HiL for Power Systems and Smart Grids. A Resilient Information Architecture Platform for Smart Grids based application to control a SMA solar inverter

Distributed energy sources are becoming a key component of many power systems. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze the best solutions to manage the energy with the dual intention of reducing waste and improving the quality of production. This study aims to demonstrate the integration of a smart energy management system into renewable energy resource systems in order to provide a list of benefits that is not normally obtained with the standard platform. These benefits include: resilience to faults, security access, plug and play features, a coordination system and distribute intelligence through the network. A resilient information architecture platform for smart grids, RIAPS, is implanted in order to control a solar inverter produced by SMA company, with the future intention being to manage data and send commands at different levels in a local sub-net. \\ To achieve this goal, a study is conducted which concludes the necessity of integrating the TCP/IP protocol into the platform to constitute the inverter data connection request.\\ The approach utilizes the V-shape model in order accomplish tasks for implementation, test and validation of different steps related to the Model in the Loop, Software in the loop and Hardware in the loop simulations. Different tools are used during this process including hardware such as "OPAL-RT" and software simulators such as "Simulink", "QModMaster", concurrently with the "Sunny Explorer" platform, provided by SMA company, to validate the accuracy of the main test results related to Power limitation and Shut-down operations.\\ In conclusion, the results from the different tests prove the effective integration of the novel platform in commercial devices within a smart energy management environment. This is the first application in this field which the authors are aware of.\\ Moreover, the project is designed to provide a solid foundation from which to develop large-scale applications, using multiple interconnected devices to cooperate on the same network and in general to provide benefits in the area of Smart Grids.