Guest Editorial Special Issue on DC Protection

Abstract

As the concept of DC power and energy delivery, whether it is applied to microgrids, distribution, facilities, or transportation systems, is increasingly applied, protection is a paramount concern. There is an increasing number of applications where DC distribution is not only a benefit but a necessary means of building up the electrical system. These applications cover the range of voltages, low voltage DC (LVDC), medium voltage DC (MVDC), and high voltage DC (HVdc), and with corresponding increases in power ratings. At the low end of the voltage/power range, applications include electric vehicles, remote households and communities, telecommunication, data centers, and electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. Emerging system applications having a large number of electronically controlled loads, such as electrified ships and aircraft and ultra-fast multi-EV charging stations are moving the demand for resilient DC power distribution into the high end of the LVDC range (1 kV) into the MW power range. Considering the growth of the renewable energy infrastructure and the dc backbone of source/load interfacing power electronic converters (PECs), the future movement toward MVDC power and energy distribution and delivery is inevitable. Considerable research and developments have been applied to the source and load interfacing PEC hardware, controls, and inter-compatibility in DC systems, with relatively little attention paid to eventualities of failures at points of PEC connection and inter-connection.