Distributed model predictive control for efficient operation of islanded microgrid

The hierarchical control structure, namely, primary, secondary and tertiary control, becomes the standard operation of islanded microgrid. However, due to the proliferation of renewable energy sources which fluctuate fast, the time scale separation of the secondary and tertiary control can make the operation of microgrid becomes less economic efficient. Therefore, we incorporate the economic dispatch (ED) into the secondary control level and a distributed model predictive control methodology is proposed to solve the optimization problem. The control framework is fully distributed and each distributed generation is able to communicate with other nodes for iterative calculation. To verify the novelty of the economic secondary control strategy, a microgrid with micro gas turbine, diesel generator, battery and renewable energy is simulated. A comparison with the centralized control strategy and distributed frequency/ED separating control strategy is presented as well.