Microgrid systems: Current status and challenges

The objective of this paper is to present the current status and state-of-the-art of microgrid systems as well as the barriers that are being encountered for their integration to the network. The expectation about the microgrid performance is high, thus, issues related to the microgrid standards, autonomous operation, control strategies, regulatory barriers as well as its protection and islanding operation, among other aspects, will be discussed herein. Some examples of practical installations worldwide will also be presented.