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Modular Wide-bandgap String Inverters for Low-cost Medium-voltage Transformerless PV Systems

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/2310962· OSTI ID:2310962
 [1]
  1. Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States); The University of Texas at Austin

The proposed technology combines advances in wide-bandgap power electronics with breakthroughs in distributed and decentralized control to produce ultra-low-cost medium-voltage transformerless PV inverters that are composed of stackable lightweight blocks. Taken together, the proposed circuit designs and accompanying control strategies will yield integrated control+circuit (C2) blocks, each comprising a converter and local controller, that can be assembled in a modular fashion to obtain distributed conversion interfaces for next-generation commercial and utility-scale PV systems. We will utilize SiC devices to obtain C2 blocks that can individually operate at a voltage and power in excess of 1 kV and 100 kW, respectively, such that ensembles of series-connected blocks perform direct dc to three-phase ac conversion at medium voltages (e.g., 12 kV–35 kV) and at multi-MW power levels.

Research Organization:
Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
DOE Contract Number:
EE0008346
OSTI ID:
2310962
Report Number(s):
DOE-UT--08346-1
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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