The RESCUES proposes to demonstrate the proof of concept in model system first. The model system development will involve field survey, community interaction, data logging and model building and refinement. The team will build a model of hybrid grid as shown in Fig 1.

Objective: The idea is to arrive at a standardized model system with specification, requirements for all sub-systems and their components and configurations.

Methodology: Three model community areas from three regions in India and one coastal area in the UK will be considered for energy resource analysis, detailed daily and seasonal demand analysis of the consumers. An integrated modelling tool will be developed to identify the characteristic and interdependencies of each components of the system.

An optimal distribution system network that will come out of this work package will be directly linked to the remaining work packages in order to carry out design, analysis and demonstration.

The optimisation of the integrated system will be verified through TRNSYS software for the sub-components optimisations and inter-component level performance will be analysed. Four laboratory based prototype systems (IITM, IITKGP, IITD and UoE) are proposed to be developed.

Deliverables: RESCUES pilot system models with detailed components and equipment specifications

Small grid with DGs will invariably have inverter based generation as interface and voltage control support from them will always be limited by the size of the power electronics. On Load tap changing transformers (OLTC), line drop compensator (LDC) are slow but effective in such situation.

hey operate in autonomous mode- so coordinated control is necessary. In the absence of enough storage during islanded mode of operation, frequency will also change fast because of loss of generation – leading to protection to trip existing DGs. The voltage and frequency control technique to suit such situation is not available.

The standard distribution system SCADA is too expensive and not fit for the purpose. In the UK context, some small areas of network may be load dominated (through EVs) or generation dominated (through PVs) and this may change during the course of a day. Managing this with a one-size-fits-all network design is difficult.

WP2.1 Voltage control (ICL, IITKGP): The variation in demand and distributed generation at the remote end of a feeder leads to the voltage rises particularly during low demand. The tap changing control in the primary grid works to bring the voltage down but that curtails the amount of power that can be injected. Voltage regulators (VRs) acting as LDC also hit their limits thus losing control effectiveness.

Objective: The research will investigate the impact of voltage fluctuation because of variable demand and distributed generation on the operation mechanism of OLTC and VR and develop control to mitigate the effect while allowing available generation to the network. The target is to minimise the number of tap operation and thus preventing the deterioration of the operating life of the tap control mechanism while ensuring DG output is not curtailed. The speed of response is not an issue here as this is targeted in the steady state operation of the system.

Methodology: The coordinated control between OLTC and DG voltage control set point through optimisation of number of tap movements will be explored. The constraint mixed integer nonlinear optimisation problem will be solved. DGs’ reactive power limitations and intermittency of DG active power output, discreteness of tap control mechanism will be taken into consideration while respecting the maximum power accommodation from the DG.

Deliverables: The deliverable is a software algorithm that will run on the control centre to produce the voltage control setting based on predicted/measured DG output and demand.

Micro grid (DC or AC) involves use of high performance DC/DC, DC/AC converters. They are expected to operate under specific situation of grid of different power supply delivery requirement. The interactions between various converters especially in the presence of LCL filters and cable impedance have to be carefully examined to prevent any possible harmonic resonance taking into account the fast changes of the micro grid system configuration and network strength.

Another important requirement is their behaviour under various AC and DC faults. Grid voltage support during symmetrical and asymmetrical AC faults, and protection and fault isolation during DC faults are significant challenges for converter operation and control in order to deliver a highly reliable, versatile community energy solutions.

Objectives: To develop high performance power converters and control systems to stabilize micro grid operation for range of operating situations.

Methodology: MATLAB/Simulink will be used for simulation as this is compatible to dSpace and Opal RT based HIL simulations. System model with multiple converter interfaces and passive elements will be developed to assess dynamic system behaviour and active damping will be introduced to ensure stable operation. Individual converter’s fault response will be studied, simulated and experimentally tested. This will then be followed by the development of the overall grid where control performance will be tested and validated at different operation conditions.

Deliverables: A complete solution for the power converters for micro grid applications including DC/DC, DC/AC converters with practical demonstration of their dynamic response during fault conditions.

The proposed AC micro grid provides a reliable solution to provide electrical power to areas with no or weak national grid. But the standard and affordable power electronics solution give rise to power quality issues and poor performance during mode transfer etc.

Deliverables: The first deliverable is a DG converter control algorithm that will provide an output power which complies with national and international standards and is adaptive to wide grid frequency and external network impedance variations. The second deliverable is host of command and control algorithms that can be implemented in each DG unit to achieve truly seamless transfer between on- and off-grid operations.

Reliable DC micro grid requires co-ordination and integration of control between load, generation and storage. Stability is an issue and is influenced by load and source characteristics. Particularly constant power types of demands are seen as source of negative damping when voltage control is attempted. The requirement of an autonomous, non-communication based system for increased reliability and plug-and-play capability also increases the complexity of the control and operation system.

Objective: The research aims to investigate the design and operation of converter based DC micro grids suitable for supplying power to community centres and commercial buildings.

Methodology: Impedance based system modelling, simulation and stability assessment will be introduced where various controllers are transformed into equivalent circuits. Detailed generation and load characteristics and the existence of multiple converter terminals will be considered in assessing system stability.

Autonomous control design based on adaptive DC voltage hierarchy considering DC voltage variation at different terminals will be developed to ensure plug-and-play capability. Interactions between the DC micro grid and AC network during on-grid operation, e.g., AC grid fault and unbalance, and system operation with limited energy storage during islanding taking into account the need for load management will be studied. A 5 kW laboratory experimental rig will be constructed and tested to validate the developed methods.

Deliverables: The deliverables are: DC micro grid model suitable for assessing stability, standardized autonomous control strategy and load balancing algorithm.

Storage of energy in phase changing materials (PCM) is isothermal in nature. The utilisation of energy for heating (UK) and cooling (India) through storage will be very useful to run the system under islanded mode while minimising the impact of generation and demand imbalance. This work package will develop and demonstrate the technical effectiveness of PCMs based solar thermal energy storage devices for this purpose.

Objective: The efficiency enhancement and durability of the PCM materials will be explored. The electrical model will be developed to integrate this with other form of electrical demand.

Methodology: A finite element based PCM model to understand the behaviour of the materials at different time scale will be used. The optimum material will be used for laboratory demonstration at various identical power generation conditions. A 5 kW system using natural heating for warmer climates will be used in building to calculate the load optimisation.

Deliverables: A mathematical model characterising heating and cooling characteristics. A prototype building envelop for salt-based PCM material use.

This WP will demonstrate hybrid concept in the laboratory hardware built on the basis of system developed in WP1 using optimum generation and demand for different climatic conditions within India. The identified climatic zones will be hot & dry (western Indian climate), costal climates (southern India) and warm & humid (eastern India, aligned with ongoing EPSRC-DST BURD project at tribal village Kaligunj, 200km North-West of Kolkata) and a coastal community areas in the South West of England.

Our ambition is to have a full field trial- after developing technology of control and integration field trial is too ambitious to get completed within the time scale of the project.

Objectives: To demonstrate hybrid concepts used in this proposal for different climatic conditions and to identify an optimum pathways for regional levels in laboratory pilot systems.

Methodology: Each local institute such as IITD, IITM and IITKGP will perform a detailed resource and electrical load analysis within the model community areas. These measured data will be able to validate the model and algorithm developed within WP1 to WP6. Know-how of these validation results will be fed back to WP’s in order to develop an optimal architecture of the hybrid system for local, regional use.

Deliverables: A comprehensive resource and load analysis for three identified community areas with RESCUES concept.

Dr. Pal and Prof. Chakraborty as UK and India PIs will take the lead responsibility in coordinating with academic partners and updating EPSRC and DST respectively. Every work package has lead institution indicated and the investigators in respective work package will coordinate among themselves on day to day.

A consortium agreement will be signed before the project starts. Given the close interaction between ICL, IITKGP, IITD, UoE, NITs and QUB in several WPs, audio/video tele-conferences will be held between the partners once in every two months. However, one-to-one conferencing using skype or GoToMeeting will be held whenever necessary.

In addition, face-to-face meetings for the whole consortium in alternate location between UK and India will take place once in every six months. The management board will be chaired by UK-PI and all senior research from each institute will be member of the board. Indian PI will chair the scientific advisory board (SAB), all researchers including representatives from Industrial partners (see attached letter of support) will be member of this board.

The SAB will take place during annual project meetings, facilitating commercial awareness within the research team and fostering potential commercialisation of different technological development.