Solar power generation systems installed in homes and businesses continue to generate electricity even when electric power supplied by the grid is interrupted. This condition is known as islanding. If not stopped immediately, islanding can endanger workers repairing power lines, who may not know that some lines are still powered. Traditional anti-islanding mechanisms reduce this risk, but when several systems are installed close together, interference can cause these mechanisms to fail.
To address this problem, OMRON has developed AICOT—anti-islanding control technology that enables the rapid detection of power outages to prevent islanding even when hundreds of solar power generation systems are installed close together. OMRON engineers used MATLAB®, Simulink®, and Simscape Electrical™ to develop this patented technology.
“Simscape Electrical enabled us to model and simulate the frequency changes that occur on the electrical grid when an outage begins,” says Masao Mabuchi, chief specialist of technology at OMRON. “We developed control algorithms in MATLAB and Simulink that rapidly respond to these changes, and ran closed-loop simulations with our Simscape Electrical model to ensure that the algorithms would support the safe operation of solar power generation systems in high-density areas.”