Microgrid Controller Evaluation Using Real-Time Digital Simulation

Microgrid controller capabilities vary widely throughout the commercial space, making it difficult to establish a standardized procedure for product acceptance or for evaluating future modifications. This paper presents an approach for evaluating the functional performance of microgrid controllers based on IEEE Std 2030.7-2017 [1] and IEEE Std 2030.8-2018 [2]. A microgrid controller was programmed with the core functionality described in the standards and incorporated into a Controller Hardware-in-the-Loop (C-HIL) testbed that included a Real-Time Digital Simulator (RTDS) running a sample microgrid system. A test plan was developed to evaluate the core control functions under steady-state and transient conditions using IEEE Std 1547-2018 [3] as a guideline for performance criteria. Simulation results and performance metrics are given for sample cases at the end of the paper.