Microgrids are now emerging from lab benches and pilot demonstration sites into commercial markets, driven by technological improvements, falling costs, a proven track record, and growing recognition of their benefits. They are being used to improve reliability and resilience of electrical grids, to manage the addition of distributed clean energy resources like wind and solar photovoltaic (PV) generation to reduce fossil fuel emissions, and to provide electricity in areas not served by centralized electrical infrastructure. This review article (1) explains what a microgrid is, and (2) provides a multi-disciplinary portrait of today's microgrid drivers, real-world applications, challenges, and future prospects.

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Microgrids: A review of technologies, key drivers, and outstanding issues

Microgrids energy management systems: A critical review on methods, solutions, and prospects

This paper focuses on the role of networked microgrids as distributed systems for enhancing the power system resilience against extreme events. Resilience is an intrinsically complex property which requires deep understanding of microgrid operation in order to respond effectively in emergency conditions. The paper first introduces the definition and offers a generic framework for analyzing the power system resilience. The notion that large power systems can achieve a higher level of resilience through the deployment of networked microgrids is discussed in detail. In particular, the management of networked microgrids for riding through extreme events is analyzed. In addition, the merits of advanced information and communication technologies (ICTs) in microgrid-based distributed systems that can support the power system resilience are presented. The paper also points out the challenges for expanding the role of distributed systems and concludes that networked microgrids in particular provide a universal solution for improving the resilience against extreme events in Smart Cities.

Networked Microgrids for Enhancing the Power System Resilience

The modern electric power systems are going through a revolutionary change because of increasing demand of electric power worldwide, developing political pressure and public awareness of reducing carbon emission, incorporating large scale renewable power penetration, and blending information and communication technologies with power system operation. These issues initiated in establishing microgrid concept which has gone through major development and changes in last decade, and recently got a boost in its growth after being blessed by smart grid technologies. The objective of this paper is to presents a detailed technical overview of microgrid and smart grid in light of present development and future trend. First, it discusses microgrid architecture and functions. Then, smart features are added to the microgrid to demonstrate the recent architecture of smart grid. Finally, existing technical challenges, communication features, policies and regulation, etc. are discussed from where the future smart grid architecture can be visualized.

Enhancing smart grid with microgrids: Challenges and opportunities

This paper presents a microgrid planning model for determining the optimal size and the generation mix of distributed energy resources (DERs), as well as the microgrid type, i.e., ac or dc. Considering the growing ratio of dc loads and DERs, dc microgrids could be potentially more beneficial than ac microgrids by avoiding the need to synchronize generators, reducing the use of converters, facilitating the connection of various types of DERs and loads to the microgrid common bus with simplified interfaces, and reducing losses associated with the ac–dc energy conversion. The microgrid type is selected based on economic considerations, where the planning objective includes the investment and operation costs of DERs, cost of energy purchase from the main grid, and the reliability cost. Numerical simulations exhibit the effectiveness of the proposed model and investigate in detail the impact of variety of factors on planning results, including the ratio of critical loads, the ratio of dc loads, and the efficiency of inverters and converters.

AC Versus DC Microgrid Planning

The significant benefits associated with microgrids have led to vast efforts to expand their penetration in electric power systems. Although their deployment is rapidly growing, there are still many challenges to efficiently design, control, and operate microgrids when connected to the grid, and also when in islanded mode, where extensive research activities are underway to tackle these issues. It is necessary to have an across-the-board view of the microgrid integration in power systems. This paper presents a review of issues concerning microgrids and provides an account of research in areas related to microgrids, including distributed generation, microgrid value propositions, applications of power electronics, economic issues, microgrid operation and control, microgrid clusters, and protection and communications issues.

State of the Art in Research on Microgrids: A Review

An optimal scheduling model for a microgrid participating in the electricity distribution market in interaction with a distribution market operator (DMO) is proposed in this paper. The DMO administers the established electricity market in the distribution level, sets electricity prices, determines the amount of the power exchange among market participants, and interacts with the independent system operator. Considering a predetermined main grid power transfer to the microgrid, the microgrid scheduling problem will aim at balancing the power supply and demand while taking financial objectives into account. Numerical simulations exhibit the application and the effectiveness of the proposed market-based microgrid scheduling model and further investigate merits over a price-based scheme.

Market-Based Versus Price-Based Microgrid Optimal Scheduling

An optimal scheduling model for a microgrid participating in the electricity distribution market in interaction with a Distribution Market Operator (DMO) is proposed in this paper. The DMO administers the established electricity market in the distribution level, sets electricity prices, determines the amount of the power exchange among market participants, and interacts with the Independent System Operator (ISO). Considering a predetermined main grid power transfer to the microgrid, the microgrid scheduling problem will aim at balancing the power supply and demand while taking financial objectives into account. Numerical simulations exhibit the application and the effectiveness of the proposed market-based microgrid scheduling model and further investigate merits over a price-based scheme.

Market-based vs. Price-based Microgrid Optimal Scheduling

This paper presents an optimal scheduling model for a microgrid participating in the electricity distribution market in interaction with the Distribution Market Operator (DMO). The DMO is a concept proposed here, which administers the established electricity market in the distribution level, i.e., similar to the role of Independent System Operator (ISO) in the wholesale electricity market, sets electricity prices, determines the amounts of the power exchange between market participators, and interacts with the ISO. Considering a predetermined main grid power transfer to the microgrid, the microgrid scheduling problem will aim at balancing the power supply and demand while taking financial objectives into account. A stochastic programming method is employed to model prevailing uncertainties in the microgrid grid-connected and islanded operations. Numerical simulations exhibit the application and the effectiveness of the proposed market-based microgrid scheduling model.

Market-based microgrid optimal scheduling

There are various undergoing efforts by system operators to set up an electricity market at the distribution level to enable a rapid and widespread deployment of distributed energy resources (DERs) and microgrids. This paper follows the previous work of the authors in implementing the distribution market operator (DMO) concept, and focuses on investigating the clearing and settlement processes performed by the DMO. The DMO clears the market to assign the awarded power from the wholesale market to customers within its service territory based on their associated demand bids. The DMO accordingly settles the market to identify the distribution locational marginal prices (DLMPs) and calculate payments from each customer and the total payment to the system operator. Numerical simulations exhibit the merits and effectiveness of the proposed DMO clearing and settlement processes.

Sina Parhizi

Papers

State of the Art in Research on Microgrids: A Review

Market-Based Versus Price-Based Microgrid Optimal Scheduling

Market-based vs. Price-based Microgrid Optimal Scheduling

Market-based microgrid optimal scheduling

Distribution market clearing and settlement