Decentralized and Coordinated V-f Control for Islanded Microgrids Considering DER Inadequacy and Demand Control

This paper proposes a decentralized and coordinated voltage and frequency (V-f) control framework for islanded microgrids, with full consideration of the limited capacity of distributed energy resources (DERs) and V-f dependent load. First, the concept of DER inadequacy is illustrated with the challenges it poses. Then, a decentralized and coordinated control framework is proposed to regulate the output of inverter-based generations and reallocate limited DER capacity for V-f control. The control framework is composed of a power regulator and a V-f regulator, which generates the supplementary signals for the primary controller. The power regulator regulates the output of grid-forming inverters according to the real-time capacity constraints of DERs, while the V-f regulator improves the V-f deviation by leveraging the load sensitivity to V-f. Next, the static feasibility and small signal stability of the proposed method are rigorously proven through mathematical formulation and eigenvalue analysis. Finally, a MATLAB-Simulink simulation demonstrates the functionalities of the control framework. A few goals are fulfilled within the decentralized and coordinated framework, such as making the best use of limited DERs’ capacity, enhancing the DC side stability of inverter-based generations, and reducing involuntary load shedding.