Power losses evaluation of two and three-level NPC inverters considering drive applications

Abstract

Wind pumped storage systems are becoming more and more attractive in the context of higher quantities of wind power to be absorbed by the grid, power system stability, load balancing and frequency control. The power losses of a pump drive inverter system are evaluated considering two different topologies: 2L VSC and respectively 3L NPC VSC starting from 2.2 kW up to 1.85 MW power levels. The analyze is based on practical application considering the standard LV and MV of the induction machine supply RMS voltages and the latest IGBT 3, IGBT 4 (trench technology) and the press-pack IGBT technology for the semiconductor switches.