In Part 1, we looked at how industrial-scale distributed generating plants (typically hundreds of kilowatts to tens of megawatts), powered by renewable energy, are playing an important role in creating a new generation of more resilient, more sustainable power grids. We also saw that, regardless whether they make power from the sun’s distant rays or a nearby city’s sewage sludge, they’re still subject to the same technical requirements for regulating, conditioning, and distributing their output through the power grid as their larger fossil-fueled counterparts.
Source: Independent Electricity System Operators (IESO)
Here, we’ll take a closer look at how the equipment used in distributed generation systems must evolve to meet the industry’s changing requirements. While still undergoing some growing pains, distributed generation technologies are technically mature and well-defined enough whereby major utility operators, such as the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) and CPS Energy, have developed extensive standards that define the design, installation, and operation of the industrial-scale power production equipment used in their grid.1,2 These standards and recent advances in power-management technology will shape the design of next-generation distributed generation systems.
Many utility operators are enabling the growth of distributed generation within their grids by providing clear guidance on the design, installation, and operation of equipment used by third-party power providers. (Source: Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD))
Electronic Design invited representatives from several leading electronics manufacturers to weigh in on those changing requirements, as well as the emerging semiconductor technologies that will enable the creation of power-conversion equipment that’s more efficient, reliable, and affordable.
Electronic Design (ED): What are the operational challenges that distributed energy systems/plants face, and how do they drive the design requirements for their equipment?
Dr. Martin Schulz, Principle at Infineon’s Industrial Power Control Division, addresses the aspect of coordination:
“A distributed energy-generation system