| Distributed energy storages play an important role in increasing the reliability and efficiency of the grid through means of peak load shaving, grid voltage support, and grid frequency support. It is important to have distributed energy storages that can utilize the functionalities of the modern smart grid to operate more effectively. The grid-tied inverter is one of the major components in a distributed energy storage that controls the power transfer between the grid and an energy storage device. In this research, a grid-tied inverter that can be used in distributed energy storage applications was designed, developed, and tested. This grid-tied inverter was designed with the capability to control both reactive and active power flow in either direction. The grid-tied inverter is equipped with communication capabilities so it can be remotely controlled by commands sent through a smart grid network. For demonstrative purposes, a user interface was developed to control and monitor the operation of the grid-tied inverter. Finally the operation of the grid-tied inverter was evaluated in accordance to IEEE 1547, the Standard for Interconnecting Distributed Resources with Electric Power Systems. |
