Power management of the DC bus connected converters in a hybrid AC/DC microgrid tied to the main grid

Abstract

In this paper, a centralized control strategy for the efficient power management of power converters composing a hybrid AC/DC microgrid is explained. The study is focused on the converters connected to the DC bus. The proposed power management algorithm is implemented in a microgrid central processor which is based on assigning several operation functions to each of the generators, loads and energy storage systems in the microgrid. The power flows between the DC and AC buses are studied in several operational scenarios to verify the proposed control. Experimental and simulation results demonstrate that the algorithm allows control of the power dispatch inside the microgrid properly by performing the following tasks: communication among power converters, the grid operator and loads; connection and disconnection of loads; control of the power exchange between the distributed generators and the energy storage system and, finally, supervision of the power dispatch limit set by the grid operator.