Photovoltaic-Wind and Hybrid Energy Storage Integrated Multi-Source Converter Configuration for DC Microgrid Applications

In this paper, a new multi-source and Hybrid Energy Storage (HES) integrated converter configuration for DC microgrid applications is proposed. Unlike most of the multi-input converter configurations, a supercapacitor-battery based HES is interfaced which effectively handle the power fluctuations due to the wind, photovoltaic and sudden load disturbances. Integration of supercapacitor to respond for high-frequency fluctuations increase the lifetime of battery storage and reduce the sizing of the storage unit. The control structure is framed to achieve power balance in the system along with basic functionality such as operating renewable sources (PV and wind) at maximum power point and charging and discharging of energy storage based on power availability. The key highlights of the proposed configuration are: (i) Less number of switches, (ii) Voltage boosting, voltage regulation of supercapacitor and power-sharing among battery and supercapacitor are inherent, (iii) Simple control structure with a reduced number of sensors. The detailed analysis, modeling, and design of the proposed configuration and control structure are presented along with MATLAB simulations and experimental validations.