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Inverter Reliability Estimation for Advanced Inverter Functionality

Conference ·
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In the near future, grid operators are expected to regularly use advanced distributed energy resource (DER) functions, defined in IEEE 1547-2018, to perform a range of grid-support operations. Many of these functions adjust the active and reactive power of the device through commanded or autonomous modes, which will produce new stresses on the grid-interfacing power electronics components, such as DC/AC inverters. In previous work, multiple DER devices were instrumented to evaluate additional component stress under multiple reactive power setpoints. We utilize quasi-static time-series simulations to determine voltage-reactive power mode (volt-var) mission profile of inverters in an active power system. Mission profiles and loss estimates are then combined to estimate the reduction of the useful life of inverters from different reactive power profiles. It was found that the average lifetime reduction was approximately 0.15% for an inverter between standard unity power factor operation and the IEEE 1547 default volt-var curve based on thermal damage due to switching in the power transistors. For an inverter with an expected 20-year lifetime, the 1547 volt-var curve would reduce the expected life of the device by 12 days. This framework for determining an inverter's useful life from experimental and modeling data can be applied to any failure mechanism and advanced inverter operation.

Research Organization:
National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
DOE Contract Number:
AC36-08GO28308
OSTI ID:
1913956
Report Number(s):
NREL/CP-5K00-85052; MainId:85825; UUID:4980b827-3b6b-4c5d-ad48-fcfd14182d5e; MainAdminID:68501
Resource Relation:
Conference: Presented at the 2022 IEEE 49th Photovoltaics Specialists Conference (PVSC), 5-10 June 2022, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (7)

Methods for Durability Testing and Lifetime Estimation of Thermal Interface Materials in Batteries journal March 2019
The National Solar Radiation Data Base (NSRDB) journal June 2018
Motivation and requirements for quasi-static time series (QSTS) for distribution system analysis conference July 2017
Voltage-Dependent Activation Energy Maps for Analytic Lifetime Modeling of NBTI Without Time Extrapolation journal November 2018
PV inverter with decoupled active and reactive power control to mitigate grid faults journal December 2020
Stability and control of power systems with high penetrations of inverter-based resources: An accessible review of current knowledge and open questions journal November 2020
A Comparison of DER Voltage Regulation Technologies Using Real-Time Simulations journal July 2020

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Related Subjects

POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION
SOLAR ENERGY
component degradation
grid-support functions
inverter reliability
lifetime
stress