Technical Program

Plenary Sessions

Power Electronics for a Sustainable Society

Prof. Praveen Jain, Ph.D.
Queen’s University, Canada

Abstract

Power electronics plays a key role in our modern society.  It is helping us in building modern infrastructures those are not only providing us a comfortable life but are also environmental friendly. This keynote speech presents some of the contributions in this field as a part of my 30-year long journey through power electronics. We will see how this field has evolved through the years in terms of power electronics architectures, converter topologies and control techniques. We will also see how this field has impacted us in applications such as space, aerospace, communications, information processing, transportation and renewable energy generation.

Biography

Dr. Jain is currently Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Power Electronics, and Director of the Queen’s Centre for Energy and Power Electronics Research at Queen’s University. He made pioneering contributions in introducing resonant power conversion technology in telecommunications during his work at Nortel in the 1990’s. He played a key role in the design and development of high frequency power conversion equipment for the International Space Station at Canadian Astronautics in the late 1980’s. Over the last 30 years, he has made sustained contributions to the theory and practice of power electronics through his considerable work with industry, including Astec, Freescale, General Electric, Intel and Nortel. He is the founder of two successful start-up companies, CHiL Semiconductor in the area of digital power controller (acquired by International Rectifier), and SPARQ Systems in the area of photovoltaic micro-inverters.

Dr. Jain has supervised and guided over 85 graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and power electronics engineers who are well placed in industry and academia. He has published over 450 papers and holds 50 patents. Among his many awards and honors Dr. Jain have received are: Queen’s Prize for Excellence in Research, IEEE William Newell Award, IEEE IAS Distinguished Lecturer, Fellow of the IEEE, Fellow of the Engineering Institute of Canada, Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering, and Engineering Medal of the Professional Engineers of Ontario.

Smartgrids: Stakes, Reality and Perspectives

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Prof. Nouredine Hadjsaid, Ph.D.
Grenoble Institute of Technology, Domaine Universitaire, France

Oswaldo Kaschny
Schneider Electric, France

Abstract

Electrical power systems are facing significant challenges including security of supply, environmental issue and multiplicity of actors in the most complex infrastructure ever built by a man. Thus, in many countries, the expected response to the problem of efficient and sustainable supply of electrical energy is the development of what is commonly called “Smartgrids.”

Indeed, in many different parts of the world, objectives in terms of energy efficiency, CO2 emission reduction and renewable energies shares in the energy mix are set up for a given horizon. This is the case with the European Union by adopting “the climate and energy package” with ambitious sustainability targets such as the 3*20% targets for 2020 indicating the aim to reduce CO2 emission by 20% compared to 1990, to increase the energy efficiency by 20% and to increase renewable energy share within the existing electrical infrastructure by 20%. Even more ambitious targets are being considered for 2035 and 2050. This clear signal defines a way forward for a transition to a carbon free society. All stakeholders of the electricity sector are affected and significant evolution is undergoing in the electrical grid to accommodate the assigned targets. This also implies heavy investment in low carbon technologies and other technical innovations as seen as key enablers for this change.

This will most likely lead to major adjustments modifying the core mission of some energy key segments such as distribution grids. Indeed, the distribution networks were not designed to operate with a massive penetration of generating units called Decentralized or Distributed (DGs) which are often of intermittent type (photovoltaic and wind power among others) as well as new usages such as plug-in electric and hybrid vehicles (PHEV). As such, their mission is transforming from delivering electricity one-way to an active management of grid flows and information.

Among the technical objectives of the SmartGrid concept, one can mention an increased integration and management of distributed generation as well as PHEV in the best economical and security conditions, an increased participation of consumers (concept of active consumer and optimization of consumption), an a reduced environmental impact of the whole electricity supply system (reducing losses, improving energy efficiency, among others), an improved power quality and overall system security, etc. The field of expected achievements is as broad as efficient devices/structures for interconnecting DGs, control and supervision, energy chain optimization, reduction of peak consumption, anticipation of equipment failures and self-healing to manage outages and improve network resilience, etc.

The extent of technology to be developed for reaching these objectives encompasses several areas that include information and communication technologies, new monitoring and control devices, adapting equipment for fault management, advanced forecasting tools, etc. The EU Technology Platform SmartGrid indicated an interesting table of the technology move within the SmartGrid concept.

In view of drivers and objectives mentioned above, the concept of “SmartGrid or “Intelligent Network” is a significant research program in itself over a different time horizons (short, medium and long terms). It involves several stages including research, development, pilot demonstration and deployment. Some of the “smart” technologies are already available, other under development and most are to be invented. Several research projects are underway throughout the world. These projects are either funded by government agencies or communities or industrial organizations and other consortia.

In this context, power electronics technologies play a major role, namely for the efficient integration of DGs such as PV (Photovoltaic) of even wind turbines that are based on variable speed synchronous generators, DC and Supergrids, and the large variety of power electronic based devices embedded into the grid for controlling in real time various grid parameters such as power flows, voltages, current limitation for example. In addition, the ongoing development of PHEV is highly dependent on the “smart” solutions to be provided thanks to power electronics development.

The presentation will address the advent of Smartgrids, solutions being developed to meet the increasing complexity of the whole electrical system and some project initiatives throughout the world. It will cover both up to date research and development in the field of Smartgrids and industrial applications including power electronics applications for Smartgrids.

Biographies

Dr. Nouredine Hadjsaid received his PhD and the “Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches” degrees from the Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble in 1992 and 1998 respectively. He is presently a full professor at Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP) where he teaches at ENSE3 (Ecole Nationale Supérieure de l’Energie, Eau et Environnement) and conducts research at G2ELAB (Grenoble Electrical Engineering Laboratory). He is also an invited professor at Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University (Virginia Tech, USA).

His main research interests are in the area of “smartgrids” including distributed generation and distribution power grids, information and communication technologies in power systems and power system security.

Dr Hadjsaid has directed between 2001 to 2013 a common academia-industry research center that groups EDF, Schneider Electric and Grenoble INP (IDEA: Inventer la Distribution Electric de l’Avenir) on smartgrids and particularly on the future electrical distribution systems in presence of distributed generation. Presently, Dr. Hadjsaid is a responsible of an ERDF industrial chair of excellence on “smartgrids”.  He is also a Program co-animator related to power grid management at the competitiveness cluster TENERRDIS and a French representative SIRFN-ISGAN on smartgrids for the International Energy Agency.

Dr. Hadjsaid has published more 200 scientific papers in international conferences and journals, has author/co-authored and directed 7 books about electric networks and has participated as an author in three international books.

Oswaldo Kaschny is worldwide responsible to develop and deploy solutions and systems to Electric Utilities, supporting countries to offer Smart Grid solutions, covering Generation, Transmission and Distribution from the generation plug to the consumer plug (end-to-end solutions), including Substation Automation, Feeder Automation, SCADA, DMS, OMS, GIS, AMI, demand management and integration of renewables.

Oswaldo has 30 years of experience in Electric Utilities business with activities in marketing, project execution, offer management, solution architect and consulting. Currently, he is the Electric Utility Vice-President at Schneider Electric.

Modulation for Static Power Converters

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Prof. Humberto Pinheiro, Ph.D.
Federal University of Santa Maria, Brazil

Oct. 29th, Tuesday, 8:30 am – 10:00 am

Abstract

This lecture will address the modulation for static converters. It starts by reviewing classical “Selective Harmonic” and “Carrier Base Modulation”, their spectra and applications in single phase, in three phase with three and four wires, as well as, in cascade multilevel converters. Then, the degrees of freedom of multilevel converters are explored in a systematic way by using a “Geometric Approach” providing a simple tool for power electronics engineers to explore the entire converter capabilities in the well-known carrier based framework. Finally, the “Space Vector Modulation” is presented for different converters from single phase to three phase cascade converters where its main advantages and challenges discussed.

Biography

Dr. Humberto Pinheiro received the B.S. degree from Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM), Santa Maria, Brazil, in 1983, the M.Eng. degree from the Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil, in 1987 and the Ph.D. degree, from Concordia University, Montreal, Canada, in 1999.  From 1987 to 1999 he was a Research Engineer of a Brazilian UPS company as well as a professor at Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul where he lectured on Power Electronics. Since 1991, he has been with the UFSM. His current research interests include modulation and control of static converters and drives. Dr. Humberto Pinheiro is a member of the IEEE Power Electronics and Industrial Electronics Societies.

Voltage-Source Converters for HVDC Systems

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Prof. Josep Pou, Ph.D.
University of New South Wales, Australia, and Technical University of Catalonia, Spain

Oct. 30th, Wednesday, 8:30 am – 10:00 am

Abstract

High-voltage direct current (HVDC) has become a key technology for remote renewable generation, such as off-shore wind farms, as well as for strengthening existing AC grids. Most of the HVDC transmission systems in operation today are based on line-commutated converters (LCC) based on thyristors. However, because of the limited degree of freedom in the control of the thyristors, LCC-based HVDC systems have important limitations such as that they cannot feed power into a passive system or help to recover AC grids from voltage sags or blackouts. Furthermore, to reverse the flux of power, the DC voltage polarity needs to be changed, which is an important inconvenient for the operation of multiterminal HVDC systems. In contrast, voltage-source converters (VSCs) based for instance on IGBT, maintain a constant polarity of the DC voltage and power reversal is achieved by reversing the direction of the current. They can also operate over passive loads and contribute to recover AC faulty grids by injecting reactive power.

The two-level converter is the simplest type of three-phase VSC. Several power devices have to be connected in series in order to meet the voltage levels required in HVDC applications. Because two-level converters provide low harmonic performance, multilevel converters have become the clue technology for VSC-based HVDC systems. Some multilevel topologies used in HVDC systems are the neutral-point-clamped converter and several configurations of modular multilevel converters. This session will be devoted to the analysis of VSC for HVDC applications.

Biography

Josep Pou received the B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC), Catalonia, Spain, in 1989, 1996, and 2002, respectively.

During 1989, he was the Technical Director of Polylux S.A. In 1990, he joined the faculty of UPC as an Assistant Professor, where he became an Associate Professor in 1993. Since February 2013, he is a Professor with the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, while he keeps a permanent position at UPC. From February 2001 to January 2002, and February 2005 to January 2006, he was a Researcher at the Center for Power Electronics Systems, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg. From January 2012 to January 2013, he was a Researcher at the Australian Energy Research Institute (AERI), UNSW, Sydney. Since 2006, he collaborates as a research consultant for TECNALIA. He has authored more than 150 published technical papers and has been involved in several industrial projects and educational programs in the fields of power electronics and systems. His research interests include modeling and control of power converters, multilevel converters, power quality, renewable energy generation, and HVDC transmission systems.

Photovoltaic energy applications: state-of-the-art and perspectives

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Prof. Roberto Ziles, Ph.D.
University of São Paulo, Brazil

Oct. 31th, Thursday, 8:30 am – 10:00 am

Abstract

The lecture devotes attention to the current situation of photovoltaic energy applications, discussing aspects such as the PV market characterization, technologies, costs and trends.

The lecture also describes the main configurations of photovoltaic systems and their integration into the national context, as well as major advances made in the country to provide the integration of distributed generation photovoltaic systems.

Biography

Roberto Zilles received his PhD in Telecommunications Engineering with specialty in Photovoltaic Systems from “Universidad Politecnica de Madrid” (1993) and the degree of “Livre Docência” with emphasis in renewable energy from São Paulo State University (2006). Currently, he is an Associate Professor and head of Scientific Division of Energy and Environment, Institute of São Paulo State University. Dr. Zilles is an Editorial Board member of “Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications” journal, head of Brazilian Photovoltaic Energy Association, and vice head of Amazon National Institute of Science and Renewable Energy Technologies.