Special Issue "Smartgrids and Microgrids Based on Renewable Sources"

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2021.

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Carlos Vargas-Salgado
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Departamento de Ingeniería Eléctrica, Universitat Politècnica de València, Valencia, Spain
Interests: microgrids; smart grids; renewable sources; pv systems; biomass gasification systems for power generation; wind systems; storage systems; microgrid simulation; hybrid systems based on renewables; microgrid control
Prof. Dr. Manuel Alcázar Ortega
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Departamento de Ingeniería Eléctrica, Universitat Politècnica de València, Valencia, Spain
Interests: microgrids; smart grids; demand response; power generation; transmission and distribution
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Microgrids are becoming a crucial component of modern power generation systems. The share of sustainable Distributed Energy Sources (DER) based on renewable energies has increased over time and now provides energy at a competitive price through both small power generation systems and a prosumer generation scheme, even if the utility grid is available, reducing losses in the transmission and distribution systems.

Renewable microgrids can provide energy to off-grid and/or remote areas using available natural resources (such as solar radiation, wind, water, biomass waste among others), particularly improving quality of life in communities with high energy poverty. Because the availability of natural resources can be intermittent (i.e., depending on weather conditions) and balancing power supply and demand is a prerequisite for achieving a stable grid, a backup storage system that provides flexibility and stability to stand-alone grids is required.

Another component that needs to be integrated into microgrids is a demand response, which increases the reliability and efficiency of a microgrid. Modern microgrids also integrate Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) into a control system and must be able to share information through communication technologies, take data from measurement devices, store such data in a database (DB), and make decisions, thereby converting the microgrid into a Smartgrid.

On the other hand, modern metaheuristic algorithms and methods such as Artificial Neural Networks, Fuzzy Logic, and Nature and Bio-inspired Optimization Algorithms can be used for optimal design, simulation, management, and control of microgrid systems. Also, to protect networks, programs, and data, cybersecurity technologies such as digital signatures and encryption algorithms (like Blockchain) are used.

By integrating all of the mentioned parts, a sustainable, efficient, reliable, flexible, profitable, safe, and cyber-secure microgrid can be obtained. Environmental and economic analyses are required to compare the different alternatives and choose the best option.

This Special Issue aims to present a collection of original, novel contributions focused on improving the current technologies in the microgrid field in a sustainable manner. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Sustainable power generation systems with renewable energy sources (PV, wind, biomass, water, among others);
  • Hybrid sustainable systems based on renewable energies;
  • Storage systems (lead-acid batteries, Li-ion batteries, and others);
  • Microgrid power electronics;
  • Microgrid design;
  • Off-grid and grid-tied power generation systems;
  • Metaheuristic algorithms and methods applied to microgrids (e.g., Artificial Neural Networks, Fuzzy Logic, Nature and Bio-inspired Optimization Algorithms, and others);
  • Microgrid cybersecurity (Internet of Energy, Blockchain, digital signatures, Data Encryption Algorithms, and others);
  • Microgrid economic analysis;
  • Information and communications technologies (ICT) in microgrids;
  • Energy prosumers;
  • Microgrid demand response;
  • Power generation in developing countries through microgrid systems based on renewable energies.

Prof. Dr. Carlos Vargas-Salgado
Prof. Dr. Manuel Alcázar Ortega
Guest Editors

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 papers will be 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. Sustainability 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 1900 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

  • PV systems
  • wind systems
  • storage systems
  • microgrids
  • smart grids
  • biomass gasification systems
  • hydropower systems
  • power control
  • greenhouses emissions
  • emissions
  • reliability of the grid
  • lithium-ion batteries
  • lead-acid batteries in microgrids
  • demand response
  • SCADA
  • control algorithms
  • microgrid simulation
  • losses in power transmission systems
  • losses in power systems
  • Hybrid Energy Systems
  • virtual power plants
  • prosumer
  • distributed energy resources (DER)
  • microgrid economical analysis. Microgrid for developing countries
  • two-round fuzzy-based speed (TRFS) algorithm
  • Grey Wolf Optimizer (GWO) algorithm
  • Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm
  • Genetic Algorithms
  • Blockchain

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

Article
A Centralized Power Flow Control Scheme of EV-Connected DC Microgrid to Satisfy Multi-Objective Problems under Several Constraints
Sustainability 2021, 13(16), 8863; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13168863 - 08 Aug 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 398
Abstract
Integrating electric vehicles (EVs) into a microgrid improves the efficiency, flexibility, and robustness of microgrids. Unfortunately, the uncertainties of EVs, in terms of their connection/disconnection times and their initial SOC values, make integrating EVs into microgrids a more challenging issue. Contrary to the [...] Read more.
Integrating electric vehicles (EVs) into a microgrid improves the efficiency, flexibility, and robustness of microgrids. Unfortunately, the uncertainties of EVs, in terms of their connection/disconnection times and their initial SOC values, make integrating EVs into microgrids a more challenging issue. Contrary to the standard energy management system (EMS), integrating EVs into microgrids raises several multi-objective problems that need to be solved. In this study, a centralized power flow control scheme for an EV-connected DC microgrid (DCMG) is proposed to satisfy these multi-objective problems under several constraints. Two prime objective functions of the DCMG are presented to demonstrate the benefits to both the DCMG system and EV owners. Then, a reliable and optimized DCMG system is constructed to satisfy the selected prime objective function. The operating modes of each agent in the DCMG are defined based on information regarding the EV connection/disconnection status, the initial EV SOC values, the generation power of the wind power agent, the battery SOC levels, and the grid availability. The effectiveness and robustness of the proposed scheme have been validated by in-depth simulations and experimental tests under the uncertainties of DG power, grid availability, electricity price conditions, and EV connections. In addition, the proposed scheme reliably regulates the DC-link voltage without severe transience, even if these uncertainties cause the task of controlling the DC-link voltage to be transferred from one agent to another. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smartgrids and Microgrids Based on Renewable Sources)
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Article
IoT-Based Hybrid Renewable Energy System for Smart Campus
Sustainability 2021, 13(15), 8555; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13158555 - 31 Jul 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 341
Abstract
There is a growing interest in increasing the penetration rate of renewable energy systems due to the drawbacks associated with the use of fossil fuels. However, the grid integration of renewable energy systems represents many challenging tasks for system operation, stability, reliability, and [...] Read more.
There is a growing interest in increasing the penetration rate of renewable energy systems due to the drawbacks associated with the use of fossil fuels. However, the grid integration of renewable energy systems represents many challenging tasks for system operation, stability, reliability, and power quality. Small hybrid renewable energy systems (HRES) are small-scale power systems consisting of energy sources and storage units to manage and optimize energy production and consumption. Appropriate real-time monitoring of HRES plays an essential role in providing accurate information to enable the system operator to evaluate the overall performance and identify any abnormal conditions. This work proposes an internet of things (IoT) based architecture for HRES, consisting of a wind turbine, a photovoltaic system, a battery storage system, and a diesel generator. The proposed architecture is divided into four layers: namely power, data acquisition, communication network, and application layers. Due to various communication technologies and the missing of a standard communication model for HRES, this work, also, defines communication models for HRES based on the IEC 61850 standard. The monitoring parameters are classified into different categories, including electrical, status, and environmental information. The network modeling and simulation of a university campus is considered as a case study, and critical parameters, such as network topology, link capacity, and latency, are investigated and discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smartgrids and Microgrids Based on Renewable Sources)
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