DC and AC Microgrids are key elements to integrate renewable and distributed energy resources as well as distributed energy storage systems. In the last years, efforts toward the standardization of these Microgrids have been made. In this sense, this paper present the hierarchical control derived from ISA-95 and electrical dispatching standards to endow smartness and flexibility to microgrids. The hierarchical control proposed consist of three levels: i) the primary control is based on the droop method, including an output impedance virtual loop; ii) the secondary control allows restoring the deviations produced by the primary control; and iii) the tertiary control manage the power flow between the microgrid and the external electrical distribution system. Results from a hierarchical-controlled microgrid are provided to show the feasibility of the proposed approach.

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Hierarchical control of droop-controlled DC and AC microgrids — a general approach towards standardization

The increasing interest in integrating intermittent renewable energy sources into microgrids presents major challenges from the viewpoints of reliable operation and control. In this paper, the major issues and challenges in microgrid control are discussed, and a review of state-of-the-art control strategies and trends is presented; a general overview of the main control principles (e.g., droop control, model predictive control, multi-agent systems) is also included. The paper classifies microgrid control strategies into three levels: primary, secondary, and tertiary, where primary and secondary levels are associated with the operation of the microgrid itself, and tertiary level pertains to the coordinated operation of the microgrid and the host grid. Each control level is discussed in detail in view of the relevant existing technical literature.

Trends in Microgrid Control

This paper describes and evaluates the feasibility of control strategies to be adopted for the operation of a microgrid when it becomes isolated. Normally, the microgrid operates in interconnected mode with the medium voltage network; however, scheduled or forced isolation can take place. In such conditions, the microgrid must have the ability to operate stably and autonomously. An evaluation of the need of storage devices and load shedding strategies is included in this paper.

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Defining control strategies for MicroGrids islanded operation

Hydrogen technologies have experienced cycles of excessive expectations followed by disillusion. Nonetheless, a growing body of evidence suggests these technologies form an attractive option for the deep decarbonisation of global energy systems, and that recent improvements in their cost and performance point towards economic viability as well. This paper is a comprehensive review of the potential role that hydrogen could play in the provision of electricity, heat, industry, transport and energy storage in a low-carbon energy system, and an assessment of the status of hydrogen in being able to fulfil that potential. The picture that emerges is one of qualified promise: hydrogen is well established in certain niches such as forklift trucks, while mainstream applications are now forthcoming. Hydrogen vehicles are available commercially in several countries, and 225 000 fuel cell home heating systems have been sold. This represents a step change from the situation of only five years ago. This review shows that challenges around cost and performance remain, and considerable improvements are still required for hydrogen to become truly competitive. But such competitiveness in the medium-term future no longer seems an unrealistic prospect, which fully justifies the growing interest and policy support for these technologies around the world.

https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2019/ee/c8ee01157e

The role of hydrogen and fuel cells in the global energy system

Energy is a vital input for social and economic development. As a result of the generalization of agricultural, industrial and domestic activities the demand for energy has increased remarkably, especially in emergent countries. This has meant rapid grower in the level of greenhouse gas emissions and the increase in fuel prices, which are the main driving forces behind efforts to utilize renewable energy sources more effectively, i.e. energy which comes from natural resources and is also naturally replenished. Despite the obvious advantages of renewable energy, it presents important drawbacks, such as the discontinuity of generation, as most renewable energy resources depend on the climate, which is why their use requires complex design, planning and control optimization methods. Fortunately, the continuous advances in computer hardware and software are allowing researchers to deal with these optimization problems using computational resources, as can be seen in the large number of optimization methods that have been applied to the renewable and sustainable energy field. This paper presents a review of the current state of the art in computational optimization methods applied to renewable and sustainable energy, offering a clear vision of the latest research advances in this field.

Optimization methods applied to renewable and sustainable energy: A review

This paper presents a conceptual framework to successfully integrate electric vehicles into electric power systems. The proposed framework covers two different domains: the grid technical operation and the electricity markets environment. All the players involved in both these processes, as well as their activities, are described in detail. Additionally, several simulations are presented in order to illustrate the potential impacts/benefits arising from the electric vehicles grid integration under the referred framework, comprising steady-state and dynamic behavior analysis.

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Integration of Electric Vehicles in the Electric Power System

This paper proposes a control scheme that allows doubly fed induction wind generators (DFIWG) to participate effectively in system frequency regulation. In this control approach, wind generators operate according to a deloaded optimum power extraction curve such that the active power provided by each wind turbine increases or decreases during system frequency changes. The control strategy defined at the wind generator to supply primary frequency regulation capability exploits a combination of control of the static converters and pitch control, adjusting the rotor speed and the active power according to the deloaded optimum power extraction curve. Results obtained in a small isolated system are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach.

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Participation of Doubly Fed Induction Wind Generators in System Frequency Regulation

This paper proposes the utilization of water storage ability to improve wind park operational economic gains and to attenuate the active power output variations due to the intermittence of the wind-energy resource. An hourly-discretized optimization algorithm is proposed to identify the optimum daily operational strategy to be followed by the wind turbines and the hydro generation pumping equipments, provided that a wind-power forecasting is available. The stochastic characteristics of the wind power are exploited in the approach developed in order to identify an envelope of recommended operational conditions. Three operational conditions were analyzed and the obtained results are presented and discussed.

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On the optimization of the daily operation of a wind-hydro power plant

https://ses.jrc.ec.europa.eu/sites/ses.jrc.ec.europa.eu/files/publications/1-s2.0-s0360544213001515-main.pdf

João Peças Lopes

Papers

Defining control strategies for MicroGrids islanded operation

Integration of Electric Vehicles in the Electric Power System

Participation of Doubly Fed Induction Wind Generators in System Frequency Regulation

On the optimization of the daily operation of a wind-hydro power plant

Characterisation of electrical energy storage technologies