Renewable Energy & Grid Integration

What you'll learn

• Distinguish distributed energy resources from inverter-based resources, explain how they change power flow, net load and the services the grid needs, and calculate energy from capacity factor.
• Design the DC side of a photovoltaic plant, including temperature-corrected string sizing, MPPT limits and DC/AC ratio, and evaluate clipping, reactive margin and DC safety requirements.
• Explain grid-following and grid-forming inverter control, determine inverter capability under current limits, calculate the short-circuit ratio and analyse droop sharing in an island.
• Compare the four wind turbine generator types, calculate power flow through a doubly fed induction generator, and describe wind plant collection, control and behaviour during faults and frequency events.
• Specify a battery energy storage system by power, energy, efficiency and degradation, compare AC and DC coupling, model dispatch against an export cap and identify safety requirements.
• Apply CSA C22.3 No. 9, IEEE 1547-2018 categories, ride-through and trip settings, grid-support functions, interoperability and anti-islanding requirements to a distributed resource.
• Explain the interconnection process and its screens, estimate voltage rise on a radial feeder, and perform a thermal and voltage hosting-capacity screen.
• Solve a radial feeder power flow with voltage-dependent inverter controls, compare unity power factor, fixed power factor and volt-var operation, and coordinate inverters with tap changers and regulators.
• Assess the protection impacts of inverter-based resources, including reduced reach, sympathetic tripping, fuse saving, reclosing and islanding, grounding and temporary overvoltage.
• Evaluate harmonic emissions against IEEE 519-2022 limits, predict parallel resonance, and assess flicker, rapid voltage change and other power quality effects of inverter-based plants.
• Apply the swing equation to frequency events, explain how reduced inertia and fast frequency response affect RoCoF and nadir, and specify frequency-droop response and model validation requirements.
• Design the operation of an islanded microgrid, explain DER aggregation and its coordination with the distribution utility, and assemble an interconnection study with a least-cost recommendation.