Control System Design for Hybrid Renewable Power Plants

With more large-scale inverter-based renewable generators integrated into the power grid and the retirement of the traditional synchronous generator, the system strength and inertia have been reduced significantly. Recently, grid-forming inverter (GFMI)-based battery energy storage system (BESS) has become an effective solution to support the power grid with high renewable penetrations. A hybrid renewable energy power plant (HPP) is a new concept to integrate the grid-following inverter (GFLI) based solar/wind generators with the GFMI/GFLI-based BESS to support the system strength and inertia. In the HPP, all the inverter-based energy resources are connected to a common connection point to the grid.  Compared with the single type of renewable generators, the operating control of HPP and the interactions within the power plant become much more complicated. Therefore, this project aims to develop new control methods to enable secure connection of the hybrid power plant and provide the system strength and inertia support to the power grid.

The School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science has world-class research facilities in renewable energy integrations, which includes access to several renewable energy generators, Renewable Energy laboratory and industry 4.0 UQ Energy TestLab with hardware-in-loop experimental setup in both RTDS and Opal-RT platforms and state of the art industry based software tools.

This project is supported by the Research project scholarship.

Learn more about the Research project scholarship.

Your application will be assessed on a competitive basis.

We take into account your:

• previous academic record
• publication record
• honours and awards
• employment history

A working knowledge of inverter-based hardware experiments would be of benefit to someone working on this project.

You will demonstrate academic achievement in the field/s of power system stability and control with solid knowledge in power electronics-based generators and the potential for scholastic success.

A background or knowledge of power system control, inverter-based resource modeling and control with PSCAD is highly desirable.

Before you apply

Before submitting an application you should:

1. check your eligibility for a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
2. prepare your documentation
3. contact Dr Feifei Bai (f.bai@uq.edu.au) to discuss your interest and suitability
4. submit your application by 20 May, 2024 20 May, 2024.

When you apply

You apply for this scholarship when you submit an application for your program. You don’t need to submit a separate scholarship application.

In your application ensure that under the ‘Scholarships and collaborative study’ section you select:

• ‘My higher degree is not collaborative’
• ‘I am applying for, or have been awarded a scholarship or sponsorship'
• ‘Other’, then ‘Research Project Scholarship’ and in the ‘Name of scholarship’ field enter RENEWABLE-BAI.

Apply now