Incorporating Renewable Energy Resources in a Smart Grid

Paper:

Incorporating Renewable Energy Resources in a Smart Grid

with Power Line Communication Using Matlab/Simulink
Md. Atikur Rahman Sarker , Yuki Ueno , Chi-Hung Kelvin Chu , and Ken Nagasaka
Department

of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology

2-24-16 Nakacho, Koganei, Tokyo 184-8588, Japan
E-mail: atik ape@yahoo.com
Department of Energy Management, Electric Research Planning, Con Edison, Inc.
116 Persimmon Lane, Holmdel, NJ 07733, USA
[Received August 7, 2012; accepted December 19, 2012]

This paper proposes smart grid configurations that incorporate renewable resources, such as solar and wind
power, using Power Line Communication (PLC). PLC
and renewable energy connected to the grid are two
promising applications for power system. Smart grid
combines modern information communication technologies with existing power grid to enable power flow
and information in all directions. The implementation of smart grid technology to a rural area promotes the utilization of renewable resources such as
photovoltaic (PV) and wind turbines. In this paper,
a grid-connected smart grid was implemented for a
small community in Sitakunda, Bangladesh. The developed model is simulated using the Matlab/Simulink
program. Finally, the energy flows between the renewable energy system and local supplying network are
analyzed and optimized.

Keywords: renewable energy, photovoltaic (PV), power

line communication (PLC), Matlab/Simulink program

1. Introduction
The World Bank reported that 2.4 billion people rely
on traditional energy sources, while 1.6 billion people do
not have access to electricity [1]. With an estimated world
average electricity demand growth rate of 2.8%, the electricity demand is expected to be doubled in 2020. During
this period, the electricity demand in developing countries
is projected to increase by 4.6% annually [2].
Recently, many research groups are working on smart
grids to provide a solution for the global energy crisis
and environmental concerns. The existing power grids
are being transformed into smart grids managed by software, sensors, and information communication technologies [3]. Power generation from renewable energy resources currently provide large amount of electricity demand and have become an alternative to the traditional
energy resources. However, the initial investment cost
is higher than the traditional system and the time for the
return on investment is long. Numerous studies showed
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that real-time power consumption feedback through smart

metering reduces power consumption by fraction of 5
15% [4].
At present, grid-connected system, single-phase or
three-phase pulsewidth modulation (PWM), voltage
sources inverters are used for incorporating renewable
energy sources for electricity generation in mass scale.
This research work studied the optimization of a smart
grid system and its performance for a typical small community load at Sitakunda, Bangladesh. Currently, only
48% of the total population has access to electricity in
Bangladesh [5]. Under the 2008 renewable energy policy
the Bangladesh government has set a renewable resources
target to meet 5% of the total generation by 2015 and 10%
of the total generation by 2020. Currently, the renewable
resources contribute is less than 1% of the total electricity generation [5]. The demand of electricity power for
the 60 rural homes, school and hospital is 850 kWh/day
and a maximum peak of 105 kW. If the generation power
from renewable energy is not sufficient for the demand,
the difference of the energy demand will be supplied from
the main grid. At the proposed site, monthly averaged
daily global radiation is over 4.23 kWh/m2 /day and wind
speed varies from 3 m/s to 5 m/s [6]. Smart grid bears
the promise of substantial environmental benefits brought
about by its ability to integrate renewable sources to the
national grid.
In this paper, a simulation model of renewable energy
resources based on smart grid system was developed and
performed with Matlab/Simulink. The results of the proposed model show more effective performance than the
traditional power system for a small community in South
Asia region.

2. Renewable Energy Resources Availability at

Sitakunda, Bangladesh
Sitakunda is a coastal zone which has an area of
483.97 km [7]. The monthly wind speed at 25 m
height at the proposed site is shown in Fig. 1. The
wind speeds at the site are encouraging for grid connected wind energy project. Solar radiation in coastal

Journal of Advanced Computational Intelligence

and Intelligent Informatics

103

Sarker, M. A. R. et al.

Fig. 1. Monthly wind speed at Sitakunda at height 25 m.

Fig. 3. Matlab Simulink model for PV module and simulation parameters.

Fig. 2. Solar radiation and clearness index at Sitakunda.

region of Bangladesh, shown in Fig. 2, varies from

4 kWh/m2 /day to 6 kWh/m2 /day. These provide good
prospects for photovoltaic (PV) and wind turbine application in Bangladesh. Thus smart grid model based on
small scale renewable energy resources would be efficient
for rural electrification of coastal locations in Bangladesh.

3. Matlab Simulink Model for the PV and

Wind Generators
A PV array consists of many cells connected in series
and parallel to provide the desired output power. The
PV system usually exhibits a nonlinear I-V characteristic. The output current characteristic equation of PV cell
is expressed [8] as:
 


V + IRs
q (V + IRs )
I = I ph Is exp
(1)
1
KTc A
Rsh
where:
I ph = photocurrent
Is = the cell saturation of dark current
q = an electron charge (1.6 1019 C)
K = Boltzmanns constant (1.38 1023 J/K)
Tc = the cells working temperature
A = ideal factor
Rsh = Shunt resistance
Rs = series resistance of solar cell.
104

Fig. 4. Matlab Simulink model for wind generator and simulation parameters.

Figure 3 shows the subsystem simulation model of

the PV generator developed using Matlab Simulink. The
simulation parameters are used for developed smart grid
model. A 2 kW PV system with constant solar radiation
is simulated for proposed model.
Figure 4 shows the subsystem simulation model of
wind turbine with generator using Matlab/Simulink.
Steady state power characteristics of wind turbine are assumed in this study. The stiffness of the drive train is infinity and the fraction factor and the inertia of the turbine
and generator are combined [8]. 20 units of 500 W wind
generators are modeled for a total of 10 kW.

4. Proposed Smart Grid Configuration

The hypothetical smart grid system is designed for a
communitys domestic use. Their energy consumption
is primarily for lighting, cooling and entertaining. The
energy consumption pattern usually varies over 24 h and
over different seasons. The solar PV modules were placed
facing south and wind turbines were assumed to be at a

Journal of Advanced Computational Intelligence

and Intelligent Informatics

Vol.17 No.1, 2013