Plug and Play control of Inverter-interfaced DERs for Power Management in Smart Grid

Abstract

Productive and compelling utilization of sustainable energy resources, decentralized power generation, and energy storage can possibly take care of worldwide issues, such as the unavailability of energy and environmental change. A promising answer for interconnecting these Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) with the utility grid is the Microgrid. A key issue is the manner by which parallel inverters are being controlled in islanding mode and in grid-connected mode in order to operate these DERs at their maximum efficiency contributing power to electrical networks. This paper introduces a control strategy for productively working at least two single-phase parallel inverter-connected Distributed Energy Resources without any physical communication between them. This study will demonstrate the Photovoltaic (PV) interface of the microgrid under varying conditions, such as significant fluctuations in radiation levels, implementation of Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT), localized control for dynamic active power, coordinated dynamic control of active and reactive power with the decentralized operation, and multi-level control functionality of the PV source in conjunction with other microgrid sources and variable power demands. Simulation results will recommend the best control strategy for a single inverter’s active power control and voltage level.