Experimental Prototyping of a Microgrid with Mechanical Point of Common Coupling

Abstract

The smartgrid is a key technology for the sustainable and smart utilization of the renewable energies. In this paper, a prototyping of a microgrid, assembled at the Sustainable Development and Energy Saving Laboratory (SDESLAB) of the University of Palermo, is presented and discussed. In detail, the microgrid presents only one mechanical point of common coupling (PCC) with the main grid and it is electrically separated from the main grid. In this way, the voltage variations of the main grid do not affect the microgrid electric quantities behavior. In order to validate the effectiveness of the voltage and frequency control, several experimental tests and analysis have been carried out. In detail, a no-negligible 11th spatial harmonic component and switching frequency harmonics components have been detected on the microgrid output voltage.Therefore, in order to cancel these harmonic components, a LCL filter has been designed and experimental validated in its effectiveness. The study conducted represents a first stage for the experimental realization of a hybrid microgrid electrically independent of the main grid.