Renewable Energy Generation

Challenges and Opportunities

Eduard Muljadi
J.J. Danaher Distinguished Professor
Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Auburn University
Auburn, AL 36849, USA
Email: mze0018@auburn.edu Phone: +1 (334) 844-1854

Presented at Institut Teknologi Bandung

Bandung, October 26, 2018
 Outline
• Background
• Renewable energy
• Grid integration
• Power electronics control
• Hardware/software
• Testing
• Storage
• Environment
Background

http://www.oecd.org/index.htm
Background

Source: INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY (IEA)

Statistics - RENEWABLES INFORMATION: OVERVIEW (2018 edition)
Background
Background
 Background

Source: INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY (IEA)

Statistics - RENEWABLES INFORMATION: OVERVIEW (2018 edition)
 Background

Source: INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY (IEA)

Statistics - RENEWABLES INFORMATION: OVERVIEW (2018 edition)
 Background
• Applications
– mW or MW level
– Isolated or grid connected
• Variability of the source
– Temporal (second, hour, day, week, season)
– Spatial (continental, local, plant)
• Large-area coverage—diversity
– Resource
– Electrical characteristics
• Operation
– Normal/abnormal
– Balanced/unbalanced
Background
 Background
No-longer Trivial to Balance Real and Reactive Power
(To Keep Frequency and Voltage Constant)
Adjustable Variable Inductive Induction
Base Loads Loads Line Load Motors/Generators
Loads Power Losses Inductance

Freq UP
Voltage UP

Storage VAR
Real Power Reactive Power
Comp.

Freq Down
Voltage Down
Base Line
Generators Reserves Capacitance
Adjustable Variable Switched
Generators Synchronous
Generators Capacitors
(Conventional Generators/
(RE) Condensers
Gen., RE)
 Renewable Energy
Solar Photovoltaic (PV)

Image from Sun Power Corp.,

PV Plant (5~850 MW)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longyangxia_Dam#Photovoltaic_power_station

23816
Rooftop PV
(1~30 kW) Image from DOE FEMP, 27638
Image by Dennis Schroeder, NREL 22192

Mobile 9-kW PV system

Bechler Meadows Ranger Station
Yellowstone National Park
 Renewable Energy

Image by Dennis Schroeder, NREL 27806

13
 Conventional Power Plant vs.
Renewable Energy Power Plant
U.S. NRC image of a modern steam turbine generator.

Image from David Hicks, NREL 18454

Image from Wikipedia
http://www.energy.siemens.com/hq/en/

Wind Turbine
Generator
1‒6 MW

Generator Sgen 4,000-W (Siemens) Plant Diversity

1,300–2,235 MVA
 Image from Bill Timmerman, 08989

Image from David Hicks, NREL 18557

Concentrating Solar
Power Plant

Image from David Hicks, NREL 19881

Image from Greg Glatzmaier, NREL 19807
Marine Hydrokinetic

Reference: Li, Y.; Yu, Y.H. (2012).

“Synthesis of Numerical Methods for
Modeling Wave Energy Converter-Point
Absorbers.” Preprint. NREL/JA-5000-
52115.

16
 Okinawa Yanbaru Seawater Pumped Storage Power Station
30MW Rating– Source Wikipedia

TVA
Raccoon Mountain
Pumped-Storage Plant
Hydropower
The Taum Sauk pumped
storage plant in Missouri

Source: By Kbh3rd - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7082006
Net generation capacity added in 2004–2013

River &
Tidal
Generator Hydropowe
r

a) Magnetic Saturation b) Core Loss Calculation c) Cogging Torque Minimization

Illustration of electromagnetic magnetic design for three different objectives
 Resources
Wind Resource—Midwest Wind Resource—West Coast
Spring Peaking Summer Peaking

Shift
Peak
24-Hour Solar Resource
California Region
24-Hour Wind Resource

Low Output High Output

8 a.m. – 14 p.m. 8 a.m. – 12 p.m.

 Resources
Offshore Wind Resource

U.S. Wind Resource

Solar Resource

20
 Integration

• Grid integration
– Interconnection
– Operation
– Standards—grid codes
– Ancillary services
• Inertial response, frequency and governor
response, reserves
 Interconnection

Small Wind Farm (less

Utility Scale Wind Farms (above 10 MW) than 10 MW)
Power plant Single Large Wind
Turbine
Small Wind Turbine

Step-up Step-up
transformer transformer
Step-down Step-down Step-down
transformer transformer transformer

Transmission to
other utilities Subtransmission Distribution
Customers Customers

Distribution Customers

115kV and higher 26-115 kV 4-35 kV 120-480 V

Distributed Interconnections per

Wind Farm Interconnections
IEEE-1547

Image’s from NREL’s TGIG presentation archives

Power Electronics Control

• Generator level
• Plant level
• Transmission level
 Control

Real and Reactive Power Control

Load Control Provide Active Damping to
Gearbox Preservation Power System Network

Power Quality
Maximize Energy Capture

Short-/Long-Term DC
Distributed Storage

At the Generator Level

24
 Control—Generator/Plant

•Many (hundreds) of wind turbines (1 MW to 5 MW each)

•Prime mover: wind (wind turbine)—renewable (free, natural, pollution free)
•Controllability: curtailment
•Predictability: wind variability based on wind forecasting, influenced more by
nature (wind) than humans, based on maximizing energy production
(unscheduled operation)
•Located at wind resource; may be far from the load center
•Generator: four different types (fixed-speed, variable-slip, variable-speed,
full-converter)—nonsynchronous generation
•Types 3 and 4: variable-speed with flux-oriented controller via power converter.
Rotor does not need to rotate synchronously.
 Variability

Storage Dd, DV

Dd, DV VR
Wind
DP, DQ
(Load
Center)
VAR
Compensation
Wind Power to Help
Generator Regulate
Voltage

Other
Generators

At the Transmission Level

 Transmission
Constraints
Thermal Limit
(Thin Wire)
Wind Power
Generator

Storage
(Load Center)
Wind Power FACTS
Generator
Stability Limit
Storage (High Impedance,
Long Distance,
Weak Grid)

At the Transmission Level

Hardware Testing
 Software
Power Electronics—
Bridging Different Time Domains
Energy Storage

30
 Environment

Reference: McNiff, B. (2002). Wind Turbine Lightning Protection Project:

1999–2002. NREL/SR-500-31115. Image from Stephen Drouilhet, 05626
Google Map of a wind power plant, Tehachapi, CA

Reference: “NREL Software Aids Offshore Wind Turbine Designs.” (2013).

Fact Sheet. NREL/FS-6A42-60377.
 Summary
• Cost reduction in the past 20 years
• Many and diverse opportunities (P. System, PE, Machines)
– Generation, transmission, and distribution
• Know the limitations
– Thermal, magnetic, electric (voltage, current), etc.
• Know the applications
– Environment: ocean, land-based, isolated, clusters
– Opportunities to work in parallel: PV, wind, Hydro, MHK, and
concentrating solar power
• Leverage existing and future technologies
– Other industries: drives, transportation, shipbuilding
– Modern technologies: smart control, wireless, condition
monitoring, cyber physical and security, synchrophasor, market
driven.