A test bench for microgrids powered by Concentrator photovoltaic systems

• Published in: 2017 6th International Conference on Clean Electrical Power (ICCEP) pp. 262 - 268
• Main Authors: Gawronska, M., Piattaforma, C. Sanna, Casula, S., Salimbeni, A., Damiano, A.
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: IEEE 01-06-2017
• Subjects: Batteries; Battery Management Systems; Concentrator Photovoltaic Systems; Energy management; Energy Management Systems; Energy Storage Systems; Lithium batteries; Microgrids; Photovoltaic systems; Production; Radiation effects
• ISSN: 2474-9664
• DOI: 10.1109/ICCEP.2017.8004825

The Concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) technology, due to its high energy conversion efficiency, represents a promising solution for supporting the growth of microgrid (MGs) concept in the domestic and public buildings, especially in sunny regions. The intermittent characteristic of photovoltaic power production, magnified in CPV power plants, can be mitigated by means of properly sized implementation of electrical storage systems (ESSs) that permit, at the same time, the improvement of MG energy management and power quality. In order to evaluate the control and sizing criteria of CPV and ESS within MGs, considering the different time evolution of load profiles, a test bench suitable to analyse MGs powered by CPV has been developed. The functionality of such a MG has been monitored in real operation conditions. The experimental results have revealed that the proposed test bench is a useful tool to validate the design and the control algorithms of MG components considering different daily time evolution of electricity demand. Moreover, it allows the development of innovative solutions for larger scale systems as smart grids.