Hierarchical Two-Layer Distributed Control Architecture for Voltage Regulation in Multiple Microgrids in the Presence of Time-Varying Delays

Amedeo Andreotti, Bianca Caiazzo, Alberto Petrillo, Stefania Santini and Alfredo Vaccaro
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Amedeo Andreotti: Department of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering (DIETI), University of Naples Federico II, 80125 Naples, Italy
Bianca Caiazzo: Department of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering (DIETI), University of Naples Federico II, 80125 Naples, Italy
Alberto Petrillo: Department of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering (DIETI), University of Naples Federico II, 80125 Naples, Italy
Stefania Santini: Department of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering (DIETI), University of Naples Federico II, 80125 Naples, Italy
Alfredo Vaccaro: Department of Engineering, University of Sannio, 82100 Benevento, Italy

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 24, 1-19

Abstract: The Multiple Microgrids (MMGs) concept has been identified as a promising solution for the management of large-scale power grids in order to maximize the use of widespread renewable energies sources. However, its deployment in realistic operation scenarios is still an open issue due to the presence of non-ideal and unreliable communication systems that allow each component within the power network to share information about its state. Indeed, due to technological constraints, multiple time-varying communication delays consistently appear during data acquisition and the transmission process and their effects must be considered in the control design phase. To this aim, this paper addresses the voltage regulation control problem for MMGs systems in the presence of time-varying communication delays. To solve this problem, we propose a novel hierarchical two-layer distributed control architecture that accounts for the presence of communication latencies in the information exchange. More specifically, the upper control layer aims at guaranteeing a proper and economical reactive power dispatch among MMGs, while the lower control layer aims at ensuring voltage regulation of all electrical buses within each MG to the desired voltage set-point. By leveraging a proper Driver Generator Nodes Selection Algorithm, we first provide the best choice of generator nodes which, considering the upper layer control goal, speeds up the voltage synchronization process of all the buses within each MG to the voltage set-point computed by the upper-control layer. Then, the lower control layer, on the basis of this desired voltage value, drives the reactive power capability of each smart device within each MG and compensates for possible voltage deviations. Simulation analysis is carried out on the realistic case study of an MMGs system consisting of two identical IEEE 14-bus test systems and the numerical results disclose the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy, as well as its robustness with respect to load fluctuations.

Keywords: cluster-oriented coordination; distributed control; multiple microgrids; time-varying delays; IEEE 14-bus test systems (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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