Integration testing of distributed generation in a micro-network on the UNRC campus

Abstract

The traditional electric grid is changing, being affected in all their fields by the technological advances, and moving to a new paradigm called smart grid. This is the reason for which different forms of incentives and different systems of energy commercialization for the distributed generation can be found; that added to the investment in research and development make that the destination of the world energy investments goes mostly to the renewable sources. Today, there are several renewable energy elements at different voltage levels of the grid. There are different pilot tests where different technologies and products are tested, which are presented daily by different manufacturers.

In this work, an understudy microgrid is presented where different renewable sources are connected to the traditional grid, supporting like that the Argentinean objective of having 20% of renewable energy by the year 2025.

In addition to the calculations made for the campus, as a pilot test, practical experiences are presented in the university's electricity laboratory by integrating renewable sources in the distribution network. We analyze the steady-state and short-circuit currents, which provide the different types of source to the network and how they affect distribution protection systems. The proposed micro-network consists of wind turbines and photovoltaic panels in different configurations distributed across the campus, where after analyzing the data obtained, better results than expected were yielded.