Development of a Renewable Energy Based DC Excitation System in a Micro Hydro Power Plant

Abstract

MHPPs (micro hydro power plants) have become prominent in hydropower plants as a solution to provide the energy demands of the grid. In this study, a new hybrid renewable energy based DC excitation system for synchronous generator in the developed MHPP system is introduced. Proposed hybrid DC excitation system consists of solar & hydrogen energy based power generating systems. Hybrid renewable energy based system is used for the excitation of the synchronous generator in the MHPP test system. The renewables are used as a secondary energy source to provide the excitation current to a synchronous generator that generates energy in MHPP. A PV (photovoltaic) array is used as the main source of excitation, and a FC (fuel cell) stack is used for DC excitation in the lack of sunshine. In the experimental setup, an electrical control card is developed, and a microcontroller is used to perform the proposed excitation system. All experimental results obtained from 5 kW rated power MHHP test system. Experimental results show that, the proposed method provides the continuous excitation current, and the operation of the synchronous generator is uninterrupted. The proposed method is also practical and easily implemented for MHPP systems.