Renewable Energy Laboratory

The Renewable Energy Laboratory at the Department of Electrical Power Engineering has modern equipment for researching the mutual influence of the current operation of hybrid photovoltaic power plants and the distribution system. The laboratory consists of a controllable direct current source that simulates the operation of photovoltaic panels under various atmospheric conditions with a maximum output of 3 kW. The electrical energy produced by the photovoltaic panel model can then be stored in batteries or consumed in the form of a load. In the event of insufficient capacity of energy produced by photovoltaic panels or energy stored in batteries, energy is supplied to the load from the external distribution network.

Subjects and learning outcomes:

• Bachelor's degree: Subject: Power Plants: – Testing the operation of power supply to a building from the distribution network and island operation (basic knowledge of electricity generation from conventional and renewable energy sources)
• Bachelor's degree: Subject: Faults in the Power System: (basic knowledge of changes in the electrical parameters of overhead lines and their impact on short-circuit conditions, basic knowledge of the operation of electrical networks, calculations of short-circuit conditions and their analysis in power systems for various types of symmetrical and asymmetrical short circuits and ground connections)

To simulate various boundary conditions that may occur in the distribution system, the laboratory contains a so-called artificial network. This device allows you to set a specific voltage level as well as the frequency of the distribution system with which the hybrid system operates and thus examine their mutual interaction in extreme operating conditions. Extreme conditions include, for example, loss and restoration of voltage at the distribution system supply, sudden load changes, or operation of hybrid systems at different grid frequencies.

The laboratory has one single-phase hybrid system from VONSCH, but it also allows testing of three-phase hybrid systems from various manufacturers.