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A challenging project

By Clara Gouveia*

I will dedicate this space in BIP to one of the most challenging projects I ever participated in – the Laboratory of Microgrids and Electric Vehicles. Building this lab was a milestone for the work developed at USE as it makes it possible to validate the hundreds of pages and hours of simulations dedicated to developing solutions to integrate a large amount of renewable sources in the power grid and to support the increase in electricity consumption brought about by electric vehicles.

The first stage of this work was dedicated to developing and testing inverter prototypes that couple renewable energy sources (such as wind and solar power) and electric vehicles to the low voltage grids. These prototypes are different from existing products not only because of their control functions, but also due to their contribution to maintaining the safety of the grid’s operation.

But what is the greatest advantage for consumers? When we consider scenarios where there is a great integration of microgeneration, the hours with most power generation do not coincide with the highest consumption periods, which can cause an increasing voltage in the grid and a consequent shut-down in microgeneration. Because of the functions we have developed, these units can remain connected to the grid reducing the power injected in the grid. The excess power can be stored in batteries or used to feed more flexible loads, such as the electric vehicle.

Moreover, the vehicle’s charging will lead to an increase in electricity consumption. In order to prevent heavy investments in the grid, which will be reflected in electricity bills, the charger developed in the lab makes it possible to control the vehicle’s charging and can also function as a microgeneration unit for short periods of time. This means that there is not only a higher control layer, but it is also possible to charge a vehicle during periods when tariffs are lower or receive incentives for participating in services that are usually provided by conventional power plants.

The results obtained in the lab thus far are promising, and have drawn the attention of several manufacturers. However, our work is not over yet. After developing hardware solutions with local control functions, the idea now is to develop and implement new functions to manage domestic consumptions, which the consumer can access by using a mobile device such as an iPhone. Other that optimising electricity consumptions, these apps can also work as an interface between the consumer and the distribution system operator. Complementarily, it is also necessary to develop and implement new algorithms to control and manage the distribution grid that will allow the operators to manage the grid in a more intelligent way, taking into consideration the flexibility provided by electric vehicles and microgeneration.

The diverse equipment in this lab makes it unique and an outstanding infrastructure both nationally and internationally. Even though present times are unfavourable for research, I believe that it is possible to produce relevant scientific work and to provide industry with a privileged testing platform.

Therefore, I would like to invite you all to visit the basement floor of the new building, and who knows if we can form some sort of collaboration in the future. For the absentminded, here is the laboratory’s website.

*Collaborator at the Power Systems Unit (USE)