On the Adaptive Protection of Microgrids: A Review on How to Mitigate Cyber Attacks and Communication Failures

Conference · Mon May 15 04:00:00 EDT 2017

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1109/IAS.2017.8101886· OSTI ID:1372915

Habib, Hany F ^[1]; Lashway, Christopher R ^[2]; Mohammed, Osama A

---

1. Florida Intl Univ., Miami, FL (United States); Florida International University
2. Florida Intl Univ., Miami, FL (United States)

One main challenge in the practical implementation of a microgrid is the design of an adequate protection scheme in both grid connected and islanded modes. Conventional overcurrent protection schemes face selectivity and sensitivity issues during grid and microgrid faults since the fault current level is different in both cases for the same relay. Various approaches have been implemented in the past to deal with this problem, yet the most promising ones are the implementation of adaptive protection techniques abiding by the IEC 61850 communication standard. This paper presents a critical review of existing adaptive protection schemes, the technical challenges for the use of classical protection techniques and the need for an adaptive, smart protection system. However, the risk of communication link failures and cyber security threats still remain a challenge in implementing a reliable adaptive protection scheme. A contingency is needed where a communication issue prevents the relay from adjusting to a lower current level during islanded mode. An adaptive protection scheme is proposed that utilizes energy storage (ES) and hybrid ES (HESS) already available in the network as a mechanism to source the higher fault current. Four common grid ES and HESS are reviewed for their suitability in feeding the fault while some solutions are proposed.

• Research Organization: Florida International University
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE)
• DOE Contract Number: OE0000779
• OSTI ID: 1372915
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

25 ENERGY STORAGE
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
Protection Scheme
Microgrids
Cyber Attacks
Energy Storage
Hybrid Energy Storage Systems.