Power Loss Minimization in Islanded Microgrids: A Communication-Free Decentralized Power Control Approach Using Extremum Seeking

Abstract

This paper focuses on islanded microgrids and presents a method to allocate power among the distributed generation units (DGs) to minimize the distribution power loss. Motivated by the need for decentralized control strategies with minimal communication among grid components to support a robust and plug-and-play operation, a communication-free decentralized power control approach is developed for power loss minimization based on the extremum-seeking (ES) method. In this approach, the DGs implement ES simultaneously and separately to minimize their current outputs by controlling the active power. The total power loss is thus reduced without the need for any grid structure information or communication in the optimization process. This approach results in a non-cooperative game. The existence of a Nash equilibrium to this game and its stability are proved. The numerical simulations are conducted to demonstrate the performance of the proposed approach and show its ability to maintain low-power loss under different operating conditions in a plug-and-play manner.