Coordinated control and energy management of distributed generation inverters in a microgrid project Report

This project presents a microgrid consisting of different distributed generation (DG) units that are connected to the distribution grid. The proposed microgrid consists of a photovoltaic (PV) array which functions as the primary generation unit of the microgrid and a proton-exchange membrane fuel cell to supplement the variability in the power generated by the PV array. The control design for the DG inverters employs a new model predictive control algorithm which enables faster computational time for large power systems by optimizing the steady-state and the transient control problems separately.

Description

The integration of renewable sources can supplement the generation from the distribution grid. However, these renewable sources are intermittent in their generation and might compromise the reliability and stability of the distribution network. As a result, energy-storage devices, such as batteries and ultra-capacitors, are required to compensate for the variability in the renewable sources. The incorporation of energy-storage devices is also critical for managing peak demands and variations in the load demand.

So, in this project, a microgrid consisting of a photovoltaic (PV) array, a proton-exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), and a lithium-ion storage battery (SB) is proposed. The proposed controller for the DG inverters is based on a newly developed MPC algorithm which decomposes the control problem into steady-state and transient sub problems in order to reduce the overall computation time.