Control of Receiver Temperature and Shaft Speed in Dish-Stirling Solar Power Plants to Meet Grid Integration Requirements

Dish-Stirling concentrating solar power systems are an efficient and reliable source of renewable energy, indicating a potential for large-scale grid integration in upcoming years. Various technical and policy considerations must be accounted for in the grid integration of dish-Stirling solar power plants, particularly related to potential grid integration requirements set by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission regarding power factor correction and low voltage ride-through capability. This paper discusses potential grid integration requirements for dish-Stirling concentrating solar power systems, along with the technical challenges in meeting such requirements. A summary of the dynamic model of a dish-Stirling system and its control unit for power grid integration studies is provided. An additional over-speed control loop is proposed in this paper to enhance the system's grid fault ride-through capability. A linear model of the system is derived for controller parameter design. Simulation studies are carried out to verify the effectiveness of the proposed over-speed control algorithm. The system's steady-steady performance and dynamic response during a grid fault are simulated to identify potential problems and solutions for successful grid integration.