Abstract:
This presentation will outline the use of RTDS for testing and evaluation of integrating emerging power electronic apparatus in SDG&E’s distribution system. Several power hardware in loop (PHIL) test setups are implemented at SDG&E’s Integrated Test Facility (ITF) to enable performance testing and verification of grid-tie and stand-alone PV inverters, bi-directional power converters of energy storage systems, and also specially designed power electronic based power conditioning units for distribution systems such as: solid-state voltage regulators, active filters and power balancing apparatus.
The ITFs key objective is to ensure integrating and utilization aspects of new technologies are fully tested and verified prior to field deployment of the devices. The facility also supports on-going research and development projects, as well as inter-departmental projects of various business units associated with introducing new control, protection and communication technologies. RTDS provides the ability to integrate new power electronic devices (PEDs) and intelligent electronic devices (IEDs) utilized as part of advanced control and communication schemes into the simulation environment representing an entire SDG&E selected circuit and/or a distribution substation or even a control region. The PEDs and IEDs, therefore get tested, in an environment that best represents the field conditions to simulate and determine any impact of power system events on the device or scheme performance.
Two PHIL test setups that are presently available and being utilized at ITF will be briefly described and sample system integration testing results will be shown, namely:
- A Flexible Smart Inverter Test bed, that is used to test various aspects of interconnecting multiple PV and Energy Storage inverters in parallel or in an area, to verify controlling capabilities and communication features of smart inverter functionalities in distribution systems.
- A Distribution Secondary Circuit Test bed, that was used to verify technologies and aggregation schemes proposed for managing power quality and voltage/reactive power levels on secondary circuits, downstream of service transformers.
Both test bed mainly used RTDS for representing distribution circuits and to simulate transient events (e.g. due to faults or sudden load/generation changes, or other contingencies). High power amplifiers are used to connect PEDs and IEDs, or to represent service transformers for connecting commercial and residential loads to the simulated model at 208/480 V (3Ph), or 120/240 V (split phase).
Kahveh Atef, Aung Thant, Marvin Zavala-Iraheta, and Khaled Salem - SDG&E
Farid Katiraei, Hesam Mirzaei, Masoud Davari, and Ahmadreza Momeni – Quanta Technology