Design of a Novel Solar PV/ Battery Hybrid Energy System with a Single Phase Seven/Nine Level Inverter

Abstract

In the current global energy scenario, importance of power generation from renewable energy sources is increasing day by day. The major reasons for this are limited availability of fossil fuels and environmental hazards associated with traditional power generation methods. Some of the distributed generation power sources that are expected to increase greatly their market share of the total power produced in the world include renewable energy sources such as photovoltaic’s, wind, lo w- head hydro, and geothermal. Fuel cell technology is also nearing the development point where it could start to supply a significant share of the power needs. Multilevel inverter structures have been developed to overcome shortcomings in solid -state switching device ratings so that they can be applied to high-voltage electrical systems. The multilevel voltage source inverters’ unique structure allows them to reach high voltages with low harmonics without the use of transformers. This concept intends to present a novel solar PV/battery hybrid energy system with a single phase five level inverter. The battery is used as a backup source when in case solar power is absent. The power flow through the battery is controlled using a bidirectional converter s o that the optimum usage of the battery is ensured. The proposed configuration uses a modified single phase five level inverter topology for converting DC voltage generated from solar photovoltaic/battery energy sources to AC voltage for feeding to the load. The usage of five level inverter reduces Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) in output voltage and thus eliminates the use of bulk filters at the output side. The proposed concept can be implemented to Novel Solar PV/ Battery Hybrid Energy System with a Single Phase Seven/Nine Level Inverter by using Matlab/Simulink software.