Hybrid Nanogrid Systems for Future Small Communities

The power supply system of future communities can be considered in the form of a small microgrid or a nanogrid which is mainly based on renewable energy resources. Such a system can lead to a sustainable development of electrical systems and can help the current and future generations to access the benefits of electricity without adding more emissions and pollutions to the environment. A nanogrid should have adequate generation capacity in its distributed energy resources (DERs) to supply its demand in the off-grid status. It should also be able to exchange power with an existing utility feeder. The operation principle of a nanogrid is discussed in this chapter. A hybrid nanogrid may consist of one ac bus and one dc bus, which are connected via a power electronics-based converter. Some DERs and loads of the community will be connected to the ac bus of the nanogrid, while some DERs and loads will be connected to its dc bus. The converter facilitates power exchanges among the buses and also controls their voltages, during off-grid operation. The dynamic performance of a small community nanogrid is discussed in detail here.