ELEC ENG 4111 - Distributed Generation Technologies

North Terrace Campus - Semester 2 - 2024

This course provides an introduction to distributed generation. It provides an overview of distributed energy resources, including: generator sets, combustion turbines, photovoltaic systems including converters and control (maximum power point tracking), micro-turbines, fuel cells and energy storage technologies; wind turbines, converter and control aspects. Principles of control of distributed generation systems. Electric power distribution systems, installation, interconnection and integration. Economic and financial aspects of distributed generation, the regulatory environment and standards. Assessments include quizzes and practical assignments.

  • General Course Information
    Course Details
    Course Code ELEC ENG 4111
    Course Distributed Generation Technologies
    Coordinating Unit Electrical and Electronic Engineering
    Term Semester 2
    Level Undergraduate
    Location/s North Terrace Campus
    Units 3
    Contact up to 4 hours per week
    Available for Study Abroad and Exchange Y
    Prerequisites ELEC ENG 1100 or ELEC ENG 1101
    Incompatible ELEC ENG 3111, ELEC ENG 4062
    Assumed Knowledge ELEC ENG 2102, ELEC ENG 2101 or ELEC ENG 2105
    Course Description This course provides an introduction to distributed generation. It provides an overview of distributed energy resources, including: generator sets, combustion turbines, photovoltaic systems including converters and control (maximum power point tracking), micro-turbines, fuel cells and energy storage technologies; wind turbines, converter and control aspects. Principles of control of distributed generation systems. Electric power distribution systems, installation, interconnection and integration. Economic and financial aspects of distributed generation, the regulatory environment and standards. Assessments include quizzes and practical assignments.
    Course Staff

    Course Coordinator: Associate Professor Nesimi Ertugrul

    Assoc. Prof Nesimi Ertugrul
    Email: nesimi.ertugrul@adelaide.edu.au
    Phone: 8313 5465
    Office: IW 3.54
    Course Timetable

    The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.


    X
  • Learning Outcomes
    Course Learning Outcomes
    On successful completion of this course students will be able to:


    1 Understanding modern power system components and transformation
    2 The types and roles of distributed energy resources
    3 Principles and features Photo Voltaic (PV) Systems
    4 Formulation of the mathematical models and the principles of maximum power point tracking
    5 Control of PV Converter topologies and their connection
    6 Principles of wind power, energy conversion and formulation
    7 Control and connection of wind power systems
    8 Battery storage systems and their applications
    9 Industrial experiences in renewable energy integration


     
    The above course learning outcomes are aligned with the Engineers Australia Entry to Practice Competency Standard for the Professional Engineer. The course develops the following EA Elements of Competency to levels of introductory (A), intermediate (B), advanced (C):  
     
    1.11.21.31.41.51.62.12.22.32.43.13.23.33.43.53.6
    C C C B C C C C C B B B B B B B
    University Graduate Attributes

    This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

    University Graduate Attribute Course Learning Outcome(s)

    Attribute 1: Deep discipline knowledge and intellectual breadth

    Graduates have comprehensive knowledge and understanding of their subject area, the ability to engage with different traditions of thought, and the ability to apply their knowledge in practice including in multi-disciplinary or multi-professional contexts.

    1-9

    Attribute 2: Creative and critical thinking, and problem solving

    Graduates are effective problems-solvers, able to apply critical, creative and evidence-based thinking to conceive innovative responses to future challenges.

    5, 7

    Attribute 3: Teamwork and communication skills

    Graduates convey ideas and information effectively to a range of audiences for a variety of purposes and contribute in a positive and collaborative manner to achieving common goals.

    5, 7, 9

    Attribute 4: Professionalism and leadership readiness

    Graduates engage in professional behaviour and have the potential to be entrepreneurial and take leadership roles in their chosen occupations or careers and communities.

    5, 7, 9

    Attribute 5: Intercultural and ethical competency

    Graduates are responsible and effective global citizens whose personal values and practices are consistent with their roles as responsible members of society.

    5, 7, 9

    Attribute 8: Self-awareness and emotional intelligence

    Graduates are self-aware and reflective; they are flexible and resilient and have the capacity to accept and give constructive feedback; they act with integrity and take responsibility for their actions.

    1-2, 4-6, 8-9
  • Learning Resources
    Required Resources
    The following resources will be made available on the course platform for your convenience:

    Lecture Notes: These will be mostly uploaded before the start of the semester, with the remainder made available as we progress through the course.

    Quiz Questions: Expect these to be posted on the  website during the week specified in the timetable.

    Experiment Handouts: Handouts for two experiments will be provided on MyUni.

    Supporting Materials: Technical papers and short reports will also be posted on MyUni to supplement your learning and deepen your understanding of the course content.

    Please ensure to regularly check the website and your messages for these resources and updates. Your active participation and engagement with these materials will greatly enhance your learning experience in this course.

    Recommended Resources
    While the lecture notes provided for this course should be comprehensive for most students, some may wish to delve deeper into the topics or seek additional clarification.

    For such instances, a relevant book can be beneficial.
    The following book, which aligns with some contents of the course material, is recommended for further reading and understanding:
    G.M. Masters: "Renewable and Efficient Electric Power Systems", published by Wiley.

    This book offers a wealth of knowledge and will be especially useful if you're grappling with the course material or have a keen interest in exploring the topics in greater depth. Copies of this book are readily available in the Barr Smith Library.

    Whether you're seeking to enrich your knowledge or clarify concepts, this book or others can serve as a supplementary resource. Remember, understanding is deepened not just by finding answers, but also by exploring different perspectives and broadening your informational horizons.

    I will always be available to respond your questions as the subject is very topical and wide.
    Online Learning
    All course-related announcements will be made available through the course site.

    You can find these updates on the announcement board.

    In case of significant notices, an email will be sent to every participant in the course.

    I strongly advocate for the utilization of the discussion boards for inquiries pertaining to the course material.

    While anonymous postings are acceptable, offensive content is strictly prohibited.

    Rest assured, I will make a concerted effort to address questions posted on the discussion boards as timely as possible.

    For continuous assessment marks, we will employ the Gradebook. It's essential for students to check the Gradebook consistently to verify that their marks have been accurately recorded.

    I will provide video recordings . Typically, these recordings become accessible within one working day following the lecture.

    The major assignments and related material will also be available.
  • Learning & Teaching Activities
    Learning & Teaching Modes
    The course material will be delivered via lectures, with supplementary problem-solving tutorials for reinforcement.

    Prior to each lecture, students are expected to read the lecture material as well as attempt the given problems .

    In addition to the 2 written quizzes (involving a number of questions related to the lecture notes), 2 major assignments will be delivered, which are organised to provide system design approach of two primary renewable energy sources (wind and solar PV).

    Your assignment reports will also be used to examine your knowledge in an oral examination in Week 13.

    Finally, two laboratory practices are designed to introduce the fundamentals of renewable energy conversion systems.

    Workload

    The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

    The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

    The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.This
    is a 3 unit course. The University expects students to spend around 156 hours of work for a 3 unit course. This corresponds to roughly 12 hours per week. The following breakdown is a guide only. Some students will  need to spend more time, some less.


    Activity ContactHours Non-ContactHours TotalHours
    Lectures 2h/wk 3 (prep&revise) 60
    Two Quizzes 2h 5 (prep&revise) 10
    Two Major Asisgments 2h 20 (prep&write-up) 44
    Two Lab Practicals 3h 10 (prep&write-up) 26
    Oral examination 15min 4 (revisiting assignment reports) 8
    TOTAL 148
    Learning Activities Summary
    In addition to the learning activities in two major practicals and two
    major asssignments, the following contents will be covered in the
    learning activities

    DISTRIBUTED GENERATION TECHNOLOGIESContents

    Chapter 1

    Global
    warming questions

    “Energy”
    landscape

    LCOE


    Job
    opportunities

    Turning
    Points in History

    Electricity
    Generation Landscape (US and Australia)

    Australian
    energy cost and the trend in installations of renewable energy systems

    Component
    of Electricity Unit Price

    An
    overview of the power grid

    Basic
    components and communication structure of the current power grid

    Australian
    Grid Features and SA Blackout

    Grid
    and Power Plant Types

    Transmission
    and Distribution System

    Limitations
    in AC Grids

     

    Chapter
    2

    Introduction

    Solar Resources

    Air-Mass Ratio

    Tracking Systems

    Measuring Solar Irradiation

    Photovoltaic Materials

    Band-Gap Impact on PV Efficiency

    Equivalent Circuits for PV Cells

    Simple Equivalent Circuit of PV Cell

    PV Cell Equivalent Circuit: Simple Equivalent Circuit
    + Parallel Resistor

    PV Cell Equivalent Circuit: Simple Equivalent Circuit
    + Series Resistor

    Better Equivalent Circuit

    PV Cells to Modules-to Arrays

    Cell to Modules

    Modules to Arrays

    The PV I–V Curve Under Standard Test Conditions

    Fill Factor (FF)

    Standard Test Conditions (STC)

    Average efficiency of different PV panels

    Bifacial PV Cells

    Impacts of Temperature, Insolation and Electrical
    Characteristics of PV Cells/Modules

    Nominal Operating Cell Temperature (NOCT)

    Unmatched Cells/Modules and Performance Ratio

    Bypass and Blocking Diodes for Shade Mitigation

    Maximum Power Point Tracking

    Converter Types

    Principles of MPPT Method

    Issues on PV Systems and Cell and Module Level
    Failures

    Design, Installation Guidelines and Standards

    The State of Art of the PV Technology

    Best Research-Cell Efficiency & Module Efficiency
    Charts

    The Current State of the Art Module Efficiencies

    Companies and Institutions Active in PV Cells and
    Panels

    Failures

    Chapter 3

    Status of Wind Energy Growth

    Types of Wind Turbine Systems

    Major Components of Modern Wind Turbines

    Wind Characteristics, Resources and Analysis of Wind
    Regimes

    Physics of Wind Energy/Power in the Wind

    Power in the Wind

    Temperature and Altitude Correction for Air Density

    Impact of Tower Height

    Characteristic Features of Wind Turbines

    The Betz Limit

    Tip Speed Ratio (TSR)

    Selection of Number of Blades

    Wind Turbine Energy Production Estimates Using the
    Previous Statistical Techniques

    Idealized Machine Productivity Calculations using
    Rayleigh Distribution

    Rotor Power of Turbine versus Speed Curves

    Power versus Wind Speed and Torque Curves of Wind
    Turbines

    How to Obtain Cp Curves

    Idealized and Real Wind Turbine Power Curves

    Wind Power to Electricity : Generators and Control

    Generators

    Yaw /Pitch Angle Control

    Capacity Factor and Wind Farms

    Wind Farm Incident Categories

    Wind Turbine Incidents Just in 2020

    Suggested Links

    Chapter
    4

    Distributed Energy Resources, Microgrid

    Components

    Fault currents and protection

    Distributed generation and future network
    architectures

    Non-Conventional Problems of Renewable Sources

    More Power Electronics, THD

    Intermittency

    Reverse Power and Voltage Variation

    Power System Inertia

    Load Duration Curves (LDC) and Changing Characteristics

    Battery Storage

    Principles and components

    Applications, FCAS, VPP, Community Level

    Safety (Failures)

    Future: WBG devices and transformerless substations


    Specific Course Requirements
    Laboratory clothing restrictions apply to the workshop sessions:

    Closed-toe shoes; covered shoulders; long hair must be tied back.
    In addition, students must remove all hand and wrist based jewellery (including material bracelets), and must not eat or drink in the
    laboratories.
    Failure to adhere to these requirements will result in your removal from the laboratory.
  • Assessment

    The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

    1. Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
    2. Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
    3. Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
    4. Assessment must maintain academic standards.

    Assessment Summary
    Assessment Task Task Type Due (week)* Weighting Learning Outcome
    Major Assignments (PV, Wind) + Oral Summative 4, 9 50% 1 - 6
    Lab Practicals (PV & Wind) Summative 4, 8 25% 1 - 6
    Quizzes x 3 Summative 4, 11, 13 15% 1 - 6
    Tutorials x 2 Summative 6, 8 5% 1 - 6
    Online Assessments x 2 Summative 3, 9 5% 1 - 6

    * The specific due date for each assessment task will be available on MyUni.
    Assessment Related Requirements
    No final examination hurdle in this course.
    Assessment Detail
    See the time table and assessment page uploaded.
    Submission
    All written typed submissions to formative assessment activities are to be  submitted via the course site on the specified date that will be anounced each week.
    All assessments  will marked and returned to for provision of feedback to students.
    Course Grading

    Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

    M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
    Grade Mark Description
    FNS   Fail No Submission
    F 1-49 Fail
    P 50-64 Pass
    C 65-74 Credit
    D 75-84 Distinction
    HD 85-100 High Distinction
    CN   Continuing
    NFE   No Formal Examination
    RP   Result Pending

    Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

    Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

    Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

  • Student Feedback

    The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

    SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.

  • Student Support
  • Policies & Guidelines
  • Fraud Awareness

    Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student’s disciplinary procedures.

The University of Adelaide is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The University of Adelaide therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.