A consensus-based control for precise reactive power-sharing in AC microgrids

Abstract

The objective of this work is to propose a control structure for managing the energy of distributed generators connected through a meshed AC network, which supplies a set of distributed loads. To avoid the need for algorithm switching in the event of faults (such as line losses or generator disconnections), all converters operate in grid forming mode. A control strategy based on nonlinear droop control ensures optimal network operation (equal sharing of active and reactive power) even in the presence of uncertainties. Only local voltage measurements are exchanged between neighboring nodes and used by a consensus algorithm to achieve the control objectives. The design of control parameters and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) validations are presented in the article. The findings demonstrate that a low communication rate network is sufficient to achieve the desired objectives.