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Droop Control-Based Dispatch of an Islanded Microgrid with Multiple Grid-Forming Sources

Conference ·

Before rotating, fossil fuel-based, synchronous generators (SGs) are phased out, in line with renewable generation goals, grid-forming (GFM) inverters are expected to parallel SGs. Primary droop control allows GFM inverters to share power without communication; however, it is necessary to dispatch GFM inverters and/or SGs with the desired output power for better energy management (e.g., one GFM inverter needs to charge the battery due to a low state of charge). Therefore, this paper develops an analytic approach to dispatching GFM inverters and SGs with the desired output power by shifting the droop intercept up/down while maintaining the same frequency operating point for improved transient stability. This concept is demonstrated through a pure hardware setup with two off-the-shelf inverters and one diesel generator under an islanded microgrid, and we provide insight on the real-world implementation of the proposed concept.

Research Organization:
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Solar Energy Technologies Office
DOE Contract Number:
AC36-08GO28308
OSTI ID:
2281827
Report Number(s):
NREL/CP-5D00-88582; MainId:89361; UUID:1b875524-f42e-4c94-974c-d7572f2f548b; MainAdminID:71588
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (5)

Study of Inverter Control Strategies on the Stability of Microgrids Toward 100% Renewable Penetration conference October 2022
Connecting the Home Grid to the Public Grid: Field Demonstration of Virtual Synchronous Machines journal December 2019
CERTS Microgrid Demonstration With Large-Scale Energy Storage and Renewable Generation journal March 2014
Impacts of Inverter Control Strategies on the Stability of Low-Inertia Power Systems conference August 2020
Inertia — Small-signal Stability Nexus in Grid-forming Inverters conference January 2023