Energy management schemes, challenges and impacts of emerging inverter technology for renewable energy integration towards grid decarbonization

Carbon emissions are the main cause of air pollution and climate change and demand immediate and long-term solutions. The provision of effective, cost-effective energy solutions and the assurance of energy security without producing emissions depend on technological innovation. Power electronics technologies are wildly used for reliably and efficiently interfacing renewable energy sources with the grid and realizing system control and grid decarbonization. Moreover, the energy industries around the world are now implementing inverters in large scale renewable energy plants and grid systems that operate on medium voltage to meet the global energy demand. Medium-voltage inverters in this regard are applied frequently to wide range of renewable energy applications and grid integrations due to their superiorities over conventional low-voltage inverters. Although several reviews have been conducted for low voltage inverters, state-of-the-art configurations and energy management schemes of medium voltage inverters in renewable integrations and grid decarbonization have not yet been thoroughly investigated and comprehensively reviewed. In the light of this, the manuscript aims to provide a comprehensive review of the cutting-edge medium voltage inverter technology from the perspectives of structural analysis, model development, major findings, research gaps, and their applications in grid integration of renewable energy sources and grid decarbonization. Furthermore, it provides thorough analyses of the framework, strengths, limitations, and mathematical models of energy management schemes developed for these inverters. Overall, the discussions, analyses, concerns, and recommendations can help researchers, practicing engineers, and decision-makers with useful references and directions on the emerging renewable integrated inverter applications on grid decarbonization for a cleaner future. •Impacts of MVIT in grid decarbonization are demonstrated.•Issues and challenges of MVIT and their energy management schemes are highlighted.•MVIT configurations, their applications and role in grid decarbonization are discussed.•Important recommendations and future direction are delivered to researchers and policymakers.