Power Electronic Converters for Microgrids

Book excerpt: As concerns about climate change, energy prices, and energy security loom, regulatory and research communities have shown growing interest in alternative energy sources and their integration into distributed energy systems. However, many of the candidate microgeneration and associated storage systems cannot be readily interfaced to the 50/60 Hz grid. In Power Electronic Converters for Microgrids, Sharkh and Abu-Sara introduce the basics and practical concerns of analyzing and designing such micro-generation grid interface systems. Readers will become familiar with methods for stably feeding the larger grid, importing from the grid to charge on-site storage, disconnecting from the grid in case of grid failure, as well as connect multiple microgrids while sharing their loads appropriately. Sharkh and Abu-Sara introduce not only the larger context of the technology, but also present potential future applications, along with detailed case studies and tutorials to help the reader effectively engineer microgrid systems.