Open AccessHigh‐efficiency PV inverter with SiC technology
Author(s) -
Wall Simon,
Hong XiaoCong,
Sha Long,
Xie JingRen
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
iet renewable power generation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.005
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1752-1424
pISSN - 1752-1416
DOI - 10.1049/iet-rpg.2017.0331
Subject(s) - inverter , photovoltaic system , silicon carbide , materials science , electrical engineering , voltage , filter (signal processing) , diode , three phase , electronic engineering , topology (electrical circuits) , optoelectronics , engineering , metallurgy
A high‐efficiency, three‐phase, solar photovoltaic (PV) inverter is presented that has low ground current and is suitable for direct connection to the low voltage (LV) grid. The proposed topology includes a three‐phase, two‐level (2L) voltage source inverter (VSI) and an active common‐mode (CM) filter. The VSI utilises silicon (Si) insulated‐gate bipolar transistors with silicon carbide (SiC) diodes to reduce switching losses and provide very high efficiency. The active CM filter reduces the high level of CM voltage associated with the three‐phase 2L VSI. The active CM filter is controlled so that the PV ground current is reduced to acceptable levels, even when the PV inverter is connected directly to a LV grid with low‐impedance grounding. 50 and 100 kW prototypes are presented that demonstrate high efficiency.