Design and implementation of virtual laboratory for a microgrid with renewable energy sources

Growing demand for energy consumption worldwide has led to an increase in carbon emissions, which have significant effects on climate change. There is an urgent need for clean and renewable energy sources. However, most renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind, have very high initial costs, especially when used as a principal source. Distributed power generation using solar and wind power provides an effective solution to reduce the dependency on conventional power generation and to increase the reliability and quality of power systems. A mixture of distributed energy generation systems and loads can then be connected to form a microgrid. Virtual and remote laboratories are becoming widely accepted to conduct experiments in higher education. A virtual laboratory is especially suitable for the renewable energy-based microgrid to overcome cost, space, and time restrictions. In this paper, the design and implementation of a web-based virtual laboratory for a microgrid with renewable energy sources is presented. The virtual laboratory was developed using LabVIEW, Microsoft.Net Core, and Matlab/Simulink. Innovative courseware was developed around the virtual laboratory and used in several engineering technology courses to teach topics, including solar and wind power, dc-dc converters, battery management, and microgrid. The assessment shows that the virtual laboratory greatly increased students awareness, interest, and knowledge in renewable energy. It provided an interactive and convenient tool for students to experiment with renewable energy and microgrid.