An enhanced master–slave control for accurate load sharing among parallel standalone AC microgrids

Abstract

SummaryWith the advancement of power electronic converters over the last few decades, the capability to integrate solar photovoltaics, wind, diesel generators, batteries, ultracapacitor, and electric vehicles with standalone networks or utility grids has increased. For the reliable operation of standalone networks, accurate load sharing among these sources is required. As a result, several load sharing schemes with inherent merits and related demerits are presented in the literature. This work intends to address shortcomings of earlier reported control schemes with the inheritance of associated merits using the proposed control scheme. The proposed enhanced Master–Slave control, with advanced droop control scheme, is illustrated for Master voltage source inverter with resistive line impedance and improves the steady‐state response by improving voltage and frequency profile. It reduces the voltage drop caused by load effect and droop effect, allowing the voltage and frequency regulation during load changes and distinct load conditions such as balanced linear load, unbalanced linear load, and balanced nonlinear load in standalone alternating current (AC) microgrids. Furthermore, Slave voltage source inverters independently compensate for local load demand. This paper presents precise current control and voltage control design methodology and a mathematical model for voltage control and their performance analysis in time and frequency domain. Finally, the proposed enhanced Master–Slave control for accurate load sharing among parallel standalone AC microgrids validated using real‐time simulator and experimental results is provided to verify the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.