Remote Micro-Grids

With over 300 remote off-grid communities in Canada, the design and operation of microgrids is a critical topic with great social and economic implications. This research topic involves renewable energy power generation (to offset diesel-based generation with lower costs), microgrids operation and energy storage, as well as communities/aboriginal people involvement and energy humanities. Wind resource evaluation and modelling for future small wind farms will be performed by comparison to on-grid installations.


After discussions with themes champions of "Grids and Storage", "Biomass", "Communities and Aboriginal" and "Energy Humanities", we decided to create a microgrid project in this Wind Theme to coordinate research resources and efforts from multiple themes and work together on this important topic. There are also many existing conversations with provincial government, other institutions as well as small-scale collaborations with industry on microgrid projects.


Short term objective of this project in the next 3 years is to create a multidisciplinary team at UAlberta to lead microgrid projects with government and industrial support, and address technical issues such as microgrid operation, stability, reliability, as well as study of social and economic aspects. The long-term objective over 7 years is to have the research results implemented in a number of microgrid communities in Northern Alberta and Canada North, with long-term study, training, education involvement of UAlberta researchers in those communities. An important long term plan will be to provide knowledge and understanding of the large grid infrastructure to allow for planning toward bringing off-grid communities into the grid as infrastructure is improved. This requires understanding of how wind resources have been commercialized in Alberta based on comparison of modelled resources and harvested power.


Outcomes of this project include microgrid optimization software for operation cost minimization and reliability improvement, renewable technologies and microgrid operation and maintenance strategies suitable for Canada North. We will complete an in depth study which allows for feasibility and forecasting of wind resources to allow for future develolpment.

Fellowship

Yunwei (Ryan) Li

Award

Highly Cited Researcher

Yunwei (Ryan) Li

Award

A New Modular SPWM Strategy for Parallel Isolated Matrix Rectifiers to Improve Current Quality

Yunwei (Ryan) Li, Yuzhuo Li, Fanxiu Fang

Conference Proceedings

A New Space Vector Modulation Strategy to Enhance AC Current Quality of Isolated DC-AC Matrix Converter

Yunwei (Ryan) Li, Hao Tian, Fanxiu Fang

Peer-Reviewed Journal Article

A numerical study of bio-inspired wingtip modifications of modern wind turbines

Khashayar RahnamayBahambary, Mohammad Reza Kavian Nezhad

Peer-Reviewed Journal Article

AC and DC Microgrid Control

Yunwei (Ryan) Li

Book Chapter

An Improved SVM Strategy to Reduce DC Current Ripple for AC-DC Matrix Converter

Yunwei (Ryan) Li, Fanxiu Fang

Conference Proceedings

An Improved SVM Strategy to Reduce DC Current Ripple for AC-DC Matrix Converter

Yunwei (Ryan) Li, Hao Tian, Fanxiu Fang

Peer-Reviewed Journal Article

CFD MODELING OF THE NEAR-FIELD POLLUTANT DISPERSION IN URBAN SETTINGS: COMBINED EFFECTS OF THE SOURCE LOCATION AND PLANAR HETEROGENEITIES

Carlos Lange, Mohammad Reza Kavian Nezhad

Conference Proceedings

Calibrating Canadian Wind Atlas Data to Historic Market Performance

Andrew Leach, Tim Weis, Natalia Vergara Bonilla

Peer-Reviewed Journal Article

Case Study of Deep Electrification in Remote Canadian Community

Tim Weis, Tazrin Jahan Priyanka

Peer-Reviewed Journal Article

Computational Fluid Dynamics Validation of Rooftop Wind Regime in Complex Urban Environment

Sarah Mattar

Master Thesis

Deep Electrification and Renewable Energy in a Remote Canadian Community

Tazrin Jahan Priyanka

Master Thesis

Effects of Inflow Parameters and Disk Thickness on an Actuator Disk inside the Neutral Atmospheric Boundary Layer

Khashayar RahnamayBahambary

Peer-Reviewed Journal Article

Evaluating the Validity of CFD Model of Dispersion in a Complex Urban Geometry Using Two Sets of Experimental Measurements

Carlos Lange, Mohammad Reza Kavian Nezhad

Conference Proceedings

Finite Control Set Model Predictive Control for AC-DC Matrix Converter with Virtual Space Vectors

Yunwei (Ryan) Li, Hao Tian, Fanxiu Fang

Peer-Reviewed Journal Article

Framework for design and optimization of a retrofitted light industrial space with a renewable energy-assisted hydroponics facility in a rural northern canadian community

Tim Weis, Lexuan Zhong

Peer-Reviewed Journal Article

Improving the value of wind energy through geographic diversity of wind farms

Taylor Pawlenchuk

Master Thesis

Kivalliq Hydro-Fibre Link Reivew

Tim Weis, Julia Zonneveld

Research Report

Mapping The Evolution of Canada’s Wind Energy Fleet

Andrew Leach, Tim Weis, William Noel

Peer-Reviewed Journal Article

Market Impacts of Geographic Dispersion of Wind Energy in Alberta

Natalia Vergara Bonilla

Master Thesis

Market impacts of geographically dispersed wind farms in Alberta

Andrew Leach, Tim Weis, Natalia Vergara Bonilla

Peer-Reviewed Journal Article

Microgrid Control and Power Quality Improvement

Yunwei (Ryan) Li, Farzam Nejabatkhah

Conference/Symposium/Workshop Contribution

Modelling wind-hydrogen storage in Alberta’s electricity market

Andrew Leach, Tim Weis, William Noel

Peer-Reviewed Journal Article

Modified Accuracy of RANS Modeling of Urban Pollutant Flow within Generic Building Clusters Using a High-Quality Full-Scale Dispersion Dataset

Carlos Lange, Khashayar RahnamayBahambary, Mohammad Reza Kavian Nezhad

Peer-Reviewed Journal Article

PWM and Control Strategies for AC-DC Matrix Converters

Fanxiu Fang

Doctoral Thesis/Dissertation

Performance Evaluation of the RANS Models in Predicting the Pollutant Concentration Field within a Compact Urban Setting: Effects of the Source Location and Turbulent Schmidt Number

Carlos Lange, Mohammad Reza Kavian Nezhad

Peer-Reviewed Journal Article

Power Quality Control in Hybrid AC/DC Microgrids

Yunwei (Ryan) Li, Farzam Nejabatkhah

Conference/Symposium/Workshop Contribution

SVM Strategy for Mitigating Low Order Harmonics in Isolated AC-DC Matrix Converter

Yunwei (Ryan) Li, Hao Tian, Fanxiu Fang

Peer-Reviewed Journal Article

Using Variable Speed Diesel Generators to Increase Renewable Energy Penetration in the Yukon

Tim Weis

Peer-Reviewed Journal Article

Visiting Student - Joan Torrents

Tim Weis

Visiting Researcher (outgoing)

Visiting student - Sebastian Chacon Moran

Tim Weis

Visiting Researcher (outgoing)