Hardware in the Loop Testing for Microgrids and Renewables

The rise of renewable energy systems and microgrids represents a shift in how power is converted and distributed. Modern power grids are becoming more decentralized, with numerous power generation sources spread across various locations – commonly referred to as distributed energy resources (DER). These systems include more renewable energy sources but also introduce new complexities in energy management, protection, and control.

In this webinar, we show how hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing with Speedgoat test systems helps engineers to accelerate the development of controllers and protection systems for both microgrids and renewables. We focus on the validation of the firmware, the signal-level interfaces, and the communication protocols such as DNP3 and IEC61850.

We provide realistic demonstrations using Simulink, real-world controllers, and Speedgoat test systems, and we’ll walk you through the development and testing workflow.

The webinar will feature several HIL testing demos to validate:

An intelligent electronic device (IED) running the system-level controls of a microgrid energy management system (EMS),
The embedded controller of a 3-level NPC solar inverter,
Transient stability using grid forming and grid following controls of a two-level inverter. The embedded controller of an inverter running grid stability and grid forming controls,
The grid protection relay of a power grid leveraging not only voltage and current sensor signals, but also communication via IEC61850.