Innovative Power Conditioning System for the Grid Integration of Thermoelectric Generators

MOLINA, MARCELO GUSTAVO; JUANICÓ, LUIS EDUARDO; RINALDE, GUSTAVO FABIÁN

Mar del Plata

Congreso; Congreso Iberoamericano de Hidrógeno y Fuentes Sustentables de Energía: HYFUSEN 2011; 2011

Instituto de Energía y Desarrollo Sustentable - Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica

Recently, thermoelectric generators (TEGs) have emerged as a potential alternative for clean energy generation, due mainly to the technology innovation and the marked cost reduction of modules as a consequence of an increase in the world production, as well as their distinctive advantages. Among them are the capability to generate electricity continually while they are provided with heat, simplicity of allocation, low maintenance, long life span and high reliability. In a TEG system, the electronic power conditioning system (PCS) plays a vital role in ensuring an effective power grid integration, since it is subject to requirements related not only to the variable source itself but also to its effects on the grid operation. This paper proposes an enhanced structure of PCS for the grid integration of TEG arrays to maximize the energy capture from a variable heat source. The innovative topology employed consists of a Z-source inverter and allows the flexible, efficient and reliable generation of high quality electric power from the TEG array. A full detailed model is described and its control scheme is designed. The dynamic performance of the proposed systems is fully validated by computer simulation and experimental studies.