DC Microgrid Energy Management with Hybrid Energy Storage Systems

Microgrids are becoming very popular nowadays throughout the world as they utilize renewable energy resources (RER) effectively. Due to the intermittent nature of the dominant RER, different kind of energy storage systems are introduced to enhance reliability, stability, and performance of the microgrids. This paper presents an effective control and energy management strategy of a direct current (DC) microgrid employing hybrid energy storage systems (HESS). The main components of the modeled microgrid are intermittent RER, variable load, HESS, backup diesel generator, and power electronic converters. The current-mode controller manages to charge and discharge the HESS to overcome the intermittency of the RER and load variation. Besides, it proposes an effective energy management strategy that compensate for the energy generation shortage of the RER by utilizing the backup diesel generator. Furthermore, it maximizes the power generation from the photovoltaic (PV) plant employing maximum power point tracker (MPPT). Finally, this research verifies the effectiveness of the proposed system through simulation where the DC voltage level never crosses ± 5% limit under load variation and RER intermittency.