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This paper compares the sizing of distributed energy storage systems (ESS) with two control types in order to smooth a direct wave energy converter farm production, namely a centralized one that deals with the point of common coupling (PCC) power with aggregated information and a decentralized one that deals with each unit with only local information. The main objective is to compare the two controls on the basis of their life cycle cost. The ESS is necessary for grid integration in the case considered here due to the flicker constraint. The co-optimization strategies for both the sizing and the management of an ESS are based on a rule-based energy management and a sequential approach to deal with the power quality constraint. This management strategy has been optimized for each size in order to reduce aging speed while respecting the flicker criterion. The final design is expected to minimize total system cost. The centralized control clearly allowed smaller capacity. However, it may lead to an increase in cables losses compared with the decentralized case, although it is expected to be negligible under the conditions considered in this paper. The confirmation of this hypothesis will be the objective of future work. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper proposes an original model for supercapacitors that takes into account both calendar aging and cycling aging. A state variable is used to quantify the state of aging. This model is based on a series of recent experiments conducted in various research laboratories on the same technology (Maxwell Technology) and serves to represent the degradation of equivalent series resistance and capacitance. This model is particularly useful in an aging-aware life-cycle cost analysis. We show that an accurate aging model is critical to the design of an energy storage system that optimizes the economic life-cycle cost. Such an optimization is particularly applicable for smoothing in offshore systems such as direct wave energy converters, which require both cost reduction and high reliability. The influence of an aging model in the sizing process is investigated toward the end of this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper sets forth a sizing optimization methodology of a surface permanent magnet machine-converter system over a torque-speed operating profile. The two optimization objectives are to minimize the cost of the machine-converter system and to minimize (or maximize) electrical energy consumption (or generation). The optimization parameters serve to describe both the machine geometry and the electrical ratings of the electronic power converter. Each operating point of the profile is treated independently, and current control is optimized at every operating point to not only minimize machine drive losses but also satisfy several constraints and then implicitly considering flux-weakening possibility. This optimization methodology is generic and is applied to a particular case: a direct-drive conversion chain for a wave energy converter (WEC). We show that taking into account both the sizing parameters of the converter and the flux-weakening control, in addition to the classical sizing parameters of the machine, has a strong impact on the machine-converter system optimal results. Moreover, the strong coupling with the WEC through damping parameters plays also a crucial role on the sizing results. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper will begin by presenting two power takeoff (PTO) technologies for the SEAREV wave energy converter (WEC) followed by the design methodology applied to electromagnetic generator cycles for the all-electric solution. The operating principle associated with the SEAREV WEC will be described before discussing the two conversion technologies intended to transform wave energy into electricity. The types of systems are twofold: hydroelectric and all-electric. The strong coupling between the hydrodynamic, mechanical, and electrical phenomena heavily influences the behavior of the recovery (PTO) system and leads to a complex system design that requires a full-scale modeling description. A unique design methodology for the all-electric conversion chain has been developed around several distinct control modes, including one featuring power leveling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a flicker severity study for Wave Energy Converter farms. The flicker severity is introduced and the reason why it is an important constraint for a wave farm is explained. A new representation called intrinsic flicker severity is introduced which describes the flicker severity independently of the grid. The influence of device type, its control and the sea-state on average production, flicker severity and on the ratio between flicker and production are studied with three types of devices: an Oscillating Water Column and two Direct Wave Energy Converters (two point absorbers: a Heaving Buoy and the SEAREV). The influence of the size and the placement of each unit in the wave farm is presented with a farm-unit flicker ratio, compared with the square-root of unit hypothesis (noise behavior), as a function of wave direction by taking into account wave direction dispersion. Finally, solutions are presented to reduce the flicker produced to comply with grid code requirements in order to allow grid integration of wave farms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]