Methods and systems for operating a two-stage power converter

1. A power conversion system for providing power to an electrical grid comprising:

a boost converter coupled to a photovoltaic (PV) array and configured to control a PV array voltage;

an inverter coupled to the boost converter by at least one conductor and configured to regulate a voltage drop across the at least one conductor; and,

a system controller configured to:

control operation of the boost converter and the inverter during normal operation and in response to at least one of a low voltage ride through (LVRT) grid event and a zero voltage ride through (ZVRT) grid event; and,

determine a reduced power operating point in response to the at least one of the LVRT grid event and the ZVRT grid event.

2. A system in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the system controller is configured to provide a reduced power operating point signal corresponding to the reduced power operating point to the boost converter, which in response to the reduced power operating point signal is configured to adjust the PV array voltage.

3. A system in accordance with claim 2 , wherein the boost converter is configured to increase the PV array voltage in response to the reduced power operating point signal, causing a decrease in PV array current, and a reduction in power provided to the at least one conductor.

4. A system in accordance with claim 2 , wherein the boost converter is configured to reduce the PV array voltage in response to the reduced power operating point signal, causing an increase in PV array current, and a reduction in power provided to the at least one conductor.

5. A system in accordance with claim 4 , wherein the boost converter comprises at least one of an insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) and a diode, the PV array current diverted into at least one of the IGBT and the diode, which allows the boost converter to operate at the lower PV array voltage.

6. A system in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the system controller is further configured to provide the reduced power operating point signal to the boost converter in response to at least one of a current within the at least one conductor that exceeds a predefined maximum current threshold and a voltage drop across the at least one conductor that exceeds a predefined maximum voltage threshold.

7. A system in accordance with claim 6 , wherein the boost converter is configured to reduce the PV array voltage to protect the inverter from current levels above the predefined maximum current threshold.

8. A method for controlling operation of a two-stage power converter in response to at least one of a low voltage ride through (LVRT) event and a zero voltage ride through (ZVRT) event, wherein the two-stage power converter includes a boost converter and an inverter coupled by at least one conductor, said method comprising:

receiving a voltage sensor signal and a current sensor signal;

determining a reduced power operating point based on the voltage sensor signal and the current sensor signal;

providing a boost converter operating signal to the boost converter, the boost converter configured to control a photovoltaic (PV) array voltage based on a reduced power operating point signal corresponding to the reduced power operating point; and,

providing an inverter operating signal to the inverter, the inverter configured to control a voltage across the at least one conductor based on the inverter operating signal.

9. A method in accordance with claim 8 , wherein receiving a voltage sensor signal and a current sensor signal comprises receiving at least one of a PV array DC voltage signal, a PV array current signal, and a DC bus voltage signal.

10. A method in accordance with claim 8 , wherein providing the boost converter operating signal to the boost converter further comprises controlling the boost converter to minimize an output power during at least one of an LVRT event and a ZVRT event.

11. A method in accordance with claim 8 , further comprising providing the reduced power operating point signal in response to at least one of a measured DC bus voltage that meets or exceeds a predefined voltage threshold and a measured PV array DC current that meets or exceeds a predefined current threshold.

12. A method in accordance with claim 8 , further comprising configuring the boost converter to increase the PV array voltage to minimize the output power.

13. A method in accordance with claim 8 , further comprising configuring the boost converter to reduce the PV array voltage to minimize the output power.

14. A method in accordance with claim 13 , further comprising configuring the boost converter to divert the PV array current into at least one of an insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) included within the boost converter and a diode included within the boost converter, which allows the boost converter to operate at the lower PV array voltage.

15. A system controller coupled to, and configured to control operation of, a two-stage power converter in response to at least one of a low voltage ride through (LVRT) event and a zero voltage ride through (ZVRT) event, said system controller configured to:

receive a voltage sensor signal and a current sensor signal;

determine a reduced power operating point based on the voltage sensor signal and the current sensor signal;

provide a DC bus voltage control signal to a first stage of the two-stage power converter; and,

provide a photovoltaic (PV) array voltage control signal to a second stage of the two-stage power converter, the DC bus voltage control signal corresponding to the reduced power operating point.

16. A system controller in accordance with claim 15 , wherein the first stage of the two-stage power converter comprises a DC to AC inverter and the second stage of the two-stage power converter comprises a DC to DC boost converter.

17. A system controller in accordance with claim 15 , wherein the PV array voltage control signal at least one of increases and decreases the PV array voltage in order to reduce a power output by the two-stage power converter.