ENERGIES, vol.14, no.21, 2021 (SCI-Expanded)
The necessity for the utilization of microgrids emerges from the integration of distributed energy resources, electric vehicles, and battery storage systems into the conventional grid structure. In order to achieve a proper operation of the microgrid, the presence of a microgrid control system is crucial. The IEEE 2030.7 standard defines the microgrid control system as a key element of the microgrid that regulates every aspect of it at the point-of-interconnection with the distribution system, and autonomously manages operations such as the transitions of operating modes. In this paper, a microgrid control system is developed to achieve real-time monitoring and control through a centralized approach. The controller consists of a centralized server and advanced field units that are also developed during this work. The control functions of the centralized server ensure the proper operation during grid-connected and island modes, using the real-time data received via the advanced field unit. The developed server and the field unit constitute a complete system solution. The server is composed of control function and communication, database, and user interface modules. The microgrid control functions comprise dispatch and transition core-level functions. A rule-based core-level dispatch function guarantees the security of supply to critical loads during the islanded mode. The core-level transition function accomplishes a successful transition between the operation modes. Moreover, a communication framework and a graphical user interface are implemented. The presented system is tested through thecases based on the IEEE 2030.8 standard.