A Scalable Control Strategy for CHB Converters in Photovoltaic Applications

Álvaro Pérez Mayo, Ainhoa Galarza, Asier López Barriuso and Javier Vadillo
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Álvaro Pérez Mayo: Electric Vehicle and Smart Grids Team, Centro de Estudios e Investigaciones Técnicas de Gipuzkoa (C.E.I.T.)-Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), 20009 Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain
Ainhoa Galarza: Electric Vehicle and Smart Grids Team, Centro de Estudios e Investigaciones Técnicas de Gipuzkoa (C.E.I.T.)-Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), 20009 Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain
Asier López Barriuso: Electric Vehicle and Smart Grids Team, Centro de Estudios e Investigaciones Técnicas de Gipuzkoa (C.E.I.T.)-Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), 20009 Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain
Javier Vadillo: Electric Vehicle and Smart Grids Team, Centro de Estudios e Investigaciones Técnicas de Gipuzkoa (C.E.I.T.)-Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), 20009 Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain

Energies, 2021, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-17

Abstract: Renewable energy sources are becoming more relevant in recent decades in power generation, leading to investment in developing efficient systems. Specifically, in photovoltaic energy, modular converters are attracting interest since their characteristics enable them to work at high voltage and optimize the generated energy. However, the control strategies found the literature limit the scalability potential of modular converters. The main aim of this paper is to propose a scalable control strategy for a grid-tied CHB (Cascaded H-Bridge) converter for large-scale photovoltaic power plants. The control proposed is able to take full advantage of converter scalability and modularity, being based on the parameters needed for bipolar sinusoidal PWM (Pulse Width Modulation), and thus reducing the calculus required and simplifying its implementation. Power imbalances are overcome including the zero-sequence vector injection to allow power exchange between phases. Furthermore, the parameter used for power factor control has been discretized and discretization time analysis shows that the control strategy is stable and does not require a high-speed communication channel. For validation purposes, simulations are conducted on a downsized 12 H-bridge model.

Keywords: scalable control; Cascaded H-Bridge (CHB); photovoltaic plants (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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