Autonomous Active Power Control for Islanded AC Microgrids with Photovoltaic Generation and Energy Storage System

In an islanded AC microgrid with distributed energy storage system (ESS), photovoltaic (PV) generation and loads, a coordinated active power regulation is required to ensure efficient utilization of renewable energy, while keeping the ESS from overcharge and over discharge conditions. In this paper, an autonomous active power control strategy is proposed for AC islanded microgrids in order to achieve power management in a decentralized manner. The proposed control algorithm is based on frequency bus-signaling of ESS and uses only local measurements for power distribution among microgrid elements. Moreover, this paper also presents a hierarchical control structure for AC microgrids that is able to integrate the ESS, PV systems and loads. Hereby, basic power management function is realized locally in primary level, while strict frequency regulation can be achieved by using additional secondary controller. Finally, real-time simulation results under various SoC and irradiance conditions are presented in order to prove the validity of proposed approach.