Implementing and Real-Time Testing of a Grid-Tied Solar Inverter Controller

Grid-tied inverters connect renewable energy sources to an electric utility grid. This session will show you how to model, simulate, and implement a controller for a grid-tied solar inverter using Simulink^® and Simscape Electrical™.  The demo will use a photovoltaic (PV) inverter to show you how to:

• Build a model to simulate the PV panel, grid load, and grid-tied inverter
• Tune the inverter controller to adjust the DC bus voltage for varying loads
• Develop a maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithm to keep the PV system operating at the peak power point under changing solar irradiance, temperature, and load
• Implement plant level control, such as fault-ride through, curtailment, and power factor correction
• Generate C code from the controller model and implement it on a Texas Instruments C2000 microcontroller
• Test the microcontroller code against a real-time hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation of the PV system and inverter using a Speedgoat real-time system