Modification of Unified Power Quality Conditioner (UPQC) Architecture with Solar and Wind Based Distributed Generation at the DC Common Link
Keywords:
Solar PV, Wind Energy, Distributed Generation, Power Quality, DC Link Integration, Smart GridAbstract
The PQ (power quality) disturbances in distribution systems persist as a major challenge due to increasing consumer awareness and integration of renewable energy sources. The Unified Power Quality Conditioner (UPQC) is considered the most sophisticated custom power device that can simultaneously deal with disruptions in load current and supply voltage while performing functionalities such as load balancing, elimination of neutral current, power factor correction, and harmonic suppression. This article focuses on the DG-UPQC, where renewable sources like solar and wind are interfaced with the DC link through power electronic converters to enhance the resilience under varying operating conditions. Some of the notable improvements in the simulation results are an increase of 3.5% in active power transfer (from 37,780 W to 39,110 W), reactive power demand coming down to 52.85 Var, and power factor uplift to 0.96 from 0.91. Harmonic mitigation has been confirmed, where System 1 (vector modulation with PI regulators) reduced THD in voltage within 2.97-6.31% and THD in current within 12.45-7.07%. System 2 yields a better performance employing AI-based switching modulation via the Quality Control Evolutionary Strategy (QC_ES), reducing voltage THD to 2.66-6.24% and current THD to 10.45-6.95%. These studies suggest DG-UPQC with AI-based controllers to outweigh the conventional systems with PI controllers in matters of efficiency, stability, and PQ improvement. Future work can continue to be carried out toward other UPQC topologies, such as a left-shunt configuration, and hybrid control strategies merging traditional and intelligent approaches. A promising opportunity is available for researchers and practical applications of UPQC compensators.
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T. Lei, S. Riaz, N. Zanib, et al., “Performance Analysis of Grid-Connected Distributed Generation System Based on Unified Power Quality Conditioner,” J. Electr. Comput. Eng., 2022, Art. ID 4572145. Wiley Online Library
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G. R. Reddy and R. K. Reddy, “Enhancement of Power Quality with UPQC in Grid Integrated PV System,” in AIP Conf. Proc., 2022. ADS
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Copyright (c) 2025 Amit Kumar Sahu, Nita Vishwakarma
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