Voltage source inverters for high-power, variable-voltage DC power sources

The paper discusses the applications of voltage source inverter (VSI) based power electronic systems for interfacing variable-voltage DC sources to the grid. A variable-speed wind power conversion system is used for illustration, where the VSI-based interface needs to convert a variable DC voltage to a nearly constant AC voltage with high-quality power. The power control principles of VSI are described. Various system configurations and switching strategies are examined by analysis, simulation and experimental methods. It is shown that better utilisation of semiconductors and more flexible control may be achieved by using a separately controlled DC link, rather than a directly connected VSI that has to operate at a lower modulation ratio at higher power. In some cases, multipulse inverter structures may be preferred, despite higher component count, because of reduced switching losses, fault tolerance and the absence of filters. The solutions developed in the study could be applied at a different scale to other renewable energy sources, such as wave or solar photovoltaic devices.