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February 22, 2021The UPC Centre for Technological Innovation in Static Converters and Drives (CITCEA) has worked on the international project Renewable penetration levered by Efficient Low Voltage Distribution grids (RESOLVD) to create a device that manages flows of electrical energy that are generated between solar panels, consumption and the set of converters and batteries, to make them more efficient and environmentally friendly.
The equipment has been developed as part of the European project RESOLVD, which is coordinated by the Control Engineering and Intelligent Systems (eXiT) research group, integrated into the Institute of Informatics and Applications of the University of Girona (UdG). Partners in the project are from five European countries: CITCEA, the electrical energy distributor Estabanell Distribució, the research centre Joanneum Research (Austria), the company in the ICT sector Intracom Telecom (Greece), the company Comsensus (Slovenia) and the innovation centre Smart Innovation Norway (Norway). The project has taken three and a half years and has been financed with European Commission funds, as part of the Horizon 2020 programme.
The aim of RESOLVD has been to advance in the management of the low voltage grid and energy flows. CITCEA has developed the Power Electronic Device (PED) that can be used to manage various storage technologies with just one piece of equipment based on advanced power electronics. The new device is strategically connected to the grid and can be used to manage flows of electrical energy that are generated between solar panels, the consumption and the set of converters and batteries, to make them more efficient and environmentally friendly.
Better advantage can be taken of energy that is generated locally, due to the capacity to store the surplus production and release it when it is needed, depending on the management systems in the area and taking advantage of peaks in photovoltaic generation.
Estabanell has led the integration of all physical components and the technology. This has been validated in a pilot study in the Municipality of Esquirol (Osona), within the Estabanell low voltage grid, which is the section of the grid that connects houses and businesses to the electricity supply. Specifically, the system validated how to manage renewable photovoltaic sources and electric mobility with user consumption.
In addition to coordinating the project, the task of the eXIT group has been focused on developing algorithms to predict the daily demand and energy generation and the subsequent planning of charging and discharging of batteries. These data can be analysed to predict problems of congestion in the grid or variation in voltage that could affect the quality of supply to the consumer.
Related news: RESOLVD: Improve the efficiency of grids
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