Search Capabilities

Modular power electronics can provide optimised, reliable and cost-effective solutions for large-scale multi-MW systems across a range of renewable and energy storage applications. Unlocking the potential of large-scale solar PV and energy storage systems requires advances in power electronics topologies for interfacing with and supporting the electricity grid.

A low-cost universal converter that can act as either a power optimiser or a micro-inverter for photovoltaic (PV) modules would maximise the energy output of photovoltaic systems by constantly extracting the maximum power from each photovoltaic panel separately.

A comprehensive test set-up that can accommodate inverter capacities between 1kVA and 50kVA has been developed. It allows inverters to be tested to the edge of their performance envelope. The testing system can also be utilised for coarse and fine tuning of inverter control parameters.

Assessing Virtual Power Plant (VPP) hardware and online optimisation strategies, and the potential that these systems can play in the energy transition and subsequent electrification of energy use.

The widespread adoption of components with communication capabilities and internet-connectivity in power systems have increased the vulnerability of those power systems to damaging and potentially dangerous cyber-attacks. New methods are urgently required to rapidly and accurately detect attacks and protect control systems.

Massive penetration of energy storage systems presents new opportunities for power network operators and individual customers. Innovative cooperation of distributed energy storage systems can improve power quality while bringing additional capacity, flexibility and redundancy into power networks. It can also avoid costly power network upgrades and increase power-supply security.

The electricity grid delivers electrical energy from diverse generation sources to end users. It is a complex, continuously-evolving and dynamic system. Advances in sensing devices, digital technologies and communications make it possible to engineer systems for accurate, online, real-time monitoring of the grid and intelligent, automated control of its operation.

Condition Monitoring aims to detect abnormality as it happens during the operation of power equipment and systems, diagnosing the type and causes for the abnormal condition and identifying the location of the possible failure based on a wireless sensing network. SWER system monitoring is the most cost-effective choice for a distribution system of microgrids. However, due to the principle of SWER, the issue of voltage imbalance and instability has remained a serious issue for the past 20 years and fault detection is difficult due to the high impedance of the network.

Using real-time simulation and testing expertise to assess the potential for maloperation of Virtual Power Plant (VPP) hardware, including inverter disconnections, communication system failures and energy swings between competing VPP operators.

Photonics technologies developed at UNSW promise to greatly enhance the ability to cost-effectively monitor power at strategic network locations, in order to address the challenges of new grid architecture.

The development of novel converter topologies and controllers for Energy storage systems.

A cascaded H-bridge multilevel converter based low-capacitance STATCOM that is able to operate with extremely low DC capacitance values. It can achieve 80% reduction in the capacitor’s size, improve current quality, and reduce the maximum voltage stress on the semiconductors compared to a conventional STATCOM.