Frequency and Voltage Control of Island System using Power Hardware In the Loop

Abstract

Power generation via Distributed Generation (DG) plants coupled with inverters can participate in Frequency and Voltage stabilization of the microgrid which is important to grid operators. This paper explores the realization of improved regulation of frequency and voltages in a low voltage microgrid using droop-controlled power converters. The test bed consists of a Power Hardware in the Loop (PHIL) setup, which includes a grid-forming battery inverter, local loads, and DG plants. In the PHIL setup, the grid-forming battery inverter was responsible for setting the network voltage, which served the loads initially before the distributed energy resources were energized. Additional loads were then switched on triggering a frequency drop in the network. Changes in the load requirement and performance of the DGs were examined through the PHIL setup with the energy storage system further supporting as require. The results showed notable improvement in the overall system frequency and voltage regulation.