Wideband Series Harmonic Voltage Compensator for Enhancing Stability of Microgrids

A wideband series harmonic voltage compensator (WSHVC) for mitigating the adverse effect of unknown grid impedance and load condition on the stability of microgrids with multiple grid-connected inverters (GCIs) is presented. The concept is based on extending the concept of series active power filter. A wideband series voltage source inverter is used to compensate for the high-frequency harmonic voltage caused by the impedance at the point of common coupling, thereby creating a virtually zero high-frequency impedance at the output of the GCIs. The system stability is then assured under any operating condition. The bandwidth of the WSHVC ranges from the second harmonic of the grid frequency to 8 kHz, which is sufficiently higher than the cut-off frequency of typical GCIs. Such fast dynamic behavior is realized by a novel fixed-frequency predictive control scheme with nonlinear switching surfaces. Since the WSHVC handles harmonic power only, its volt-ampere (VA) rating is lower than that of the entire system. A 500 VA prototype for a 6.5 k VA testbed with three commercial GCIs, nonlinear load, and adjustable grid impedance has been evaluated. The power dissipation of the WSHVC is less than 1% of the VA rating of the testbed. The effectiveness of the WSHVC on improving system stability is studied.