A review of microgrid protection for addressing challenges and solutions

Abstract

The world is endeavoring to transition to clean, renewable resource-based power generation systems such as wind and solar due to decreasing fossil fuel availability, a severe increase in power demand, environmental pollution, and global warming caused by unwanted gas emissions from current fossil fuel-based conventional power generation systems. An emerging technology, Microgrid (MG), has the capability to interface power generated from multiple distributed generation energy resources (DGER) such as wind, solar, fuel cells, biomass, geothermal, diesel engine generators, electric vehicles (EVs), and energy storage systems like batteries, compressed air storage, supercapacitors, and flywheels. This complexity in control and protection renders traditional power grids outdated. MGs are designed to operate in two modes: grid-connected mode (GCM) and islanded mode (IM), addressing power demand increases, transmission issues, and electricity storage challenges. MGs offer numerous advantages for power systems, yet their integration into distribution networks presents various challenges in protection systems, including fault current (FC) under different operating conditions, bidirectional fault current flow, unexpected relay tripping, disconnections due to sudden accidents, and cybersecurity issues. This paper provides a comprehensive review of various protection issues associated with MG and its possible solutions as suggested by various researchers.© 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.