Evaluation of droop-based controls in an islanded microgrid with electronically interfaced distributed energy resources

Abstract

This paper compares the performance of different droop-based control techniques in an islanded microgrid that operates solely on electronically interfaced distributed energy resources (DERs). Specifically, the following techniques are compared: conventional droop-based control including a full pulse width modulating (PWM)-based voltage source converter (VSC) with power, voltage and current controls; adaptive decentralized droop controls that are built upon conventional droop controls with extra feedback loops; angle droop controls that operate based on drooping the power angle instead of the frequency; and a proposed hybrid controller that merges the advantages of both the adaptive decentralized droop controller and the angle droop controller. The performance of these control techniques in an isolated microgrid is evaluated through time domain simulations that are carried out in PSCAD/EMTDC on a sample test system.