Date of Graduation

5-2021

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Electrical Engineering

Advisor/Mentor

McCann, Roy

Committee Member/Reader

Ware, Morgan

Abstract

There is currently a growing interest in increasing the amount of renewable energy resources connected to the bulk electric system (BES) that stems from various environmental, political, and social concerns. However, the differences between conventional generation resources and inverter-based resources (IBR)—namely wind and solar—pose new issues that make this increased integration a larger problem. In other studies, the increased penetration of renewable energy resources has resulted in weak-grid systems that are more susceptible to collapse. This comes as a result from the inability for IBRs to effectively provide enough reactive power, an effect especially apparent during fault conditions, which the National Electric Reliability Council (NERC) requires utility companies simulate and test. This paper seeks to examine the problems surrounding the stability of the grid as increased renewable integration changes the impedance profile of the system as a whole. By beginning with a minimized 6-bus system based on the standard IEEE 14-bus system model, a comparison between current grid topologies and IBR-rich topologies is made and preliminary conclusions drawn. These conclusions are followed by a discussion of potential future work and possible other solutions to the problems faced during the study.

Keywords

IBR, Inverter-Based Resources, Renewable Energy, Wind, Solar, Service Learning

Download

Share

COinS