An Optimized PI Damping Control for Frequency Regulation in Low-Inertia Microgrid

Abstract

Massive penetration of renewable energy sources having inertia-less converters has degraded the inertia support capability of the grid. This inertia deficit affects the dynamic frequency stability of the Microgrid (MG) and may result in a total blackout under contingencies. This paper addresses the inertia problem with a de-loaded Photo-Voltaic (PV) system having a PI-Virtual Damping (PIVD) controller, optimally tuned using Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO). The effectiveness of PSO algorithm in tuning the controller is justified by comparing it with firefly algorithm. The system’s frequency performance is further enhanced by adding a derivative controlled Energy Storage System (ESS). The simulation results are validated by OPAL-RT real-time simulations. The results reported demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.