Student Energy Research Spotlight: 3-Phase Microgrid

By CDR Charles Y. Hirsch, USN

Sustainable power at the forefront of Department of Defense operations is paramount on the battlefield as well as at naval installations across the world, and microgrid technology enables the deployment of renewable energy sources.

This thesis develops a physics-based model of a three-phase microgrid set up with three commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) inverters and a battery bank as its energy storage system. Both the model and the laboratory microgrid can be operated in grid-tied or in islanding mode. The microgrid’s voltage waveforms, spectra, total harmonic distortion and current waveforms are predicted by simulations and measured in the laboratory. Institute of Electronic Engineers (IEEE) Standard 519 and the manufacturer’s performance standards provide the metrics for the power quality analysis.

Comparisons of performance of the model to experimental laboratory data determine that the COTS units conform to IEEE Standard 519 and are suitable for further studies into microgrid expansion, management and employment.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
CDR Charles Hirsch, USN is a student of  Electrical Engineering at the Naval Postgraduate School. Contact Dr. Giovanna Oriti at goriti@nps.edu for more information about this research.