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The nine papers in this special section focus on photovoltaic module and sub-module level power electronics. Grid connected photovoltaic energy systems have experienced an explosive growth over the last decade, with a cumulative installed capacity surpassing the 400 GW milestone as of 2017. Among PV system configurations, distributed module-level converter architectures can lead to a higher energy yield by mitigating partial shading, persistent shading (soiling, snow, bird droppings, and fallen leaves), mismatch, and aging, through a higher maximum power point tracking (MPPT) efficiency. Also, distributed electronics might be the key for implementing diagnostic and prognostic actions at a module level. Among these configurations, microinverters (also known as ac-module inverter), which connect a single PV module to the grid, and PV power optimizers, which are dc–dc converters performing the MPPT function at a module level, have attracted the academic and industrial interest in the last decade. So much so, that both microinverters and dc–dc power optimizers are commercialized by tens of companies around the world, with a great variety of circuit topologies, which comprise combinations of one or more power stages, interleaved converters, resonant converters, topologies with and without isolation, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a new multilevel converter topology based on a variable or multilevel dc-link stage. This stage is shared by all inverter output phases, thus increasing the number of output voltage levels while reducing the overall number of active devices compared to traditional topologies; therefore, it is called a reduced multilevel converter (RMC). The converter is not capable of reducing the blocking voltage of the devices; hence, unlike other multilevel converters aimed at medium-voltage applications, this converter is interesting for low-voltage- and high-power-quality-demanding applications such as photovoltaic inverters, wind energy conversion systems, and uninterruptible power supplies. The main novelty behind the proposed concept is the basic dc cell used to generate the variable dc-link voltage, which includes a controlled path through the floating capacitors to provide the necessary degree of control to enable a shared multilevel dc link for all the output phases of the converter. The dc cells are connected in a multicell structure to increase the number of levels of the converter. A five-level version of the RMC topology is briefly compared to other five-level converters such as the five-level active neutral-point-clamped converter and the five-level flying capacitor converter. This paper presents the structure of the new topology with its operating principle, switching states, main characteristics, and experimental validation using finite-control-set model-predictive control. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The cost reduction of power-electronic devices, the increase in their reliability, efficiency, and power capability, and lower development times, together with more demanding application requirements, has driven the development of several new inverter topologies recently introduced in the industry, particularly medium-voltage converters. New more complex inverter topologies and new application fields come along with additional control challenges, such as voltage imbalances, power-quality issues, higher efficiency needs, and fault-tolerant operation, which necessarily requires the parallel development of modulation schemes. Therefore, recently, there have been significant advances in the field of modulation of dc/ac converters, which conceptually has been dominated during the last several decades almost exclusively by classic pulse-width modulation (PWM) methods. This paper aims to concentrate and discuss the latest developments on this exciting technology, to provide insight on where the state-of-the-art stands today, and analyze the trends and challenges driving its future. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents a comprehensive study on the state-of-the-art and emerging wind energy technologies from the electrical engineering perspective. In an attempt to decrease cost of energy, increase the wind energy conversion efficiency, reliability, power density, and comply with the stringent grid codes, the electric generators and power electronic converters have emerged in a rigorous manner. From the market based survey, the most successful generator-converter configurations are addressed along with few promising topologies available in the literature. The back-to-back connected converters, passive generator-side converters, converters for multiphase generators, and converters without intermediate dc-link are investigated for high-power wind energy conversion systems (WECS), and presented in low and medium voltage category. The onshore and offshore wind farm configurations are analyzed with respect to the series/parallel connection of wind turbine ac/dc output terminals, and high voltage ac/dc transmission. The fault-ride through compliance methods used in the induction and synchronous generator based WECS are also discussed. The past, present and future trends in megawatt WECS are reviewed in terms of mechanical and electrical technologies, integration to power systems, and control theory. The important survey results, and technical merits and demerits of various WECS electrical systems are summarized by tables. The list of current and future wind turbines are also provided along with technical details. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Like most power converter topologies, multilevel inverters are controlled with modulation techniques that are conceptually based on nonlinear waveform synthesis assuming constant dc-link voltages. However, real applications have load and supply dependent dc-links that usually present important low frequency ripple, which is also modulated and transmitted to the load, generating undesirable low frequency voltage and current distortion. This paper introduces a simple but effective dc-link ripple feed-forward strategy into traditional carrier-based modulation techniques. The dc-link ripples are measured and used to modify the carriers or the reference directly in the modulation stage. Simulation and experimental results show the accuracy of the proposed method, eliminating low order harmonics in the load current. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]