2
Microgrids Control Issues
2.1 Introduction
The notion of control is central in microgrids. In fact, what distinguishes a microgrid from a distribution system with distributed energy resources is exactly the capability of their control, so that they appear to the upstream network as a controlled, coordinated unit [1,2]. Primary control of DER is discussed in Chapter 3. This chapter focuses on secondary control or energy management issues [3]. Effective energy management within microgrids is a key to achieving vital efficiency benefits by optimizing production and consumption of heat, gas and electricity. It should be kept in mind, that the microgrid is called to operate within an energy market environment probably coordinated by an energy service provider/company (ESCO), who will act as an aggregator of various distributed sources and probably a number of microgrids.
The coordinated control of a large number of DERs can be achieved by various techniques, ranging from a basically centralized control approach to a fully decentralized approach, depending on the share of responsibilities assumed by a central controller and the local controllers of the distributed generators and flexible loads. In particular, control with limited communication and computing facilities is a challenging problem favoring the adoption of decentralized techniques. Complexity is increased by the large number of distributed resources ...
