| Distributed Power is a concept that covers a wide variety of schemes used for local electric power generation from renewable and non-renewable energy sources, in an environmentally responsible manner. When fully implemented, distributed power can provide reliable, high-quality, and low-cost electric power. Furthermore, it gives consumers more control over their electric power supply and lets them play an active role in the competitive electricity market. Distributed power schemes are mainly based on solar energy, fuel cell, wind energy, and microturbine engines. Microturbine-based distributed power generation systems can be employed as standby power units, as well as for peak shaving and capacity enhancement purposes. In this thesis, a distributed power generation scheme composed of a microturbine, as the prime-mover, a squirrel-cage induction generator, and a diode rectifier-PWM inverter pair, as the frequency changer, is proposed. A model for the induction generator is developed. The characteristics of the induction generator and diode rectifier-PWM inverter pair are studied. The active power flow through the scheme is controlled using two control loops. The simulation results show that the system can inject a specified amount of active power into the grid at steady-state. It is shown through simulation results that the control loops enable the system to track small step changes in the output power setpoint. Furthermore, in this thesis, a steady-state fundamental frequency model for naturally-commutated cycloconverter and a method for the estimation of the reactive power demand of the naturally-commutated cycloconverter are developed. |
