The APQRC conducts applied research into a wide range of power quality issues including network and equipment performance, monitoring and reporting and standards. Research is also being undertaken in the areas of distribution system reliability and renewable energy system integration.
Research
Ensuring the Quality of Australia’s Renewable Energy Future
- Harmonics Compliance Assessment Study
- Impact and Management of Harmonics for Renewable Generators
- CELL project
- Shoalhaven Water Project
- GPST project
Our Robust Methods for Harmonics Compliance Study aims to address challenges in connecting renewable generators to the electricity supply network by developing a robust and prescriptive methodology for the harmonic compliance assessment processes. This will be used as an interim best practice guideline for voluntary use by participating industry stakeholders, and as the basis for a submission to amend the Australian Standards and potentially the National Electricity Rules.
We are leading an ARENA funded project investigating the impact and management of harmonic distortion for large renewable generators. Our project partners include renewable energy generators and equipment manufacturers as well as distribution and transmission network service providers.
The Clean Energy Living Laboratory (CELL) is a flagship ‘mixed-use, precinct-based microgrid’ at the University of Wollongong’s Innovation Campus. CELL will highlight the technical and economic benefits and challenges of deploying microgrid technologies within the National Electricity Market.
Our Battery Energy Storage for Sewage Pumping Station Energy Resilience project involves design, construction, and deployment of energy storage solutions for electricity supply resilience at 10 sewage pumping stations within the catchment of Shoalhaven Heads, NSW. The objective is to develop an understanding of the energy storage performance, safety and reliability requirements for a sewage pumping station/distributed infrastructure application.
This work is supporting Topic 9: Distributed Energy Resources and Stability of the Australian Research for Global Power System Transformation project administered by CSIRO through engagement with the Global Power System Transformation (G-PST) consortium. Specifically, the work aims to evaluate the dynamic performance of modern loads to power system disturbances. The data collected in this project is being used by AEMO to develop electricity market constraint models which have direct impacts on the costs of electricity.
Research Themes
- Power quality surveying methodology
- Power quality data compression, analysis, reporting and datamining
- The impact of distributed generation and renewable energy sources on power quality
- How to leverage the smart grid paradigm to improve power quality
- Voltage fluctuations and flicker
- Voltage unbalance
- Harmonic management in distribution and transmission systems
- Interpretation of standards and their development
- Load control ripple signal amplification and mitigation
- Power quality instrumentation operation and standards
- Equipment immunity to power quality disturbances
- Achievable sag characteristics and limits for distribution systems
- Database structures for power quality data
- Distribution system reliability improvement
- Simplifying reliability reporting tools
- Identifying state-of-art reliability practices
- Distributed generation integration with distribution networks
- Modelling of renewable energy generation such as wind farms and PV systems
- Distributed generation in the smart grid
- Energy storage systems for distributed generation
Postgraduate Research Projects
- Modelling of Power Quality Disturbances for Improved Mitigation Techniques
- Harmonic Allocation to Major Loads in Transmission Systems
- On the Identification of Optimal Allowable Distributed and Renewable Generation Capacity in the Power Distribution System
- Emergency Control for Catastrophic Disturbance in Future Power Grids
- Implementation of Techno-Economic Voltage Unbalance Methodologies in Power Systems
- Optimised and Cost Effective Operation of Microgrids
- Distributed Energy Storage for Renewable Energy and Electric Vehicle Applications
- Detection, Analysis and Mitigation of Voltage Sag/Swell in Renewable Energy Rich Power Grids
- Distributed Generation for Energy Harvesting in Distribution systems using Hybrid Energy Storage
- Impacts of Renewable and Distributed Generation on Power Quality and Reliability
- Cooperative strategies for improving power quality, utilisation and resilience in the operation and control of microgrids
- Sizing and Design of Microgrids and Energy Management Systems for Grid Connected, Stand-Alone and Islanded Operation
- A customer oriented Comprehensive Power Quality (PQ) Management with DNSP, Utilities, and IPPs
- Improving Energy Storage management Systems in Electric Vehicles
- Optimal Energy Management and Demand Response Strategies for Net Zero Energy Homes and Precincts
Project Supporters:
This research is supported by Evoenergy along with Solcast, who provide solar forecasting data. - Small Signal Stability Aspects Associated with Integrated Wind-HVDC Systems
- Impact of Electric Vehicles in Power grids Considering Reliability and Power Quality Constraints
- Predictive Control for Uncertainty Optimisation in Distributed Smart Grids
- Optimal planning for synchronous and non-synchronous generating resources in an interconnected power grid
- Harmonic Investigation of Large-Scale Wind and Solar Farms
- Study of Three Phase Induction Motor Operation Under Unbalanced Supply Voltages
- Renewable Energy based Hybrid System for Rural and Remote Communities
- Voltage Control in PV Rich Distribution Networks
- Collaborative Operation of Solar Photovoltaic and Wind Generation in Virtual Power Plant Environment by Improving Predictability
- Intelligent energy management system for future micro grids
- Planning for Renewable Energy Rich Large Interconnected Power-grid
- Development of high Fidelity models for large scale solar energy generating systems
- Improved Fault Ride Through Capability for Grid Integrated Distributed Generation System
- Control and Protection of Renewable Energy based Micro-grids
- Power quality issues with large scale solar integration
- Energy Storage to Improve Power Quality and Reliability in Microgrids
- Power Converter Design and Implementation for Future Power Grids
- Volt/Var Control Strategies for Active Distribution Networks Embedded with renewable and Distributed Energy Resources
- Controlling Integrity of Interconnected Renewable Energy Rich Power Systems after Emergencies
- Impact of Renewable Energy on Power Quality
- Power Quality Improvements in Distribution Network using Community Battery Energy Storage Systems
- Management of Micorgrids.
2020
- Higher Frequency Emissions in the Range of 2 - 150 kHz (Supraharmonics) in Electricity Distribution Networks
- Contributions to Analytical Methodologies for the Management of Voltage Unbalance in MV/HV/EHV Power Systems
2019
2018
- Design of Multi-level Power Convertors with Random Time Vector Control Switching for Network Support
2017
- The WiSE Approach to Engineering Educational Environments
- Coordinated Voltage Control in Modern Distribution Systems
- Forecasting Electricity Demand and Price Spike for Improving Electricity Market Operation
- Control and Operational Approaches to Improve Frequency Stability of Electricity Grids with Increased Wind Power Penetration Levels
- Investigation of Voltage Stability of Wind Rich Electric Power Systems
- On the improvement of boost and buck-boost converters for battery applications
- Evaluation of a potential operational scheme based on Virtual Net Metering for precinct-level public buildings
2016
2015
- Small signal stability analysis for a turbine-generator unit connected to an HVDC system
- Modelling of Inverter Interfaced Renewable Energy Resources to Investigate Grid Interaction
- Distribution System Protection Schemes in a Modern Grid Embedded with Renewable Energy Resources
- Contributions to the development of microgrids: Aggregated modelling and operational aspects
2014
- Analysis of non-stationary power quality waveforms using iterative empirical mode decomposition methods and SAX algorithm
- Contributions to the understanding of harmonics, flicker and voltage unbalance management in future electricity distribution networks
- Grid integration of solar photovoltaic resources: impact analysis and mitigation strategies
- Islanding detection of distributed generation and classification of voltage sags/swells using machine learning techniques
- Emergency control of catastrophic disturbances in a power system
2013
- Performance of LV loads in the presence of voltage fluctuations: preliminary investigations based on critical component analyses
- Climate change adaptation in electricity infrastructure with renewable energy resources
- Further contributions to the development of the technical report IEC/TR 61000-3-13:2008 on voltage unbalance management methodologies
2012
2011
2009
- Discovery and pattern classification of large scale harmonic measurements using data mining
- Contributions towards the development of the Technical Report IEC/TR 61000-3-13 on voltage unbalance emission allocation
- Transient behaviour modelling of underground high voltage cable systems
- Matrix converter technology in doubly-fed induction generators for wind generators
2008
2006
2005
2003
2002