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Integration of AC/DC Microgrids into Power Grids

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2020) | Viewed by 23857

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Fazel Mohammadi

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Guest Editor

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, Canada
Interests: power systems control and operation; power systems planning and reliability; power systems protection and stability; high-voltage engineering; microgrids; smart grid
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

AC/DC Microgrids are a small part of low voltage distribution networks that are located far from power substations, and also are interconnected through the point of common coupling to power grids. These systems are the important keys to use flexible, techno-economic, and environmental-friendly generation units for the reliable operation and cost-effective planning of smart electricity grids. Although AC/DC microgrids with the integration of renewable energy resources and other energy systems, such as power-to-gas, combined heat and power, combined cooling heat and power, power-to-heat, power-to-vehicle, pump and compressed air storage, etc. have several advantages, there are some technical aspects that must be addressed.

This Special Issue aims to study the configuration, impacts, and prospects of AC/DC microgrids that enable enhanced solutions for intelligent and optimized electricity systems, energy storage systems, and demand-side management in power grids with an increasing share of distributed energy resources. It includes AC/DC microgrids modeling, simulation, control, operation, protection, dynamics, planning, reliability, security along with considering power quality improvement, load forecasting, market operations, energy conversion, cyber/physical security, supervisory and monitoring, diagnostics and prognostics systems.

References

Mohamed, S.; Shaaban, M.F.; Ismail, M.; Serpedin, E.; Qaraqe, K.A. An Efficient Planning Algorithm for Hybrid Remote Microgrids. IEEE Trans. Sustain. Energy 2019, 10(1), 257–267, doi:10.1109/TSTE.2018.2832443
Ornelas-Tellez, F.; Jesus Rico-Melgoza, J.; Espinosa-Juarez, E.; Sanchez, E.N. Optimal and Robust Control in DC Microgrids. IEEE Trans. Smart Grid 2018, 9(6), 5543–5553, doi:10.1109/TSG.2017.2690566
Hooshyar, A.; Iravani, R. A New Directional Element for Microgrid Protection. IEEE Trans. Smart Grid 2018, 9(6), 6862–6876, doi:10.1109/TSG.2017.2727400.

Dr. Fazel Mohammadi
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

AC Microgrids;
DC Microgrids;
AC/DC Grids;
Modeling;
Simulation;
Microgrid Control Systems;
Microgrid Operation;
Microgrid Protection Systems;
Microgrid Dynamics;
Microgrid Planning;
Load Forecasting;
Reliability Assessment;
Power Quality Analysis;
Microgrid Market Analysis;
Power Electronics;
Power Converters;
Energy Conversion;
Cyber Security;
Physical Security;
Supervisory and Monitoring Systems;
Diagnostics and Prognostics Systems;
Smart Grids;
Virtual Power Plants;
Active Distribution Networks;
Hybrid Microgrids;
Islanded Microgrids;
Remote Microgrids

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Editorial

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4 pages, 146 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Integration of AC/DC Microgrids into Power Grids

by Fazel Mohammadi

Sustainability 2020, 12(8), 3313; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12083313 - 19 Apr 2020

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1805

Abstract

The Special Issue on “Integration of AC/DC Microgrids into Power Grids” is published. A total of six qualified papers are published in this Special Issue. The topics of the papers are the Optimal Power Flow (OPF), control, protection, and the operation of hybrid AC/DC microgrids. Nine researchers participated in this Special Issue. We hope that this Special Issue is helpful for sustainable energy applications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integration of AC/DC Microgrids into Power Grids)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

15 pages, 2753 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Optimal Placement of TCSC for Congestion Management and Power Loss Reduction Using Multi-Objective Genetic Algorithm

by Thang Trung Nguyen and Fazel Mohammadi

Sustainability 2020, 12(7), 2813; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12072813 - 2 Apr 2020

Cited by 45 | Viewed by 3574

Abstract

Electricity demand has been growing due to the increase in the world population and higher energy usage per capita as compared to the past. As a result, various methods have been proposed to increase the efficiency of power systems in terms of mitigating congestion and minimizing power losses. Power grids operating limitations result in congestion that specifies the final capacity of the system, which decreases the conventional power capabilities between coverage areas. Flexible AC Transmission Systems (FACTS) can help to decrease flows in heavily loaded lines and lead to lines loadability improvements and cost reduction. In this paper, total power loss reduction and line congestion improvement are assessed by determining the optimal locations and compensation rates of Thyristor-Controlled Series Compensator (TCSC) devices using the Multi-Objective Genetic Algorithm (MOGA). The results of applying the proposed method on the IEEE 30-bus test system confirmed the efficiency of the proposed procedure. In addition, to check the performance, applicability, and effectiveness of the proposed method, different heuristic algorithms, such as the multi-objective Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm, Differential Evolution (DE) algorithm, and Mixed-Integer Non-Linear Program (MINLP) technique, are used for comparison. The obtained results show the accuracy and fast convergence of the proposed method over the other heuristic techniques. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integration of AC/DC Microgrids into Power Grids)

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27 pages, 6621 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Improved Power Management Strategy for MAS-Based Distributed Control of DC Microgrid under Communication Network Problems

by Thanh Van Nguyen and Kyeong-Hwa Kim

Sustainability 2020, 12(1), 122; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12010122 - 22 Dec 2019

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2831

Abstract

In this paper, an improved power management strategy (PMS) for multi-agent system (MAS)-based distributed control of DC microgrid (DCMG) under communication network problems is presented in order to enhance the reliability of DCMG and to ensure the system power balance under various conditions. To implement MAS-based distributed control, a communication network is constructed to exchange information among agents. Based on the information obtained from communication and local measurements, the decision for the local controller and communication is optimally given to guarantee the system power balance under various conditions. The operating modes of the agents can be determined locally without introducing any central controller. Simultaneously, the agents can operate in a deliberative and cooperative manner to ensure global optimization by means of the communication network. Furthermore, to prevent the system power imbalance caused by the delay in grid fault detection and communication in case of the grid fault, a DC-link voltage (DCV) restoration algorithm is proposed in this study. In addition, to avoid the conflict in the DCV control among power agents in case of the grid recovery under communication failure, a grid recovery identification algorithm is also proposed to improve the reliability of DCMG operation. In this scheme, a special current pattern is generated on the DC-link at the instant of the grid recovery by the grid agent, and other power agents identify the grid recovery by detecting this current pattern. Comprehensive simulations and experiments based on DCMG testbed have been carried out to prove the effectiveness of the PMS and the proposed control schemes under various conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integration of AC/DC Microgrids into Power Grids)

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27 pages, 15058 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Optimal Power Control of Inverter-Based Distributed Generations in Grid-Connected Microgrid

by Mohamed A. Hassan, Muhammed Y. Worku and Mohamed A. Abido

Sustainability 2019, 11(20), 5828; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11205828 - 21 Oct 2019

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2542

Abstract

Distributed generation (DG) units are utilized to feed their closed loads in the autonomous microgrid. While in the grid-connected microgrid, they are integrated to support the utility by their required real and reactive powers. To achieve this goal, these integrated DGs must be controlled well. In this paper, an optimal PQ control scheme is proposed to control and share a predefined injected real and reactive powers of the inverter based DGs. The control problem is optimally designed and investigated to search for the optimal controller parameters by minimizing the error between the reference and calculated powers using particle swarm optimization (PSO). Microgrid containing inverter-based DG, PLL, coupling inductance, LC filter, power and current controllers is implemented on MATLAB. Two microgrid cases with different structure are studied and discussed. In both cases, the microgrid performance is investigated under different disturbances such as three-phase fault and step changes. The simulation results show that the proposed optimal control improves the microgrid dynamic stability. Additionally, the considered microgrids are implemented on real time digital simulator (RTDS). The experimental results verify the effectiveness and tracking capability of the proposed controllers and show close agreement with the simulation results. Finally, the comparison with the literature confirms the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integration of AC/DC Microgrids into Power Grids)

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15 pages, 5009 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

A New Topology of a Fast Proactive Hybrid DC Circuit Breaker for MT-HVDC Grids

by Fazel Mohammadi, Gholam-Abbas Nazri and Mehrdad Saif

Sustainability 2019, 11(16), 4493; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11164493 - 19 Aug 2019

Cited by 22 | Viewed by 3948

Abstract

One of the major challenges toward the reliable and safe operation of the Multi-Terminal HVDC (MT-HVDC) grids arises from the need for a very fast DC-side protection system to detect, identify, and interrupt the DC faults. Utilizing DC Circuit Breakers (CBs) to isolate the faulty line and using a converter topology to interrupt the DC fault current are the two practical ways to clear the DC fault without causing a large loss of power infeed. This paper presents a new topology of a fast proactive Hybrid DC Circuit Breaker (HDCCB) to isolate the DC faults in MT-HVDC grids in case of fault current interruption, along with lowering the conduction losses and lowering the interruption time. The proposed topology is based on the inverse current injection technique using a diode and a capacitor to enforce the fault current to zero. Also, in case of bidirectional fault current interruption, the diode and capacitor prevent changing their polarities after identifying the direction of fault current, and this can be used to reduce the interruption time accordingly. Different modes of operation of the proposed topology are presented in detail and tested in a simulation-based system. Compared to the conventional DC CB, the proposed topology has increased the breaking current capability, and reduced the interruption time, as well as lowering the on-state switching power losses. To check and verify the performance and efficiency of the proposed topology, a DC-link representing a DC-pole of an MT-HVDC system is simulated and analyzed in the PSCAD/EMTDC environment. The simulation results verify the robustness and effectiveness of the proposed HDCCB in improving the overall performance of MT-HVDC systems and increasing the reliability of the DC grids. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integration of AC/DC Microgrids into Power Grids)

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24 pages, 6952 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Bidirectional Power Charging Control Strategy for Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles

by Fazel Mohammadi, Gholam-Abbas Nazri and Mehrdad Saif

Sustainability 2019, 11(16), 4317; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11164317 - 9 Aug 2019

Cited by 77 | Viewed by 5071

Abstract

Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) have the potential of providing frequency regulation due to the adjustment of power charging. Based on the stochastic nature of the daily mileage and the arrival and departure time of Electric Vehicles (EVs), a precise bidirectional charging control strategy of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles by considering the State of Charge (SoC) of the batteries and simultaneous voltage and frequency regulation is presented in this paper. The proposed strategy can control the batteries charge which are connected to the grid, and simultaneously regulate the voltage and frequency of the power grid during the charging time based on the available power when different events occur over a 24-h period. The simulation results prove the validity of the proposed control strategy in coordinating plug-in hybrid electric vehicles aggregations and its significant contribution to the peak reduction, as well as power quality improvement. The case study in this paper consists of detailed models of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs), diesel generator and wind farm, a generic aggregation of EVs with various charging profiles, and different loads. The test system is simulated and analyzed in MATLAB/SIMULINK software. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integration of AC/DC Microgrids into Power Grids)

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27 pages, 6504 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Power Flow Control Strategy and Reliable DC-Link Voltage Restoration for DC Microgrid under Grid Fault Conditions

by Thanh Van Nguyen and Kyeong-Hwa Kim

Sustainability 2019, 11(14), 3781; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11143781 - 10 Jul 2019

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3256

Abstract

In this paper, an effective power flow control strategy (PFCS) based on the centralized control method and a reliable DC-link voltage (DCV) restoration algorithm for a DC microgrid (DCMG) under grid fault conditions are proposed. Considering the relationship of supply-demand power and the statuses of system units, thirteen operating modes are presented to ensure the power balance in DCMG under various conditions. In the PFCS, the battery charging/discharging procedure is implemented considering the battery power limit to avoid overheating and damage. Moreover, load shedding and load reconnection algorithms are presented to maintain the system power balance, even in critical cases. To prevent the system power imbalance in DCMG caused by the delay of grid fault detection, a reliable DCV restoration algorithm is also proposed in this paper. In the proposed scheme, as soon as abnormal behavior of the DCV is detected, the battery or wind power generation system instantly enters a local emergency control mode to restore the DCV rapidly to the nominal value, regardless of the control mode assigned from the central controller. Comprehensive simulations and experiments based on the DCMG testbed are carried out to prove the effectiveness of the PFCS and the proposed DCV restoration algorithm. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integration of AC/DC Microgrids into Power Grids)

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