inconclusive and will require further study.

Grid technologies connected via power electronic converter (PEC) interfaces increasingly include the grid support functions for voltage and frequency support defined by the IEEE 1547-2018 standard. The shift towards converter-based generation necessitates accurate PEC models for assessing system dynamics that were previously ignored in conventional power systems. In this paper, a method for assessing photovoltaic (PV) inverter dynamics using a data-driven technique with power hardware-in-the-loop is presented. The data-driven modeling technique uses various probing signals to estimate commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) inverter dynamics. The MATLAB system identification toolbox is used to develop a dynamic COTS inverter model from the perturbed grid voltage (i.e., probing signal) and measured current injected to the grid by the inverter. The goodness-of-fit of COTS inverter dynamics in Volt-VAr support mode under each probing signal is compared. The results show that the logarithmic square-chirp probing signal adequately excites the COTS inverter in Volt-VAr mode to fit a data-driven dynamic model.

Large-scale deployment of energy storage systems is a pivotal step toward achieving the clean energy goals of the future. An accurate and publicly accessible database on energy storage projects can help accelerate deployment by providing valuable information and characteristic data to different stakeholders. The U.S. Department of Energy's Global Energy Storage Database (GESDB) aims at providing high-quality and accurate data on energy storage projects around the globe. This paper first provides an overview of the GESDB, briefly describing its features and overall usage. This is followed by a detailed description of the procedure used to validate the database. In doing so, the paper aims at improving the usability of the website while enhancing its value to the community. Furthermore, the presented validation procedure makes the underlying assumptions transparent to the public so that data misinterpretation can be minimized/avoided.

With this work, we aim to speed up simulation and reduce computational complexity of Converter Dominated Power System (CDPS) within an acceptable accuracy.

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Recent developments in the renewable energy sector have seen an unprecedented growth in residential photovoltaic (PV) installations. However, high PV penetration levels often lead to overvoltage problems in low-voltage (LV) distribution feeders. Smart inverter control such as active power curtailment (APC)-based overvoltage control can be implemented to overcome these challenges. The APC technique utilizes a constant droop-based approach which curtails power rigidly, which can lead to significant energy curtailment in the LV distribution feeders. In this paper, different variations of the APC technique with linear, quadratic, and exponential droops have been analyzed from the point-of-view of energy curtailment for a LV distribution network in North America. Further, a combinatorial approach using various droop-based APC methods in conjunction with adaptive dynamic programming (ADP) as a supplementary control scheme has also been proposed. The proposed approach minimizes energy curtailment in the LV distribution network by adjusting the droop gains. Simulation results depict that ADP in conjunction with exponential droop reduces the energy curtailment to approximately 50% compared to using the standard linear droop.