Design Constraints for Microgrid: Theoretical and Practical Challenges

The increasing power demand pose a burden on limited capability and aging infrastructure of the conventional utility grid. The controlled power flow from renewable energy sources and energy storage devices to loads and utility grid can compensate some power demand. A microgrid integrates sources and loads and can operate in grid-connected mode or independently. The wide variety of components involved in the microgrid lead to a complex architecture. In this paper, various theoretical and practical challenges associated with microgrid are discussed. The paper includes a case study on real-time operation, control, integration, and challenges for an experimental hardware setup of microgrid.