Design and operation of smart hybrid microgrid

Abstract

Abstract Renewable energy resources based hybrid microgrid has emerged as a significant component of the power system. Nevertheless, the control and management of power, voltage and frequency under transition between grid-connected mode (GCM) and islanded mode (IM) is a major concern. This paper proposes a self-sustained and flexible novel cooperative control strategy (CCS) for smart hybrid microgrid (SHMG) under GCM and IM mode operations. In islanded operation of SHMG, conventional droop offers ease of control but its execution with seamless transition between operating modes poses poor voltage regulation and frequency deviation. For this purpose, an intelligent cooperative controller is proposed. It consists of a modified P/f-Q/V droop control (MDC) algorithm along with soft computing based VF-controller unit (VFCU). The proposed control scheme is implemented to regulate voltage and frequency. It also enhances the power quality with unbalanced non-linear load and source intermittencies. The absence of a communication link reduces cost and also eliminates the risk of single point breakdown. The SHMG has been simulated in MATLAB and implemented in real-time. The obtained experimental results demonstrate the competency and high robustness of the proposed scheme.