A real time digital test bed for a smart grid using RTDS

The microgrid concept is not a new one; however, implementing it and integrating it to a legacy grid is a challenge that engineers are thriving to solve. This challenge is due to many reasons including economic and technology. The survivability of such a system in terms of its reliability and robustness to faults are key points to explore in the microgrid. The FREEDM project is a novel microgrid concept called smart grid. This project will demonstrate newly developed technologies and enhance the integration of renewable resources. A Green Hub was designed to represent the salient features of the FREEDM system. This hub will be used for developing and demonstrating techniques for seamless transitions between grid-connected and islanded modes of operation; fault detection method and fast isolation techniques, and voltage and frequency stability. This 12kV Green Hub loop was modeled in MATLAB/Simumink and in a Real Time Digital Simulator (RTDS).