Power quality of a voltage source converter in a smart grid

One objective of the smart grid is to produce clean energy through the use of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) such as wind turbines and photovoltaic cells. RES systems are usually interfaced to the grid using electronic power converters. However, these interfacing converters generate voltage and current harmonics at the converter terminal which are further transmitted to the rest of the smart grid. This paper presents and evaluates different factors that may affect the produced harmonics and reduce the quality of power on the smart grid. The factors are investigated first from the converter design specification such as the switching frequency, modulation index and the converter topology, then from the smart grid network characteristics. It clearly shows in detail the relation between these factors and the harmonics generated by the converters and how it affects the power quality of the smart grid. The RES system and smart grid was simulated using MATLAB Simulink™ and Plecs™ simulation tools.