Modeling and control of a microgrid connected to the INTEC university campus

Abstract

A smart microgrid is a bidirectional electricity generation system—a type of system that is becoming more prevalent in energy production at the distribution level. Usually, these systems have intermittent renewable energy sources, e.g., solar and wind energy. These low voltage networks contribute to decongestion through the efficient use of resources within the microgrid. In this investigation, an energy management strategy and a control scheme for DG units are proposed for DC/AC microgrids. The objective is to implement these strategies in an experimental microgrid that will be developed on the INTEC university campus. After presenting the microgrid topology, the modeling and control of each subsystem and their respective converters are described. All possible operation scenarios, such as islanded or interconnected microgrids, different generation-load possibilities, and state-of-charge conditions of the battery, are verified, and a seamless transition between different operation modes is ensured. The simulation results in Matlab Simulink show how the proposed control system allows transitions between the different scenarios without severe transients in the power transfer between the microgrid and the low voltage network elements.