A 2 MW grid-tied fuel cell inverter under a single loop control scheme

Abstract

Distributed energy resources are significant players in the shift from fossil fuel to green energy systems. Because these power-generating units are increasingly being integrated into existing utility grids, ordinary consumers are now active stakeholders, referred to as prosumers. Their capabilities are not limited to consuming electricity but also generating and storing it. A change in electricity consumption flexibility has emerged from introducing the energy prosumer idea and the structural shift in the energy sector. That's because if the generation capacity of a prosumer exceeds the load connected to its terminals, there will be a considerable amount of excess electricity. In this case, the prosumer can use the Peer-to-Peer electricity trading mechanism to sell the excess electricity to neighbouring loads or the utility grid. This work deals with controlling a grid-tied 2 MW fuel cell prosumer. The goal is to simulate the system with the inverter operating under the single loop PQ control scheme. A phase-locked-loop is employed to synchronize the fuel cell inverter's frequency and phase with the grid corresponding parameters. Harmonics are mitigated using an LC filter that interfaces the inverter and the grid. The simulation is carried out in Matlab/Simulink environment.