More than 60 participants of the Energy Sector and the academia met in Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico for attending the conference of the Distinguished Lecturer Dr. Enrique Acha, Professor of Tampere University of Technology in Finland. IEEE Morelos Section takes advantage of the presence of the Prof Acha in Mexico to provide the conference DC Microgrids.

The speaker shared his knowledge about the reconfiguration of AC high voltage power transmission to DC, moreover he covered some possible connection for the unipolar and bipolar solutions of low-voltage DC distribution system in Finland. Afterwards, he spoke about the microgrids as a “electricity distribution systems containing loads and distributed energy resources, (such as distributed generators, storage devices, or controllable loads) that can be operated in a controlled, coordinated way either while connected to the main power network or while islanded”, according to the CIGRE. DC microgrids were analized including Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) for feeding DC loads and considering interconnecting to the microgrid through a DC converter.

The session also covered a flexible and comprehensive model of a STATCOM and the integration of several VSC-HVDC system models. The multi-terminal VSC-HVDC model was analyzed from several perspectives: DC ring suppling AC energy by a DC/AC converter, ring suppling DC energy by a DC/DC converter, and feed the ring by AC sources or a combination of AC/DC sources.

Prof. Acha ended his presentation by shading lights on “smart grids”. He mentioned that one of the big challenges facing by the power grid operators is the so-called blackout. It is thought that the intelligence of the substation should be able to ameliorate this problem. If the power grid were to develop a fault that were to lead to islanding operation and a possible blackout the communication grid and processor agents would remain intact and able to balance the demand-generation requirement, in an almost instantaneous basis. As an important part of the smart grids he cited the communications infrastructure and protocols for smart metering, and the state estimation.

Finally, associated problems, challenges and the state-of-the-art technologies were also discussed. The objectives of the conference were achieved and the PES Morelos Section, as the organizing committee, concluded the event with the strengthening the knowledge of the participants.

José L. Silva Farías
IEEE PES Morelos Chair (2017-2018)