Chinese Journal of Electrical Engineering ›› 2018, Vol. 4 ›› Issue (4): 16-25.

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Using Inverter-Based Renewable Generators to Improve the Grid Power Quality—A Review

Tao Wang1,*, Heng Nian2, Z. Q. Zhu1   

  1. 1. Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S13JD, U.K.;
    2. College of Electrical Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
  • Online:2018-12-25 Published:2019-10-31
  • Contact: *E-mail: tao.wang@sheffield.ac.uk.
  • About author:Tao Wang was born in Dazhou, China. He received the B.Eng. degree and PhD degree from the College of Electrical Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China, in July 2013 and June 2018, respectively. Since July 2018, he is a post-doctoral research associate in the University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK. His current research interests include the control of doubly fed induction generators for wind power generation, particularly the power quality improvement and stability analysis, and the control of permanent magnet synchronous generators. Heng Nian received the B.Eng. degree and the M.Eng. degree from HeFei University of Technology, China, and the Ph.D. degree from Zhejiang University, China, in 1999, 2002, and 2005 respectively, all in electrical engineering. From 2005 to 2007, he was as a Post-Doctoral with the College of Electrical Engineering, Zhejiang University, China. In 2007, he was promoted as an Associate professor. Since 2016, he has been a Full Professor at the College of Electrical Engineering, Zhejiang University, China. From 2013 to 2014, he was a visiting scholar at the Department of Electrical, Computer, and System Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY. His current research interests include the optimal design and operation control for wind power generation system. He has published more than 40 IEEE/ IET Transaction papers and holds more than 20 issued/pending patents. Z. Q. Zhu received the B.Eng. and M.Sc. degrees in electrical and electronic engineering from Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China, in 1982 and 1984, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree in electronic and electrical engineering from The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, U.K., in 1991. Since 1988, he has been with the University of Sheffield, where since 2000, he has been a Professor with the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering. He is currently the Royal Academy of Engineering/Siemens Research Chair, and the Head of the Electrical Machines and Drives Research Group, the Academic Director of Sheffield Siemens Wind Power Research Centre, the Director of CRRC Electric Drives Technology Research Centre, and the Director of Midea Electric Machines and Controls Research Centre. His current major research interests include the design and control of permanent magnet brushless machines and drives for applications ranging from automotive through domestic appliances to renewable energy. He has received ~30 Best Paper Awards, including 6 IEEE Transactions and IET Proceedings Prize Paper Awards. He is a Fellow of Royal Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of IEEE, and a Fellow of IET.

Abstract: With the increasing penetration of renewable power in the grid, renewable generators are expected to play more important roles rather than merely working as active power sources. Considering the high controllability and considerable idle capacity of the inverter-based renewable generators, various auxiliary functions for them have been studied to benefit the grid. Among these auxiliary functions, the grid power quality improvement is very promising. This paper presents a review of the emerging control strategies for inverter-based renewable generators to improve grid power quality. The related papers are classified with different power quality issues and technical routes, and a comprehensive comparison is presented. The future trends of this research area are also discussed.

Key words: Renewable generator, auxiliary function, power quality improvement, grid voltage harmonic and unbalance