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In this paper, the power quality (PQ) improvement of multi-area microgrids (MAMGs) is addressed. To this aim, mitigation of voltage harmonics and unbalance is considered by using distributed generators (DGs) and active power filters (APFs) in a proper way. As a novel approach, the main goal of the proposed method is to pick out redundant APFs and/or significantly reduce of DGs and APFs compensation workload by making collaboration between areas toward integrated PQ improvement of the MAMG. To achieve the desired PQ indices of different areas, supervisory control is planned for proper utilization of available compensators in time. By supervisory control, harmonic propagation between areas and the system unbalance are dealt with and systemic PQ improvement of the MAMG is provided. To this aim, scheduling framework is used to track the PQ situation of each area. Evaluation of the proposed control is carried out by a comprehensive simulation study in MATLAB/Simulink. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unintentional series and/or parallel resonances, due to the tuned passive filter and the line inductance, may result in severe harmonic distortion in the industrial power system. This paper presents a hybrid active filter to suppress harmonic resonance and to reduce harmonic distortion. The proposed hybrid filter is operated as variable harmonic conductance according to the voltage total harmonic distortion; therefore, harmonic distortion can be reduced to an acceptable level in response to load change or parameter variation of the power system. Since the hybrid filter is composed of a seventh-tuned passive filter and an active filter in series connection, both dc voltage and kVA rating of the active filter are dramatically decreased compared with the pure shunt active filter. In real application, this feature is very attractive since the active power filter with fully power electronics is very expensive. A reasonable tradeoff between filtering performances and cost is to use the hybrid active filter. Design consideration are presented, and experimental results are provided to validate effectiveness of the proposed method. Furthermore, this paper discusses filtering performances on line impedance, line resistance, voltage unbalance, and capacitive filters. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Voltage fluctuations resulting from variable output power of renewable energy sources are strictly challenging power quality in distributed-generation systems. This paper presents a control method for distributed static synchronous compensator (D-STATCOM) to alleviate variation of both positive- and negative-sequence voltages. The D-STATCOM simultaneously operates as fundamental positive-sequence admittance and fundamental negative-sequence conductance to restore the positive-sequence voltage to the nominal value as well as reduce the negative-sequence voltage to an allowable level. Both admittance and conductance are dynamically tuned to improve voltage-regulation performances in response to load changes and power variation of renewable sources. A proportional–resonant current regulator with selectively harmonic compensation is realized to control the fundamental current of the D-STATCOM as well as reduce the harmonic current, which could be an advantage in practical applications due to high voltage distortion in low-voltage microgrids. Voltage-regulation performances are discussed for different D-STATCOM locations as well as different D-STATCOM currents. Computer simulations and laboratory tests validate effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Increasing demand of electric-power reliability in industrial parks or in urban areas has led to the development of closed-loop distribution power systems. The harmonic resonance between power-factor-correction capacitors and system inductors may cause significant voltage distortion along the feeder. This paper proposes a discrete frequency-tuning active filter installed at the middle point of a closed-loop line for harmonic-resonance suppression. The active filter operates as a variable conductance for individual harmonic frequency according to the corresponding harmonic-voltage distortion. This algorithm allows the damping conductance of each harmonic frequency to be separately and autonomously adjusted in response to variation of both harmonic sources and resonant capacitors. Therefore, the unintentional “whack-a-mole” phenomenon, due to mismatching between the active filter and the line, can be avoided even if the active-filter location deviates from the middle point. Voltage distortion throughout the closed-loop line can be definitely maintained below an allowable level with lower peak current and lower rms current compared to the conventional voltage-detection active filter. Computer simulations based on a 11.4 kV/15 MVA system and a scaled-down platform in the laboratory are developed to validate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]