The impact of communication on microgrid control

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the microgrid communication systems and their impact on the microgrid control system. Regardless of the control structure, a microgrid cannot exist without a communication system. An efficient and reliable communication network ensures the possibility of implementing a secure, durable and cost-effective microgrid. The configuration of the communication network depends on many factors, like the structure of the microgrid, the control objectives, the implementation costs, the maintenance costs, etc. In the case of centralized control, all relevant data from the entire system is collected and processed in a single controller. The failure of a communication link in this central controller may cause the entire microgrid to fail. Therefore, the existence of a robust and reliable communication system is vital and the creation of redundant communication links is also recommended. The situation is different in the case of decentralized control, where communication is limited to local controllers, but this leads to limited performance, therefore it is preferable for such microgrids to have at least a very basic communication system composed of simple and inexpensive communication network. In the case of distributed control, each subsystem has its own local controller (LC) with the ability to communicate with other controllers for the purpose of exchanging information. Thus, the most advantageous communication network architecture is a hybrid one that consists of a combination of centralized and decentralized control methods.