Small wind turbine based packet energy system with battery storage

Abstract

In this thesis, an application of a grid connected small wind turbine with a battery based storage system is presented. Small wind turbine has been used to charge the battery, and the system connection to the grid is determined by the load dispatch center. Once the system is connected, it delivers power at full inverter rating. Therefore, it can be considered as a packet energy system. Such a system can profit from net metering and variable rate electricity which are available in some Canadian provinces. Energy storage system has been designed in HOMER. A control algorithm has been proposed and simulated in Matlab/Simulink with 3 case studies to investigate the impacts of different charging and discharging scenarios. Sizing and cost calculations indicate that such a system can be used by residents who are interested to generate profit from variable rate electricity. This research shows that a small wind turbine based packet energy system can make renewable energy sources more practical and supply energy on demand. The proposed energy system can take energy flow instructions from Smart Energy Dispatching Centers (SEDCs) and deliver power. The system has been modeled using low order transfer functions and energy packets have been generated by switching randomly. A prototype of the battery based energy storage system has been designed and implemented. Lab tests and simulation results indicate that the designed packet energy network system is able to provide energy packets as required by the grid. Additionally the simulation results show that the output power from a very large energy packet network will be stable with the existence of large load fluctuation.