Hardware-in-the-loop Simulation of Ocean Current Turbines for Grid Integration

The escalating interest in renewable energy sources has spurred a demand for innovative approaches to electricity generation. Notably, marine hydrokinetic turbines have emerged as a promising solution, capable of providing cost-effective power to locations isolated from traditional grids. Among these turbines, ocean current turbines (OCTs) stand out for their ability to harness the vast energy potential stored within open ocean currents. This research paper delves into the realm of marine energy, focusing on the modeling and simulation of OCTs using a hardware-in-loop (HIL) simulation approach with the aid of an OPAL-RT environment. The experiment recreates realistic operating conditions to evaluate the turbine's feedback performance in the real-time simulator. The research progresses to explore a grid-integrated scenario where the OCT system's response to water flow speed changes is evaluated as a blade pitch controller is tested. Power generation profiles are recorded from the simulated grid to demonstrate grid integration capabilities. The results validate the effectiveness of the OPAL-RT platform for power HIL emulation of marine energy systems and contribute to advancing the technology required to make ocean current turbines a viable renewable energy source with the potential to sustainably meet the world's growing power demand.