CPSS TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS AND APPLICATIONS, VOL. 2, NO.

4, DECEMBER 2017 267

Review on Distributed Energy Storage Systems for

Utility Applications
Liuchen Chang, Wenping Zhang, Shuang Xu, and Katelin Spence

Abstract—Energy storage systems (ESSs) can improve the

grid’s power quality, flexibility and reliability by providing grid
support functions. This paper presents a review of distributed
ESSs for utility applications. First, a review of the energy stor-
age market and technology is presented, where different ener-
gy storage systems are detailed and assessed. Then, ESS grid
support functions are presented and seven types of functions
are described. Finally, the power electronic converters for dis-
tributed ESSs are reviewed and the corresponding features and
performances are evaluated. The main objective of this paper is
to provide an updated reference regarding ESSs for utility ap-
plications to researchers and practitioners in the field of power
electronics.
Fig. 1. ESS classifications.
Index Terms—Energy storage systems, grid support func-
tions, power conversions. and frequency regulation, harmonics compensation, spinning
and non-spinning reserves, and black start [15]-[20]. In order
to fulfill these functions, power electronic conversion tech-
I. Introduction nologies are critical in controlling the power flow between

C LIMATE change and global warming pose a threat to

our environment and health and are growing in signif-
icance due to the increase of greenhouse gas emissions [1]-
the grid and ESSs. Two power conversion structures, com-
mon DC bus and AC bus, are normally applied. In addition,
various bidirectional converters (DC/DC, DC/AC, and AC/
[2]. Renewable energy resources (e.g. wind and photovoltaic AC) are employed to improve the system performance. Sys-
etc.) are gaining attention due to their low emissions and tem performance can pertain to efficiency, reliability, output
abundance. However, the intermittent nature of renewable distortion and power density.
resources like wind and solar energy also brings new issues The objective of this paper is to review ESS technologies,
regarding the grid’s reliability, flexibility and power quality. grid support functions and power converters for ESSs. In
Therefore, energy storage systems (ESSs) are being intro- this paper, Section II presents a review of the energy stor-
duced to address these issues. Smart grid technologies make age market and technology, where different energy storage
it possible to reduce and shift loads and support renewables systems are detailed and assessed. Section III presents the
[3]-[4]. The ESSs in a smart grid are able to improve grid ESS grid support functions and seven types of functions are
reliability, flexibility and power quality by providing grid described. In Section IV, the power electronic converters for
support functions such as ancillary services and peak load ESSs are reviewed and the corresponding features and per-
reduction [5]. formances are evaluated. Section V concludes this paper by
Based on energy storage technologies, ESSs can be di- remarking on future trends in these areas.
vided into five categories: electrochemical, electromagnetic,
mechanical, chemical, and thermal [1]-[4]. Each storage sys-
II. Energy Storage Technology
tem has distinctive characteristics in terms of power rating,
discharge time, power and energy density, response time, The five categories of ESSs are presented in Fig. 1 [1].
self-discharge losses, life and cycle time, etc. , [6]-[9]. These The market of ESSs for utility applications has been de-
features should be taken into account to determine their veloping rapidly as presented in Fig. 2, where the market is
suitability for different grid support functions, such as peak still dominated by pumped hydro storage (PHS) systems [2].
shaving, energy arbitrage, integration of renewables, voltage With the technological development, new forms of ESSs,
such as electrochemical ESSs, have grown significantly.
Manuscript received November 23, 2017.
The authors are with the Emera & NB Power Research Centre for Smart A. Energy Storage Technologies
Grid Technologies, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering,
University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB E3B5A3, Canada (e-mail: 1) Electrochemical ESS
lchang@[Link]; wzhang18@[Link]; [Link]@[Link]; [Link]@
[Link]). Electrochemical ESSs are generally referred to as batter-
Digital Object Identifier 10.24295/CPSSTPEA.2017.00025 ies. A traditional battery is lead acid (LA). LA batteries have
268 CPSS TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS AND APPLICATIONS, VOL. 2, NO. 4, DECEMBER 2017

slower than some other ESSs. PHS also has a large geo-
graphical footprint and specific topographical requirements.
Total ESS Power (GW) Compressed air energy storage (CAES) systems store energy
in the form of intermolecular potential energy. It features a large
capacity and medium geographical dependency. However, the
round-trip efficiency is low because of heat dissipation [8].
Compared with other mechanical ESSs, flywheel energy
storage (FES) systems have the highest power density and
lowest geographical dependency. However, the primary dis-
advantage is that the friction between rotor and shaft affects
the system efficiency, in addition to the high costs.
Years
4) Chemical ESS
Typical chemical ESSs are hydrogen ESS and synthetic
natural gas (SNG) ESS. A hydrogen ESS decomposes water
Fig. 2. Global power capacity of ESS.
(H2O) into hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2) with electricity.
Then, H2 can be stored in high-pressure tanks and fed into
been widely applied due to their well-developed technology
a fuel cell to produce electricity. This is an effective way of
and low costs. However, the disadvantages, such as limited
storing a large amount of energy for a long period, which
cycle lifetime, low energy density and environmental impact,
can be applied for long term or even seasonal applications [9].
will limit their application in the future [3].
However, the main limitations are the high costs for obtain-
On the contrary, lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries have higher
ing hydrogen and full cell equipment and the safety risk of
power and energy density, higher number of lifetime cycles,
storing pressurized H2.
and higher efficiency, which are promising for grid applica-
Another method of long term electricity storage uses
tions [1]. However, the safety risk is still a challenge because
SNG. For the same amount of energy storage, the pressure of
of their flammable electrolytes. Additionally, the Li-ion bat-
a SNG tank is lower due to the higher density of SNG. Howev-
tery costs are relatively high.
er, compared with hydrogen ESS, the conversion losses of SNG
Recently, some research has focused on flow batteries,
ESS are higher and the round-trip efficiency is lower [10].
such as vanadium redox batteries (VRBs). VRBs feature
extremely long lifespan and lifetime cycles with power up 5) Thermal ESS
to several MW [4]. However, the main drawback is that the Water storage tanks can be adapted for use as thermal
efficiency of VRBs drops significantly in cold temperatures, ESSs. They work for load shifting functions, where the
which narrows its application. temperature of a water tank is raised during off-peak hours
so that hot water and warm air can be provided during peak
2) Electromagnetic ESS
hours without drawing as much electricity. However, this
Electromagnetic ESSs can store energy in either electric
scenario is essentially load control and the regulation capa-
fields (e.g. supercapacitors) or magnetic fields (e.g. super-
bility is inflexible, especially during summer months or in
conductors). Compared with batteries, supercapacitors have
hot regions where limited hot water or heat is needed [11].
higher reliability, lower maintenance, and lower environ-
mental impact [5]. However, low energy density makes
supercapacitors unsuitable for long-term discharging appli- B. ESS Comparison
cations. Different ESSs are compared in the following in terms of
Superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES) fea- power density, energy density, power capacity, discharge time,
tures fast dynamic responses. Theoretically, the energy in cycling times, and efficiency etc.
SMES can be stored forever due to zero losses of supercon-
ducting materials [6]. However, there is a strict requirement 1) Power & Energy Density [1]-[4]
of maintaining a low temperature for the SMES to operate Fig. 3 presents the power and energy density ranges of
and the corresponding costs limit its applications. different ESSs in terms of power or energy per liter.
Based on Fig. 3, it can be seen that most batteries and
3) Mechanical ESS flywheels have relatively moderate energy and power densi-
Mechanical ESSs transform energy between mechanical ties. Comparatively, Li-ion batteries have higher energy and
and electrical forms. Surplus electricity is taken from the power densities than LA batteries. Also, the energy density
grid during off-peak hours and stored mechanically (by grav- of the VRB flow batteries is low. Mechanical ESSs (PHS
itational potential or rotational energy) until it is needed; it is and CAES) have low power and energy densities, since
then released back to the grid [7]. large reservoirs are required. Supercapacitors have high
The most common system is pumped hydro, which has a power densities but low energy densities and in comparison,
high power and energy rating, long lifespan, and practically SMESs have a lower power density. The energy densities of
unlimited life cycles. However, the dynamic response is the hydrogen and SNG ESSs are relatively high.
L. CHANG et al.: REVIEW ON DISTRIBUTED ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS FOR UTILITY APPLICATIONS 269

Power Density (W/L) TABLE I

Additional Technical Characteristics

Daily Lifetime Cycling Discharge Response

Self-Disc Times Efficiency Time
(%) (years) (cycles) (%)

LA 0.1‒0.3 3 ~1000 ~85 milliseconds

Li-ion 0.1‒0.3 5‒10 ~5000 ~85 milliseconds
Energy Density (Wh/L) VRB Small 5‒15 ~10000 ~85 milliseconds
PHS ~0 40‒60 ~30000 ~87 minutes
CAES ~0 20‒40 ~10000 ~75 minutes
Fig. 3. Power and energy density comparison for ESSs. FES 100 ~15 ~20000 ~90 seconds
SC 20‒40 10‒30 ~50000 ~95 milliseconds
SMES 10‒15 20+ ~100000 ~95 milliseconds
Hours

H2 ~0 15 ~10000 ~59 seconds

Typical Discharge Time

SNG ~0 15 ~20000 ~50 seconds

Minutes
Seconds

Typical Storage Capacity

Fig. 4. Typical power capacity and discharge time for ESSs.

2) Power Capacity and Discharge Time [4]-[11]

Fig. 5. Grid support function diagram.
Based on Fig. 4, it can be seen that electromagnetic ESSs,
such as SC and SMES, have short discharge times of several
seconds. This makes them useful for short-term grid support
functions. On the contrary, mechanical and chemical ESSs
have long discharge times in the range of hours, which can
be applied for long-term functions such as load shifting. The
PHS and CAES mechanical ESSs are suitable for high-pow-
er applications, as are the hydrogen and SNG chemical ESSs.
Electrochemical and electromagnetic ESSs generally have a
lower power capacity, but their applications in the distributed
(a) Peak Shaving (b) Load Leveling
energy systems secure them a decent market share.
Fig. 6. Peak shaving & load leveling function.
3) Additional Features [5]-[9]
Additional technical characteristics are presented in TA-
BLE I. It can be seen that batteries, SC and SMES all have fast PLoad is lower than the minimum scheduled generation PS_min,
response times. Mechanical ESSs, including PHS, CAES and ESSs can store the excess energy. Load leveling is similar to
flywheels, have higher cycling times. Additionally, PHS, CAES peak shaving, as shown in Fig. 6(b). The difference is that peak
and hydrogen ESSs have very small daily self-discharge ratios, shaving is focused on flatting the load peak, while load leveling
which means the energy can be stored for a long time. attempts to flatten the entire load [13]. These functions can re-
duce fuel consumptions and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions,
decrease maintenance costs, and increase system reliability.
III. ESS Grid Support Functions Research related to this focuses on four aspects:
Based on response time, grid support functions can be 1) Obtaining the optimum charging & discharging sched-
divided into three categories: second-level, minute-level and ule for ESSs;
hour-level, as presented in Fig. 5 [12]. In order to be useful 2) Finding the optimum size and placement for ESSs;
for grid support functions, ESSs are required to have the 3) Assessing economic costs for customers and utilities
both fast power response and high energy capacity. and improving the economic feasibility;
4) Implementing distributed ESSs instead of large-scale
ESSs.
A. Peak Shaving & Load Leveling
Recently, research has also focused on the use of electric
As shown in Fig. 6(a), if the load demand PLoad is higher vehicles (EVs) for peak-shaving. However, the main chal-
than the maximum scheduled generation PS_max, ESSs can lenges are the availability of EVs, aggregated control of large-
discharge power to shave the peak load. If the load demand scale EVs, and the corresponding infrastructure for EV inte-
270 CPSS TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS AND APPLICATIONS, VOL. 2, NO. 4, DECEMBER 2017

Voltage (per unit)

Time (s)

Fig. 7. Energy arbitrage function. Fig. 10. Voltage ride-through requirements.

issue is the unpredictable power imbalance between genera-

tion and demand [14]-[15]. Therefore, ESSs are introduced
to balance the intermittency. In addition, ESSs can be used
to smooth out fast load fluctuations, regulate frequency, etc.
Integration of renewables requires more system resources to
provide ancillary services (seconds and minute-levels) and
energy dispatch (hour-level). While this topic covers a wide
scope, only longer term energy storage is described here.
Fig. 8 presents the basic concept of ESSs supporting PV
integration for load balancing. The ESSs are charged in the
daytime, when PVs generate power, and are discharged at
Fig. 8. Integration of PV systems. night when PV power is unavailable. As a result, the system
power is balanced and the reliability is enhanced. There are
four research topics related to this:
1) Finding optimum system integration configurations;
2) Mathematically modelling intermittency for renewable
energy sources;
3) Selecting ESS type, size, and siting to optimize cost;
4) Designing control structure and scheduling strategies
for energy flow management.

Fig. 9. Voltage & frequency regulation control diagram.

D. Voltage & Frequency Regulation

gration with the grid. ESSs can be used to absorb real power when the grid fre-
quency is higher than nominal and inject real power when
the grid frequency drops below nominal [16]-[17]. By doing
B. Energy Arbitrage
this, they help to stabilize the grid’s frequency. Similarly,
Energy arbitrage is attempting to earn a profit by charging ESS can contribute to voltage regulation by injecting or ab-
the ESS at a lower electricity rate and selling the stored sorbing reactive power. The control diagram is presented in
energy at a higher price, which is presented in Fig. 7 [13]. Fig. 9. SCs, FESs, and batteries are normally adopted for fre-
Traditionally, this function is implemented by pumped hydro quency and voltage regulation because of their fast response.
storage (PHS) systems. With the wide application of EVs, UL 1741 specifies the voltage and frequency ride-through
numerous charging scheduling are proposed for energy ar- requirements for distributed energy resources (DERs), which
bitrage. The large quantity of EVs in the near future could are shown in Fig. 10 and Fig. 11.
contribute to a new concept of the energy market.
Energy arbitrage research is similar to peak-shaving func- E. Harmonic Compensation
tions; which includes the optimum ESS scheduling for max-
imizing the profits, ESS sizing, economic assessment, and Due to the increasing presence of nonlinear loads and
implementation of distributed ESSs, especially EVs. power electronic converters, the grid power quality is de-
teriorated significantly. To compensate grid harmonics,
numerous active and passive filtering techniques were devel-
C. Integration of Renewables
oped [18]-[19]. However, installing additional filters is not
The intermittent nature of renewable energy sources intro- favorable due to extra costs. An alternative is utilizing ESSs
duces new challenges for power system operation. The main to compensate harmonics where harmonic compensation can
L. CHANG et al.: REVIEW ON DISTRIBUTED ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS FOR UTILITY APPLICATIONS 271

Frequency (Hz)

(a) Single-Stage Structure

Time (s) (b) Two-Stage Structure

Fig. 11. Frequency-ride through requirements. Fig. 14. DC ESS structure.

(a) Single-Stage Structure

(b) Two-Stage Structure

Fig. 15. AC ESS structure.

Fig. 12. Harmonics compensation control diagram.
non-spinning reserves are normally relieved by replacement
TABLE II
reserves within 30 minutes. Therefore, the reserves are an
Maximum Harmonic Current Distortion
important resource that can safeguard power systems with-
out involuntary load shedding. Currently, battery storage
Total
Harmonic
h<11 11≤h<17 17≤h<23 23≤h<35 h≥35 Demand
systems are being gradually applied for spinning reserve to
Order h replace conventional generators which are slow for grid syn-
Distortion
Percent chronization due to startup issues.
4.0 2.0 1.5 0.6 0.3 5.0
(%) Increasing the grid reserve size can increase the system
reliability, but with higher costs. Numerous approaches have
been proposed to determine the optimum spinning reserve size
as a compromise between reliability and costs. Currently, with
the increasing penetration of EVs, some research is also con-
ducted on evaluating the spinning reserve ability of EVs.

G. Black Start and Load Following

ESSs can provide black start capability, which helps a
system startup from a shutdown. An example is the Huntorf
Fig. 13. Different reserves respond to a contingency. CAES plant that provides black-start power to nuclear units
located near to the North Sea [5], [21].
be integrated with primary grid support functions. Fig. 12 Also, ESSs can provide support for following the load
presents a harmonic compensation control diagram, where demand changes. Some relevant research and demonstration
the 3rd and 5th harmonics are transformed into corresponding projects can be found in [5] and [22].
d-q coordinates for current harmonic suppression.
IEEE 1547 specifies the maximum harmonic current dis- IV. ESS Power Converter Technology
tortion for DERs, as shown in TABLE II.
Typical distributed ESSs are batteries, supercapacitors,
SMESs and flywheels. These ESSs can be categorized as DC
F. Reserves ESSs (e.g. batteries) and AC ESSs (e.g. flywheels). Fig. 14 and
When a contingency occurs and is large enough to affect Fig. 15 present the typical structures for DC ESSs and AC ESSs
the power system frequency, the spinning reserves instantly respectively; including single-stage and two-stage structures.
respond as shown in Fig. 13 [20]. Then, the spinning and From Fig. 14 and Fig. 15, typical power converters for
272 CPSS TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS AND APPLICATIONS, VOL. 2, NO. 4, DECEMBER 2017

(a) Single Buck/Boost

Fig. 18. Bidirectional dual active bridge DC-DC converter.

(b) Series-Output Dual Buck/Boost

Fig. 19. CLLC DC/DC converter.
Fig. 16. Bidirectional buck/boost converter.
switches is increased which results in higher costs.
When isolation is required, dual active bridge (DAB) DC/
DC converters are commonly selected as shown in Fig. 18.
The output power can be easily regulated and zero voltage
switching (ZVS) can be achieved [25]-[26]. However, com-
pared with the non-isolated converter in Fig. 16, there are
more power electronic devices, which reduces the system
reliability. Furthermore, the conduction losses and turn-off
loss are higher.
Fig. 17. Bidirectional interleaved DC-DC converter. To improve the efficiency of DAB converters, numerous
modifications, such as LC, LCL, and CLLC converters, are
ESSs include bidirectional DC/DC, bidirectional DC/AC, proposed [27]-[28]. Fig. 19 presents the CLLC DC/DC con-
and bidirectional AC/AC. In general, power converters verter. The proposed topologies have higher efficiency but
should have the following features: are more complex. Also, the output power regulation capa-
1) Bidirectional power flow; bility is limited due to soft switching.
2) High efficiency.
In addition to these features, for different applications: B. Bidirectional DC/AC Converters (Bi-DC/AC)
3) Fast response (e.g. frequency regulation applications);
4) High peak power (e.g. peak shaving applications). Currently, the most widely used DC-AC converters are
two-level inverters as shown in Fig. 20, which can be sin-
gle-phase and three-phase [29]. The bidirectional two-level
A. Bidirectional DC/DC Converters (Bi-DC/DC) DC-AC inverter has a compact design and high reliability.
A typical non-isolated Bi-DC/DC structure is the buck/ However, the switches experience higher voltage stress and
boost converter, which is presented in Fig. 16 [23]-[24]. the system efficiency is relatively low. Also, the output dis-
Compared to Fig. 16(a), the topology in Fig. 16(b) can be tortion is higher than multilevel inverters.
used for the applications where access to the DC bus neu- Multilevel DC/AC converters, such as the neutral point
tral-point is needed. The buck-boost converter has a low clamped (NPC) shown in Fig. 21(a), are introduced to im-
number of power electronic devices, which leads to lower prove the system efficiency [30]. Recently, the T-type topol-
costs and higher reliability than other converters. However, it ogy, as shown in Fig. 21(b), has been widely used due to its
cannot be used in applications where isolation is required. Its higher efficiency and higher reliability. However, the neutral
voltage step-up ratio is relatively low, making it unsuitable point voltage balance is still a key issue for three-level con-
for low-voltage ESSs. Additionally, the input current ripple verters.
is relatively high, which may be harmful for some energy Operating with DC currents, SMESs require current source
storage, such as batteries. inverters (CSIs) [31], shown in Fig. 22. The dead time for the
In order to suppress the current ripple of buck/boost con- device gate controls is not required for CSIs. It is worth men-
verters, interleaved topologies are widely applied. Fig. 17 tioning that the coils in SMESs are not allowed to be open,
presents the interleaved buck/boost converter. In addition to thus a bypass switch is normally paralleled with the coil
suppressing the ripple, a higher power rating can be achieved during the standby mode. In addition, a leakage current oc-
with the interleaved technology. However, the number of curs in CSIs due to the common mode voltage. Therefore,
L. CHANG et al.: REVIEW ON DISTRIBUTED ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS FOR UTILITY APPLICATIONS 273

(a) Single-Phase

Fig. 22. Three-phase current source inverter.

(b) Three-Phase

Fig. 20. Bidirectional two-level DC-AC converter.

Fig. 23. Matrix AC-AC converter.

(a) Neutral Point Clamped (a) Parallel DC Bus

(b) T-Type
(b) Parallel AC Bus
Fig. 21. Neutral point clamped multilevel DC-AC converter.
Fig. 24. Parallel DC and AC bus structures.

more topology modifications and modulation techniques

have been developed to improve the performance of CSIs. multi-ESSs applications, which is shown in Fig. 24. It is
worth mentioning that for the parallel DC bus structure in
Fig. 24(a), the reliability of DC/AC converter is critical;
C. Bidirectional AC/AC Converters (Bi-AC/AC)
since all energy storage modules feed into one inverter.
A typical AC-AC converter is the matrix converter, which Additionally, series DC or AC bus configurations are widely
is presented in Fig. 23. The matrix converter eliminates the adopted for large-scale ESS applications. Fig. 25 presents a
DC-link, which has its merits. However, more bi-directional series DC bus structure [33], where high DC bus voltage and
switches are involved, which makes the system more com- galvanic isolation can be achieved. This topology is suitable
plex and costly [32]. for DC inputs with low voltages or large variations. Howev-
ESSs are commonly combined to achieve a high power er, there is a decrease in efficiency when large voltage varia-
rating, large scale or high reliability for utility applications. tions happen.
Furthermore, parallel DC and AC busses are adopted for Modular multilevel cascaded (MMC) converters are one of
274 CPSS TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS AND APPLICATIONS, VOL. 2, NO. 4, DECEMBER 2017

Fig. 25. Series DC bus configuration.

(a) Cascaded H-Bridge Converters

the typical series AC bus structures, shown in Fig. 26(a). This
topology features higher efficiency, lower output harmonics,
and higher fault-tolerance; which is applied for large-scale
battery ESSs [34]. Each bridge cell can dependently control
the state of charge (SOC) of a battery. However, the addi-
tional hardware and software for balancing among different
modules is still a main drawback. Instead of using H-bridge
(b) Different Cell Topologies
converters, the bridge cells can adopt other topologies for
different applications. Fig. 26(b) presents two types of cell Fig. 26. Series AC bus configuration.
topologies.
quality. For DC/AC converters, multilevel topologies are still
V. Conclusions dominant in the market high power units with higher efficiency
and lower harmonic distortion; and two-level topologies are
This paper gives an overview of recent developments mainly for low power units. With increasing renewable ener-
in ESS technologies. While there are various ESSs in the gy penetration, the reliability of power electronic converters
utility market, the continued development of low-cost and has become critically important.
high-performance solutions is the main direction. Newly
emerging ESS technologies need intensive investigation to
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and T. C. Kwang, "A review on peak load shaving strategies," Renew- three-phase PWM AC–AC converter topologies," IEEE Transactions
able and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2017, early access. on Industrial Electronics, vol. 58, no. 11, pp. 4988-5006, Nov. 2011.
[14] O. M. Toledo, D. O. Filho, and A. S. Diniz, "Distributed photovoltaic [33] M. Bragard, N. Soltau, S. Thomas, and R.W. De Doncker, "The bal-
generation and energy storage systems: A review," Renewable and ance of renewable sources and user demands in grids: Power electron-
Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 506-511, 2010. ics for modular battery energy storage systems," IEEE Transactions
[15] A. Chauhan and R. P. Saini, "A review on integrated renewable en- on Power Electronics, vol. 25, no. 12, pp. 3049-3056, 2010.
ergy system based power generation for stand-alone applications: [34] M. Vasiladiotis and A. Rufer, "Analysis and control of modular multi-
Configurations, storage options, sizing methodologies and control," level converters with integrated battery energy storage," IEEE Trans-
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 38, no. 10, pp. 99- actions on Power Electronics, vol. 30, no. 1, pp. 163-175, 2015.
120, 2014.
[16] T. Dragičević, X. Lu, J. C. Vasquez, and J. M. Guerrero, "DC micro-
grids Part I: A review of control strategies and stabilization tech-
niques," IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, vol. 31, no. 7, pp.
4876-4891, 2016. Liuchen Chang received the B.S.E.E. degree from
[17] H. Bevrani, A. Ghosh, and G. Ledwich, "Renewable energy sources the Northern Jiaotong University, Beijing, China,
and frequency regulation: survey and new perspectives," IET Renew- in 1982; the [Link]. degree from the China Acade-
able Power Generation, vol. 4, no. 5, pp. 438-457, 2010. my of Railway Sciences, Beijing, China, in 1984;
[18] S. Yan, S. C. Tan, C. K. Lee, B. Chaudhuri, and S. Y. R. Hui, "Use of and the Ph.D. degree from Queen’s University,
smart loads for power quality improvement," IEEE Journal of Emerg- Kingston, ON, Canada, in 1991. He is currently
ing and Selected Topics in Power Electronics, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 504- a Professor at the University of New Brunswick,
512, 2017. Fredericton, NB, Canada. He has published more
[19] I. Serban and C. Marinescu, "Battery energy storage system for fre- than 340 journal and conference papers. His re-
quency support in microgrids and with enhanced control features for search interests and experience include distributed
uninterruptible supply of local loads," International Journal of Elec- generation, renewable energy conversion, direct load controls in a smart
trical Power & Energy Systems, vol. 54, no. 1, pp. 432-441, 2014. grid environment, and power electronic converters. Dr. Chang is a fellow of
[20] M. Q. Wang and H. B. Gooi, "Spinning reserve estimation in microg- Canadian Academy of Engineering.
rids," IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, vol. 26, no. 3, pp. 1164-
1174, 2011.
[21] S. Succar and R. H. Williams, Compressed air energy storage: theory,
resources, and applications for wind power, Princeton Environmental
Institute, Energy Anal Group, 2008. Wenping Zhang received the Ph.D. degree in elec-
[22] Y. Hida, R. Yokoyama, J. Shimizukawa, K. Iba, K. Tanaka, and T. trical engineering from Zhejiang University, China,
Seki, "Load following operation of NAS battery by setting statistic in 2016. He is currently a Post-Doc Fellowship at
margins to avoid risks," in IEEE PES General Meeting, Minneapolis, the University of New Brunswick, Fredericton,
MN, 2010, pp. 1-5. NB, Canada. From September 2012 to September
[23] R. Duan and J. Lee, "High-efficiency bidirectional DC-DC converter 2013, he was a visiting scholar in electrical engi-
with coupled inductor," IET Power Electronics, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 115- neering at Texas A&M University, College Station,
123, 2012. TX, USA. His research interests include smart grid,
[24] F. Ibanez, J. M. Echeverria, J. Vadillo, and L. Fontan, "High-current energy storage, renewable generation, reliability of
rectifier topology applied to a 4-kW bidirectional DC–DC converter," power electronics.
IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, vol. 50, no. 1, pp. 68-77,
2014.
[25] F. Krismer and J. W. Kolar, "Closed form solution for minimum con-
duction loss modulation of DAB converters," IEEE Transactions on Shuang Xu received the B. Sc. E.E. in 2012 from
Power Electronics, vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 174-188, 2012.
[26] B. Zhao, Q. Song, W. Liu, and Y. Sun, "Dead-time effect of the Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, China.
high-frequency isolated bidirectional full-bridge DC–DC converter: Currently he is pursuing the Ph. D. degree in elec-
Comprehensive theoretical analysis and experimental verification," trical engineering at University of New Brunswick,
IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, vol. 29, no. 4, pp. 1667- Fredericton, Canada. His research interests include
1680, 2014. renewable energy systems, energy storage tech-
[27] J. H. Jung, H. S. Kim, M. H. Ryu, and J. W. Baek, "Design method- nologies, power electronics, power converters and
ology of bidirectional CLLC resonant converter for high-frequency micro-inverters.
isolation of DC distribution systems," IEEE Transactions on Power
276 CPSS TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS AND APPLICATIONS, VOL. 2, NO. 4, DECEMBER 2017

Katelin Spence received a [Link]. EE. in 2016 from

the University of New Brunswick, Fredericton,
Canada. She is now pursuing a M. Sc. degree in
Electrical Engineering, also at the University of
New Brunswick. Her research interest are renew-
able energy, power electronics, distributed genera-
tion, and energy storage.