Review of smart grid systems' requirements

Abstract

Smart grid technology is a collection of existing and developing technologies all combined together. This technology is capable of enhancing the efficiency in production and consumption of electricity and improves the reliability and integration of renewable power into the grid. Current grids focus on centralized supply sources. However; the grid's design can be modified and thus enhanced to receive fixed and predictable loads and to accept power from the renewable and distributed energy resources all through the grid. On the other hand, knowing that these resources are discontinuous and non-monotonic in nature, the grid requires an integration of monitoring and control technologies, as well as integration with automation processes in the aim of controlling divergent energy flows and planning for standby capacity to absorb the intermittent generation. The solar photovoltaic (PV) system consists of many stages with the conversion stage as one of the most crucial stage in the whole system. Accordingly, the characteristics and features of this stage control the behaviour of the solar PV system. Therefore; it is recommended that intelligent interfaces be linked and connected to the PV system to empower the grid the ability to handle two-way flows of power and communication. This implementation is required and will permit the seamless integration of solar technologies in high-penetration developments. In this paper, the authors aimed at reviewing the smart grid characteristics in the light of integrating renewable energy. In accordance, a wide research is conducted in the market to check the availability of different transformerless inverters that are compatible with solar PV applications. Following, a comparison between the features of selected inverters and those of smart grid is obtained. Consequently, a detailed description as well as the simulation of the designed transformerless inverter is demonstrated in this paper.