Solid State Transformer and MV grid tie applications enabled by 15 kV SiC IGBTs and 10 kV SiC MOSFETs based multilevel converters

Recently, medium voltage SiC devices have been developed which can be used for grid tie applications at medium voltage. Two such devices - 15 kV SiC IGBT and 10 kV SiC MOSFET have opened up the possibility of looking into different converter topologies for medium voltage distribution grid interface. These can be used in medium voltage drives, active filter applications or as the active front end converter for Solid State Transformers (SST). Transformer-less Intelligent Power Substation (TIPS) is one such application for these devices. TIPS is proposed as a 3-phase SST interconnecting 13.8 kV distribution grid with 480 V utility grid. The Front End Converter (FEC) of TIPS is made up of 15 kV SiC IGBTs. This paper focuses on the advantages, design considerations and challenges associated with the operation of converters using these devices keeping TIPS as the topology of reference. © 2014 IEEE.