Virtual Energy Routers (VERs) for Energy Internet

摘要

Advances in distributed power generation and distribution is rapidly changing the power system landscape. This provides the primary motivation for the concept of Energy Internet. In this nascent and evolving concept of the next generation power distribution system, energy routers have a major role to play. The ongoing research in the field of energy internet aims at building energy routers that control and route the flow of energy quanta or packets. The energy routers are multi-staged power electronic converters. The loads and the distributed energy resources need to be connected to this power electronic converters in a localized manner. This paper proposes the concept of a virtual energy router (VER) in which the router has a virtual presence that can coordinate and control distributed loads and energy resources. A set of such loads and distributed energy resources spread over a hierarchical microgrid system encompasses the virtual energy router. The proposed virtual energy router offers the possibility of replicating a conventional data internet with the additional power flow element and where multiple virtual energy routers can interact amongst themselves to set-up the energy network. The various aspects and functions of a VER are presented in this paper. A set of results indicating the functions of a VER is also put forward and discussed.