Penetration level of solar photovoltaic (PV) energy in the utility network is steadily increasing. This changes the fault level and causes protection problems. Furthermore, multi-tapped structure of distribution network deployed to integrate solar PV energy to the grid and supplying loads at the same time also raised the protection challenges. Hence, this manuscript is aimed at introducing an algorithm to identify and classify the faults incident on the network of utilities where penetration level of the solar PV energy is high. This fault recognition algorithm is implemented in four steps: (1) calculation of Stockwell transform-based fault index (STFI) (2) calculation of Wigner distribution function-based fault index (WDFI) (3) calculation of combined fault index (CFI) by multiplying STFI and WDFI (4) calculation of index for ground fault (IGF) used to recognize the involvement of ground in a fault event. The STFI has the merits that its performance is least affected by the noise associated with the current signals and it is effective in identification of the waveform distortions. The WDFI employs energy density of the current signals for estimation of the faults and takes care of the current magnitude. Hence, CFI has the merit that it considers the current magnitude as well as waveform distortion for recognition of the faults. The classification of faults is achieved using the number of faulty phases. An index for ground fault (IGF) based on currents of zero sequence is proposed to classify the two phase faults with and without the ground engagement. Investigated faults include phase to ground, two phases fault without involving ground, two phases fault involving ground and three phase fault. Fault recognition algorithm is tested for fault recognition with the presence of noise, various angles of fault incidence, different impedances involved during faulty event, hybrid lines consisting of overhead line (OHL) and underground cable (UGC) sections, and location of faults on all nodes of the test grid. Fault recognition algorithm is also tested to discriminate the transients due to switching operations of feeders, loads and capacitor banks from the faulty transients. Performance of the fault recognition algorithm is compared with the algorithms based on discrete wavelet transform (DWT), Stockwell transform (ST) and hybrid combination of alienation coefficient and Wigner distribution function (WDF). Effectiveness of the fault recognition algorithm is established using a detailed study on the IEEE-13 nodes test feeder modified to incorporate solar PV plant of capacity 1 MW in MATLAB/Simulink. Algorithm is also validated on practical utility grid of Rajasthan State of India. Full article

System integrity protection schemes (SIPS) are schemes that can, under potentially hazardous conditions, prevent a complete blackout of endangered parts of an electrical power system (EPS). The main objective of SIPS is to monitor the state of the power transmission network in real time and to react in emergency cases. This paper explores the use of phasor measurement unit (PMU) technology for the development of SIPS as a part of wide-area monitoring, protection, and control (WAMPAC) systems. A new SIPS development method is described using the experience from the real-time operation. The developed optimal bus-splitting scheme identifies potential actions that can eliminate or reduce power system overloads and protect the integrity of the power system. An optimal bus-splitting scheme based on a DC power flow model and PMU measurements is given as an example and is explained and tested on an IEEE 14 bus test system. Conducted simulations indicate that the described SIPS methodology supported by the PMU measurements can mitigate potential overloads of the observed network part. Full article

Series capacitor compensation is used to improve the utilization of existing power systems. Subsynchronous resonance (SSR) can be caused by series compensated lines, which would lead to turbogenerator shaft breakdown. A novel approach was presented in this paper to analyze the characteristics and influence factors of SSR in a series compensated transmission system. The system model of SSR, including the various modules of the electromechanical network, was established, and the eigenvalue results under 70% series compensation level were analyzed by eigenvalue analysis method for the the institute of electrical and electronics engineers (IEEE) first benchmark model (FBM). Compared with the results of the power systems computer-aided design (PSCAD) modeling and simulation, the effectiveness of eigenvalue analysis method was proven. After that, the eigenvalue analysis method was used to study, in detail, the effects of system series compensation levels, synchronous generator parameters, speed governing system parameters, and excitation system parameters on SSR characteristics. The research results show that the series compensation level has the greatest influence on the torsional mode damping of the system. The parameters of generator reactance, speed governing system, and excitation system have some effect on the torsional mode damping. The parameters of excitation system significantly affect the low-frequency oscillation damping. Full article

With the gradual liberalization of the energy market, the future integrated energy system will be composed of multiple agents. Therefore, this paper proposes an optimization dispatch method considering energy hub technology and multi-agent interest balance in an integrated energy system. Firstly, an integrated energy system, including equipment for cogeneration, renewable energy, and electric vehicles, is established. Secondly, energy hub technologies, such as demand response, electricity storage, and thermal storage, are comprehensively considered, and the integrated energy system is divided into three agents: Integrated energy service providers, renewable energy owners, and users, respectively. Then, with the goal of balancing the interests of each agent, the model is solved by the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm-III (NSGA-III) to obtain the Pareto frontier. Since the Pareto frontier is a series of values, the optimal solution of each agent in the Pareto frontier is found by the technical for order preference with a similar to ideal solution (TOPSIS). Ultimately, taking an integrated energy demonstration park in China as a case study, the function of energy hub technology is analyzed by simulation, and the proposed method is verified to be effective and practicable. Full article

A parallel active power filter (APF) is generally used to suppress dynamic harmonic current and compensate reactive power in the grid. However, parallel APF may have a negative effect on the load current when compensating the nonlinear load of a voltage source type, which may lead to the amplification effect of the load harmonic current. In this paper, the fundamental causes of harmonic current amplification were analyzed by studying the harmonic current amplification effect when a parallel APF compensates a nonlinear load. According to the results of the theoretical derivation, a feasible method to limit this current amplification effect by changing the system structure and the APF’s own control was proposed, and the corresponding design scheme is given. Finally, the correctness of the theoretical derivation of the harmonic current amplification effect and the feasibility of the proposed solution were proven through simulation and experiment. Full article

In recent years, the zero-mode inrush current of high-impedance transformer with built-in high-voltage winding (T-Hin), which has large amplitude and decays slowly, causes the misoperation of zero-sequence overcurrent protection. Compared with magnetizing inrush current, the waveform of zero-mode inrush current is inconsistent and irregular, and few researches have proposed the mathematical analysis as well as the improved protection using waveform characteristics. In this paper, the mathematical expression of transformer zero-mode inrush current is derived. Further considering the parameter differences, the zero-mode inrush current of T-Hin is larger, which tends to cause the misoperation. The mathematical waveforms fit well with the recorded waveforms. Both recorded waveforms and mathematical waveforms in various conditions prove that the second harmonic ratio (the ratio between the second harmonic and first harmonic) of zero-mode inrush current is significant. Based on the above analysis, a criterion based on the second harmonic ratio restraint of zero-mode inrush current is proposed. If the second harmonic ratio exceeds the setting value, it is considered that the inrush current is generated and sends a signal to restrain the protection. The theoretical setting value of the proposed criterion and the practical engineering method for determining the setting value are obtained. Full article

Increasing demand for electricity and the modernization of power systems within competitive markets has induced power systems to operate close to their stability limits. Therefore, the continuous monitoring and control of power systems through voltage stability indices is urgently needed. This is the first-ever effort to examine more than 40 voltage stability indices based on their formulation, application, performance, and assessment measures. These indices are sorted based on a logical and chronological order considering the most recent indices to be applied worldwide. However, the generalizability of these indices in terms of multivariable objectives is limited. Despite its limitation, this study systematically reviews available indices in the literature within the past three decades to compile an integrated knowledge base with an up-to-date exposition. This is followed by a comparative analysis in terms of their similarity, functionality, applicability, formulation, merit, demerit, and overall performance. Also, a broad categorization of voltage stability indices is addressed. This study serves as an exhaustive roadmap of the issue and can be counted as a reference for planning and operation in the context of voltage stability for students, researchers, scholars, and practitioners. Full article

Existing continuation power flow (CPF) models mainly focus on the regional independent systems, which are not suitable for multi-area AC/DC interconnected systems because the market trading behaviors and security control for power allocation of tie-lines are ignored. This study presents a novel CPF model and its decoupling algorithm for multi-area AC/DC interconnected systems incorporating a voltage source converter (VSC)-based multi-terminal direct current (MTDC) network. This CPF model includes the following unique features: (1) In view of the bilateral power trading contracts among regional subsystems, the nonlinear constraint equations of directional trading active power via interface are derived, and the multi-balancing machine strategy is introduced to realize the active power balance of each subsystem. (2) An accurate simulation method for the security control behaviors of the power allocation in tie-lines is proposed, which includes a specific selection strategy for automatic generation control units and a generation re-dispatch strategy. These two strategies work together to prevent the serious overload in tie-lines during load growth and improve the voltage stability margin of the interconnected bulk systems. (3) The switching characteristic of reactive power control behaviors of VSC stations is simulated in the CPF calculation. In the end, a novel decoupling CPF algorithm based on bi-directional iteration is presented to realize the decomposition and coordination calculation. This decoupling algorithm preserves the precision and convergence of integrated CPF algorithms, and it has an apparent advantage on the calculation speed. Furthermore, this decoupling algorithm also can easily reflects the effects of the control mode changes of VSC stations to the voltage stability margin of AC system. Case studies and comparative analysis on the IEEE two-area RTS-96 system indicate the effectiveness and validity of the proposed CPF model and corresponding decoupling algorithm. Full article

Wind turbines (WTs) participate in frequency regulation, which is one of the means to solve the problem of inadequate regulation capacity in power systems with a high proportion of renewable energy. The doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) can reserve part of power to achieve bidirectional regulation capability through rotor over-speed and increasing pitch angle. In this paper, it is pointed out that the available bidirectional regulation power of the WT is constrained by the maximum regulation power under the rotor speed regulation. The regulation power constraints under the pitch regulation considering the time scale are calculated. The adjustment coefficient of WT participating in frequency regulation is designed. Considering the regulation power constraints, the frequency difference interval in which the WT can provide the regulation power according to the adjustment coefficient is analyzed. The rotor speed and pitch coordinated control strategy of DFIG with different wind speeds is designed. Based on 24-hour measured data from a wind farm, the power constraints and their effects of WTs in the wind farm participating in frequency regulation are verified by simulation. The regulation power of the wind farm, frequency quality, and wind power utilization under the different control strategies are analyzed. The results show that the effects of bidirectional power constraints must be taken into account when evaluating the effectiveness of WTs in continuous frequency regulation. Full article

This paper introduces a reference-free, scalable, and energy-efficient dynamic voltage scaler (DVS) that can be reconfigured for multiple outputs. The proposed DVS employs a novel swapping switched-capacitor (SSC) technique, which can generate target output voltages with higher resolution and smaller ripple voltages than the conventional voltage scalers based on switched-capacitors. The proposed DVS consists of a cascaded 2:1 converter based on swapping capacitors, which is essential to achieve both very small voltage ripple and fine-grain conversion ratios. One of the serious drawbacks of the conventional voltage scalers is the need for external reference voltages to maintain the target output voltage. The proposed SSC; however, eliminates the needs for any reference voltages. This significant benefit is achieved by the self-charging ability of the SSC, which can recharge all its capacitors to the configured voltage by simply swapping the two capacitors in each stage. The proposed SSC-DVS was designed with a resolution of 16 output levels and implemented using a 130 nm CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide semiconductor) process. We conducted measured results and post-layout simulations with an input voltage of 1.5 V to produce an output voltage range of 0.085–1.4 V, which demonstrated a power efficiency of 85% for a load current of 550 µA with a voltage ripple of as low as 2.656 mV for a 2 KΩ resistor load. Full article

An efficient power management control for microgrids with energy storage is presented in this paper. The proposed control scheme increases the reliability and resiliency of the microgrid based on three distributed energy resources (DERs), namely Photovoltaic (PV), battery, and diesel generator with local active loads. Coordination among the DERs with energy storage is essential for microgrid management. The system model and the control strategy were developed in Real Time Digital Simulator (RTDS). Decoupled d-q current control strategy is proposed and implemented for voltage source converters (VSCs) used to interface the PV and battery sources to the AC grid. A dc-dc buck converter with a maximum power point tracking function is implemented to maximize the intermittent energy generation from the PV array. A controller is proposed and employed for both grid connected and island modes of operation. In grid connected mode, the system frequency and voltage are regulated by the grid. During a fault in island mode, the diesel generator controls the system frequency and voltage in isochronous mode. Results based on the real time digital simulator are provided to verify the superiority and effectiveness of the proposed control scheme. Full article

Multiple microgrids (MMGs) are clusters of interconnected microgrids that have great potential for integrating a large number of distributed renewable energies (DREs). The grid-connected control scheme is important for the exploration of the MMGs’ operation potential. In this paper, a multi-layer coordinated control scheme for DC interconnected MMGs is proposed to optimize their operation and improve their operation friendliness. An adaptive droop control method is designed for the DC connection interfaces of the MMGs to adaptively manage the power exchange among the sub-microgrids. Meanwhile, the strategy of power fluctuation suppression is developed for the hybrid energy storage system (HESS) in the MMGs. The coordination among the sub-microgrids and the HESS is then clarified by the proposed control scheme to optimize the AC tie-line power and make the MMGs a highly coordinated collective. A case study is performed in PSCAD/EMTDC based on the demonstration project in Guangxi, China. The results show that the proposed multi-layer coordinated control scheme realizes the coordinated operation of the MMGs, fully exploits the complementarity of the MMGs, and improves the operation friendliness among the sub-microgrids and the utility grid. Thus the integration and utilization of a large number of DREs is enhanced. Full article

Renewable energy sources (RESs), as clean, abundant, and inexhaustible source of energy, have developed quickly in recent years and played more and more important roles around the world. However, RESs also have some disadvantages, such as the weakness of stability, and by the the estimated increase of utilizing RESs in the near future, researchers began to give more attention to these issues. This paper presents a novel output power fluctuate compensation scheme in the small-scale power system, verifying the effect of output power control using storage battery, demand response and RESs. Four scenarios are considered in the proposed approach: real-time pricing demand response employment, RESs output control use and both of demand response and RESs output control implementation. The performance of the proposed control technique is investigated using the real 10-bus power system model of Okinawa island, Japan. Moreover, the system stability is checked using the pole-zero maps for all of the control loops associated with the proposed scheme. The robustness and effectiveness of the proposed method was verified by simulation using Matlab^®/Simulink^®. Full article

Wind energy is a variable energy source with a growing presence in many electrical networks across the world. Wind-speed prediction has become an important tool for many agents involved in energy markets. In this paper, an approach to this problem is proposed by means of a novel method that outperforms results obtained by current direct and indirect wind-power prediction procedures. The first difference is that it is not strictly a direct or indirect method in the conventional sense because it uses information from both wind-speed and wind-power data series to obtain a wind-power series. The second difference is that it smooths down the wind-power series obtained in the first stage, and uses the resulting series for predicting new wind-power values. The process of smoothing is based on the label sequence generation process discussed in the pattern sequence forecasting algorithm and the Naive Bayesian method-based matching process. The result is a less chaotic way to predict wind speed than those offered by other existing methods. It has been assessed in multiple simulations, for which three different error measures have been used. Full article