Abstract
Microgrid (MG) systems effectively integrate a generation mix of solar, wind, and other renewable energy resources. The intermittent nature of renewable resources and the unpredictable weather conditions contribute largely to the unreliability of microgrid real-time operation. This paper investigates the behavior of microgrid for different intermittent scenarios of photovoltaic generation in real-time. Reactive power coordination control and load shedding mechanisms are used for reliable operation and are implemented using OPAL-RT simulator integrated with Matlab. In an islanded MG, load shedding can be an effective mechanism to maintain generation-load balance. The microgrid of the German Jordanian University (GJU) is used for illustration. The results show that reactive power coordination control not only stabilizes the MG operation in real-time but also reduces power losses on transmission lines. The results also show that the power losses at some substations are reduced by a range of 6% - 9.8%.
Highlights
MG systems have spurred increasing interest in the electric power industry [1] [2] [3]
Reactive power coordination control and load shedding mechanisms are used for reliable operation and are implemented using OPALRT simulator integrated with Matlab
The results show that reactive power coordination control stabilizes the MG operation in real-time and reduces power losses on transmission lines
Summary
MG systems have spurred increasing interest in the electric power industry [1] [2] [3]. Different types of control systems have been introduced to address the unreliable and unstable behavior of MG [8] These behaviors are simulated using OPAL-RT and MATLAB [9]. Further investigations have been made to provide insights on inverter-based PV and controllable load mechanisms to control voltage variations in an islanded mode [12] These variations are probabilistic in nature and so a stochastic modeling approach for reactive power control was used for an industrial 47-bus MG system [13]. Momentary failures in power generation are introduced and recovery of critical loads is simulated in real-time based on a priority scheme. The results show that reactive power coordination control stabilizes the MG operation in real-time and reduces power losses.
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