A Novel Hybrid AC/DC Microgrid Architecture With a Central Energy Storage System

This paper proposes a novel hybrid AC/DC microgrid architecture incorporating a central energy storage system (ESS) for both the AC and the DC sub-grids. To ensure effective operation of the proposed hybrid AC/DC microgrid architecture, a coordinated control strategy between the central ESS and the inter-linking converter (ILC) is proposed in the paper. The proposed central ESS provides voltage and frequency control to the AC sub-grid by measuring voltage and frequency at the point of common coupling (PCC) of the AC sub-grid, while providing DC voltage support to the DC sub-grid by measuring DC sub-grid’s PCC voltage. Furthermore, per-unit frequency and the DC sub-grid PCC voltage are utilized to transfer power between the two sub-grids via the ILC. Therefore, two control strategies are coordinating with each other and maintain stable operation. The central ESS eliminates the use of multiple ILCs and complex control schemes for charge and discharge control to maintain same state of charge levels at each ESS. Effectiveness of the proposed coordinated controller is verified by applying various load disturbances, faults, and under different modes of operation.