An economical diesel engine emulator for micro-grid research

The electric power grid is evolving into a state that has yet to be defined. Renewable and other distributed energy sources cannot be economically and reliably integrated into the existing grid because it has been optimized over decades to support large centralized generation sources. Thus, the problem of achieving greater penetration of renewable energy has sparked fervor in research to improve reliability and reduce cost. Herein, we consider the problem of accomplishing hardware verification on Micro-Grids with dispatchable (diesel-engine or other combustible) generators. A significant hurdle to evaluating newly developed control and optimization schema can be the experimental validation in hardware. Given the hazards, expense, and space requirements of operating a combustion engine, this paper provides a simple and reliable alternative that is suitable for university and other space-constrained laboratories that wish to extend and validate their ideas for renewable energy integration.