Introduction to the Clemson University 15 MW Hardware-In-the-Loop Grid Simulator

This paper is an introduction to the implementation of the 15 MW Hardware-In-the-Loop (HIL) Grid Simulator that serves as the corner stone of the Duke Energy Electric Grid Research, Innovation and Development (eGRID) Center. The eGRID Center is collocated with the Wind Turbine Drivetrain Testing Facility (WTDTF) within the SCE&G Energy Innovation Center at Clemson University´s Restoration Institute in North Charleston, SC, USA. It will be demonstrated how the 15 MW Grid Simulator is able to be utilized in conjunction with either the 7.5 MW or the 15 MW wind turbine dynamometers within the WTDTF, or as a stand-alone test facility. The 15 MW Grid Simulator topology and technical details will be discussed as they relate to grid integration and performance evaluations of medium voltage, multi-megawatt equipment destined for the power system. The system topology consists of a unique combination of state-of-the-art power conversion equipment with passive reactive impedance divider circuits in order to provide a robust solution for fault ride-through evaluations while also having the accuracy and bandwidth to perform power quality evaluations and power hardware-in-the-loop experiments.