Marine Hydrokinetic Power Plant: Software Simulation for Voltage Flicker Mitigation

Abstract

In a marine hydrokinetic (MHK) power generation such as a tidal and river power generation, the nature of water flow (i.e., water turbulence) and the grid condition can induce voltage fluctuations or flicker at the power grid. Voltage flicker can be a serious power quality issue that can limit the integration of the MHK power plant into the utility grid. Hence, the assessment of flicker and methods to alleviate flicker are required to implement the MHK power generation. This thesis investigates the effectiveness of three different techniques for flicker mitigation by comparing the short-term flicker level and determines the appropriate mitigation technique based on the grid condition and water turbulence intensity throughout the digital simulation. The case study is performed by the digital simulation tool of PSCAD/EMTDC, modelling the MHK power generation. Then, the hardware simulation will verify the results in the software simulation as future work.