Reliable Microgrid Design and Planning with Dynamic Loads

There are over one billion people in the world without access to electricity. Of those people, 84% live in remote areas. The United Nations Development Programme Sustainable Development Goal 7 Affordable and Clean Energy aims to increase affordable and clean energy access for all. Microgrids enable energy access in remote communities where it is uneconomical for transmission lines to bring electricity from a national electrical grid. The goal of microgrids is to provide affordable and reliable electricity to customers. Designing and planning a microgrid that considers power system dynamic stability is a multi-phase project that includes (1) resource allocation and sizing, (2) distribution network layout, and (3) reliability cost-benefit analysis. All these aspects can and should be optimized to reduce the cost of electricity to the customer and maintain an acceptable level of reliability. Part 1 of this thesis presents work, in the forms of developed tools,! that address each of microgrid design and planning phases listed. To improve dynamic reliability analysis of microgrid design, Part 2 of this work investigates power system stability dynamics with dynamic loads. It is imperative that dynamic load models be as representative of the load behavior as possible to ensure that dynamic stability study results are accurate and useful. An analysis of the techniques and metrics used to determine dynamic load models and their parameters was performed. With the insight gained from Part 2, Part 3 of this thesis proposes to develop a dynamic simulation based approach to determine the stable regions of dynamic load type and amount, called load margin, in microgrids. This would enable utilities with microgrids and microgrid developers to determine the allowable stable load amount and type given their microgrid components and controls using industry standard software platforms already in use. The work presented and proposed in this thesis ! aims to aid the development and growth of reliable and affordable microgrids to increase energy access worldwide.

Major Advisor: Eduardo Cotilla-Sanchez
Committee: Ted Brekken
Committee: Rakesh Bobba
Committee: Kendra Sharp
GCR: Brady Gibbons