Distributed Control for a Microgrid Cluster: Implementation and Experimental Validation

Abstract

In response to growing energy demands and concerns about climate change, microgrid clusters (MGCs) are gaining widespread attention. Their ability to integrate technologies for energy consumption, generation, and storage in AC, DC or a compound of both offer a high degree of flexibility and resiliency. This research introduces a new control strategy for an MGC composed of two MGs interconnected to a local grid via a point of common coupling. The first one is a DC MG comprising an ultracapacitor (UC), wind turbine (WT), DC loads and hydrogen system. The second is an AC MG with a battery bank, AC loads and photovoltaic (PV) generator. The control strategy employs local controllers for each device and distributed control via two control agents, coordinating the power distribution among the energy storage systems (ESSs) of the MGC. This system is tested and validated on a real-time experimental setup, using two Raspberry Pi microcontrollers and an OPAL-RT unit, under different working conditions. The results obtained in this work show that the control strategy implemented in the MGC works correctly.