Multiple Microgrids: A Review of Architectures and Operation and Control Strategies

Several issues of individual microgrids (MGs) such as voltage and frequency fluctuations mainly due to the intermittent nature of renewable energy sources’ (RESs) power production can be mitigated by interconnecting multiple MGs and forming a multi-microgrid (MMG) system. MMG systems improve the reliability and resiliency of power systems, increase RESs’ utilization, and provide cost-efficient power to the consumers. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the conducted studies in the MMG area summarizing different operational goals and constraints proposed in the literature for efficient operation of MMGs. Besides, different MMG architectures in which the MGs can be interconnected to form an MMG system and their characteristics are discussed. This paper also provides a state-of-the-art review on different control strategies and operation management methodologies for the operation and control of MMGs in centralized, decentralized, distributed, and hierarchical structures. A classification of different sources of uncertainties in an MMG system and proposed uncertainty handling strategies are also presented. Finally, the paper is complemented with a discussion of the main open issues and future research directions of MMG systems.