Micro grid laboratory as a tool for research on non-conventional energy sources in Ecuador

This article presents to the scientific community technical and management issues taken into account for the implementation of the Micro Grid Laboratory, which will be part of “Balzay” Scientific, Technological and Research Center of the University of Cuenca. The paper describes the components that integrate the generation, storage and consumption of electrical energy from a combination of renewable and non-renewable sources that allow the emulation of a distributed generation network with the possibility of establishing technical criteria to recreate an intelligent network (Smart grid). The generation, storage and consumption components of the laboratory can interact through a control, monitoring and data acquisition system (SCADA) that allows automation of energy management for teaching and research purposes, as well as the possibility of interconnection with the local grid.