A Universal Control Method to Realize Plug-and-Play Converters for Microgrids

In recent years, AC and DC microgrids have been extensively studied. By constructing microgrids, it is possible to promote installing renewable energy resources. Most of components (renewable energy sources, storage devices, load, and so on) are connected to the microgrids through power converters. Therefore, due to spread of microgrids, the importance and the use of power converters have been increasing. As a practical solution to build microgrids, our group has proposed a concept of “plug-and-play” converter. The concept means that the plug-and-play converter is flexibly applied to various components with a unified circuit topology in three-phase AC, single-phase AC, and DC microgrids. As one of the essential functions for development of the plug-and-play converter, this paper realizes universal grid interconnection control method. The proposed control method enables to transmit and receive desired active power in three-phase AC, single-phase AC, and DC microgrids, without changing the control system and circuit topology. Simulation studies verify the validity of the universal grid interconnection control method.