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Recent Advances in Smart Microgrids
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Recent Advances in Smart Microgrids

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 November 2025 | Viewed by 3962

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Salman Mohagheghi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Electrical Engineering Department, Colorado School of Mines, 1610 Illinois St., Golden, CO 80401, USA
Interests: power system operation and control; renewable energy; power grid resilience; data analytics; energy justice
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The latest advances in distributed energy resources, battery technology, power electronics converters, and smart controllers have paved the way for the large-scale deployment of electric microgrids in modern power distribution grids. These systems have the ability to operate in grid-connected mode, supporting sensitive loads, or in a standalone and islanded mode during disturbances on the grid side. Their operational versatility introduces a higher level of voltage and power quality and improves system reliability, security, and resilience, which is why more industrial parks, university campuses, municipal and commercial buildings, and neighborhoods are being equipped to operate as microgrids.

The smaller scale of electric microgrids compared to the main distribution system introduces unique design and operation challenges. When operating in islanded mode, the intermittent and stochastic nature of renewable energy resources can negatively impact the stability and security of the microgrid. In addition, load dynamics have a more pronounced impact on microgrid operation due to the volatility in individual demand points and stochasticity in user behavioral patterns. To effectively manage microgrids, we need advanced solutions for situational awareness and forecasting generation and demand, as well as innovative control algorithms and energy dispatch models that guarantee the stability, security, and power quality of the microgrid. All this must be performed under various model, parameter, and input uncertainties.

This Special Issue of Applied Sciences, “Recent Advances in Smart Microgrids,” is intended to disseminate new, promising methods and techniques to model, analyze, and control electric microgrids and to improve their stability, security, reliability, and quality of service. Prospective authors are invited to submit original contributions or survey papers for review for publication in this Special Issue. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Application of microgrids in enhancing power grid resilience;
  • Advanced solutions for demand forecasting at the service transformer and meter levels;
  • Advanced control algorithms for demand side management in microgrids;
  • Solutions for the efficient integration of electric vehicles with microgrids;
  • Innovative algorithms for the control and dispatch of renewable energy resources;
  • Decentralized and hierarchical controllers for electric microgrids;
  • Energy markets within microgrids;
  • Advanced power electronics circuits and controllers for interfacing distributed energy resources and demand responsive loads with microgrids;
  • Stability analysis of microgrids under uncertain operating conditions;
  • Forming ad hoc microgrids using mobile energy resources;
  • Application of microgrids in electric service restoration;
  • Microgrids for the electrification of remote areas;
  • Cyber-security solutions for electric microgrids.

Dr. Salman Mohagheghi
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • ad hoc microgrids
  • control of distributed energy resources
  • demand forecasting
  • demand response and demand side management
  • electric vehicles
  • electric microgrids
  • mobile energy resources
  • power grid resilience

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 352 KiB  
Article
Communication Protocol Design for IoT-Enabled Energy Management in a Smart Microgrid
by Shama Naz Islam and Md Apel Mahmud
Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(4), 1773; https://doi.org/10.3390/app15041773 - 10 Feb 2025
Viewed by 858
Abstract
In this paper, a new communication protocol is proposed to allow direct communication between internet of things (IoT)-enabled home energy management systems (HEMSs) in a smart microgrid. The direct communication features are an important attribute for decentralised demand management and local energy trading [...] Read more.
In this paper, a new communication protocol is proposed to allow direct communication between internet of things (IoT)-enabled home energy management systems (HEMSs) in a smart microgrid. The direct communication features are an important attribute for decentralised demand management and local energy trading operations in a microgrid equipped with renewable energy resources. The proposed scheme utilises the intermediate HEMSs as relay nodes that forward the sum of the received signals from nearby HEMSs to both ends of the entire network. The scheme can achieve lower latency compared to the cases when HEMSs adopt direct decode−and−forward (DF) or transmit through the central controller. For the proposed protocol, we have analytically obtained expressions for the error probability at different HEMSs, as well as the average bit error rate (BER) to indicate the overall error performance of the microgrid communication. To evaluate the proposed protocol in different channel conditions, numerical simulation is performed. The results demonstrate that the channel conditions between the HEMSs at the middle of the network have a greater impact on the system error performance. Overall, it can be observed that the proposed protocol suffers a lower degradation in error performance in comparison to direct DF when one of the users experiences worse channel conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Smart Microgrids)
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18 pages, 737 KiB  
Article
Enhancing Reliability and Performance of Load Frequency Control in Aging Multi-Area Power Systems under Cyber-Attacks
by Di Wu, Fusen Guo, Zeming Yao, Di Zhu, Zhibo Zhang, Lin Li, Xiaoyi Du and Jun Zhang
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(19), 8631; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14198631 - 25 Sep 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1196
Abstract
This paper addresses the practical issue of load frequency control (LFC) in multi-area power systems with degraded actuators and sensors under cyber-attacks. A time-varying approximation model is developed to capture the variability in component degradation paths across different operational scenarios, and an optimal [...] Read more.
This paper addresses the practical issue of load frequency control (LFC) in multi-area power systems with degraded actuators and sensors under cyber-attacks. A time-varying approximation model is developed to capture the variability in component degradation paths across different operational scenarios, and an optimal controller is constructed to manage stochastic degradation across subareas simultaneously. To assess the reliability of the proposed scheme, both Monte Carlo simulation and particle swarm optimization techniques are utilized. The methodology distinguishes itself by four principal attributes: (i) a time-varying degradation model that broadens the application from single-area to multi-area systems; (ii) the integration of physical constraints within the degradation model, which enhances the realism and practicality compared to existing methods; (iii) the sensor suffers from fault data injection attacks; and (iv) an optimal controller that leverages particle swarm optimization to effectively balance reliability and system performance, thereby improving both stability and reliability. This method has demonstrated its effectiveness and advantages in mitigating load disturbances, achieving its objectives in just one-third of the time required by established benchmarks. The case study validates the applicability of the proposed approach and demonstrates its efficacy in mitigating load disturbance amidst stochastic degradation in actuators and sensors under FDIA cyber-attacks. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Smart Microgrids)
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16 pages, 7290 KiB  
Article
Application of Surge Arrester in Limiting Voltage Stress at Direct Current Breaker
by Mohammadamin Moghbeli, Shahab Mehraeen and Sudipta Sen
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(18), 8319; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14188319 - 15 Sep 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1319
Abstract
Hybrid DC circuit breakers combine mechanical switches with a redirecting current path, typically controlled by power electronic devices, to prevent arcing during switch contact separation. The authors’ past work includes a bipolar hybrid DC circuit breaker that effectively redirects the fault current and [...] Read more.
Hybrid DC circuit breakers combine mechanical switches with a redirecting current path, typically controlled by power electronic devices, to prevent arcing during switch contact separation. The authors’ past work includes a bipolar hybrid DC circuit breaker that effectively redirects the fault current and returns it to the source. This reduces arcing between the mechanical breaker’s contacts and prevents large voltage overshoots across them. However, the breaker’s performance declines as the upstream line inductance increases, causing overvoltage. This work introduces a modification to the originally proposed hybrid DC breaker to make it suitable to use anywhere along DC grid lines. By using a switch-controlled surge arrester in parallel with the DC breaker, part of the arc energy is dissipated in the surge arrester, preventing an overvoltage across the mechanical switches. Based on the experimental results, the proposed method can effectively interrupt the fault current with minimal arcing and reduce the voltage stress across the mechanical switches. To address practical fault currents, tests at high fault currents (900 A) and voltage levels (500 V) are conducted and compared with simulation models and analytical studies. Furthermore, the application of the breaker for the protection of DC distribution grids is illustrated through simulations, and the procedure for designing the breaker components is explained. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Smart Microgrids)
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