Coordinated Power and Energy Management Using Cluster of Microgrids to Improve Grid Availability and Resiliency

A coordinated power and energy management concept for a cluster of microgrids is presented in this paper. Distributed generation and storage resources at the low voltage end of the electrical power grid can be operated together as microgrids. These microgrids can operate in grid-connected mode and in islanded mode, thereby serving the loads within them during loss-of-service from the transmission network. In the proposed coordinated microgrid cluster management scheme, multiple microgrids operated as a cluster can be connected using tie reclosers or through auxiliary distribution lines as a retrofit operation, which are activated during transmission system failure and power generated or energy stored are shared between microgrids with different power demands. The operation can be achieved with no modified power inverter controls, and minimal changes to the supervisory / dispatch control and communications systems. In this paper, the cluster of microgrids presented include solar photovoltaic (PV) plants, battery energy storage systems (BESS) and loads. A demonstration cluster with two microgrids is operated using a real-time hardware-in-loop platform to show power and energy management during transmission system failure.