Multi-channel power line communication system design for hybrid renewables

Abstract

This study deals with a multi-channel power line communication infrastructure that is designed specifically for a hybrid renewable energy generation system. However, the proposed method can easily be adapted to any communication system that uses power line as a transmission channel. The modelled environment is based on carrying the various data acquired from a renewable energy test bed. The test bed is also a comprehensive modelling study itself where it is designed with wind turbine and solar energy plants. The generated voltage, current, and apparent power (S) of each energy plant are measured separately and are transmitted to monitoring centre over the power line. The modulators are located at the generation sites and acquired data are modulated with Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) method. A QPSK modulated signal that carries 6-channel data is injected to power line and is transmitted to 25 km away monitoring centre. The demodulated data is calibrated to measured values and comparisons showed that the proposed system performs multi-channel power line communication successfully. The modelled communication system can also be used as a control system by transmitting any control data from grid side to renewables.