One-Cycle Controlled Reactive Power Supply Inverter (OCC-RPSI) for Distributed Energy

Reactive power is both a problem and a necessity for the electric grid. However, reactive power occupies valuable capacity on the electric grid and can prevent loads from sourcing adequate real power, leading to brown-outs and black-outs. By using distributed energy resources (such as fuel cells and reciprocating engine generators) to provide reactive power close to the loads that require it, the operating margin of the electric grid ¿ and therefore its stability, reliability, and efficiency ¿ can be substantially improved. This project will develop a controller for distributed energy (DE) inverters, which will enable DE resources to deliver reactive power on demand. The controller is based on a breakthrough One-Cycle Control technology, which provides active conversion of three-phase power without software. The controller will: (1) enable a 10x reduction in circuit complexity and the elimination of control software, thereby providing a substantial boost in system reliability and performance; (2) enable autonomous operation of the DE inverter to deliver real power to the electric grid, while providing fast and precise reactive power on demand; and (3) provide a substantial advantage over the current approach, where reactive power demand is met primarily by large, slow-response, central generation systems. These advantages will be particularly important as the number of DE resources continues to grow from the present installed base of more than 12 million units. Commercial Applications and other Benefits as described by the awardee: A controller that enables DE resources to deliver reactive power on demand should be applicable to a wide range of DE resource inverters, including fuel cells, solar, wind, reciprocating engine generators, etc. The primary benefits are high-quality power, high reliability (due to low component count and no software), and reactive power on-demand.