Research Projects

Microgrid is a power distribution system comprising distributed energy sources like renewables, battery storage, and diesel generators connected using power electronic converters. Due to the presence of a significant number of power sources in a small area, it is essential to ensure proportional power-sharing, high power quality, low voltage regulation in the microgrid for its reliable operation. The microgrid must function in islanded or grid-connected mode as and when required. During operation in grid-connected mode, the microgrid may import/export power from/to the grid. Multiple microgrids can be interconnected to facilitate power exchange among themselves. This project aims to develop technologies related to dc microgrids that would be useful in utilizing these systems for electrification in rural, semi-urban and urban areas. The developed control and protection schemes will be tested on the lab-scale prototype. The project is spread into three main phases: (i) design and development of dc microgrid prototype, (ii) controller and protection design, and (iii) hardware-in-loop with multi-microgrid system. The project deliverable includes field-implementable control and protection technologies for DC microgrid. The control scheme will rely on available local measurements and data exchange between various sources, but not necessarily all sources.