A Review of Microgrid Control Strategies

Microgrids are small-scale grids with distributed energy sources, conventional generation systems, energy storage systems and loads, which can be operated either off-grid or connected to the grid. The microgrid concept has potential to improve the usability of distributed generation systems by proving enhanced control functions. A microgrid can be implement to be AC or DC microgrid based on the common voltage type in the electrical grid. In addition, implementation of a hybrid microgrid which has both AC and DC common voltages is also possible. Besides, various architectures can be applied to achieve higher reliability depending on the application or type of resources. Regardless of the type, any microgrid needs a successful control scheme to achieve design goals. Many different control strategies have been applied and discussed for microgrids. These control strategies are expressed in two different groups as Central Control and Decentralized Control. In this study, these control strategies are investigated and a comprehensive review on them are provided. The differences, advantages and disadvantages of these control strategies and their application areas are discussed and reported.