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A Modified Droop Control Method for PV Systems in Island Mode DC Microgrid

Conference Paper · November 2019

DOI: 10.1109/ICRERA47325.2019.8997075

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Erdal Irmak Naki Güler

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8th International Conference on Renewable Energy Research and Applications
$0RGLILHG'URRS&RQWURO0HWKRGIRU39
6\VWHPVLQ,VODQG0RGH'&0LFURJULG
Erdal Irmak, Naki Güler
Electrical and Electronics Engineering
Gazi University
Ankara, Turkey
{erdal},{gulern}@gazi.edu.tr
Abstract—Ensuring a proportional power sharing algorithm
for parallel connected sources in a microgrid system makes them
more efficient and prevents their overloading. For this purpose,
the droop control technique is one of the widely used methods.
However, this technique is generally insufficient to obtain
maximum power from intermittent sources such as photovoltaic
(PV) systems and wind turbines. Therefore, this paper presents the
integration of MPPT algorithm with droop control algorithm of a
PV system. Thus, the droop control method based on modified
P&O algorithm operates the system not only in power sharing
mode but also in MPPT mode to obtain the maximum power. The
developed algorithm is compared with conventional droop control
methods and satisfying results are obtained.
Keywords— Droop control, MPPT, perturb&observe, microgrid
I. INTRODUCTION
Compared with conventional ones, microgrids control the
distributed energy sources such as photovoltaic, wind and
energy storage system more easily. This is one of the main
reasons why microgrids are used more widely nowadays. In
accordance with this development, several control algorithms
have been developed to provide stable, reliable and efficient
operation of microgrids. Most of them are focused on issues such
as voltage stability, frequency stability, power flow control and
energy efficiency.
Proportional sharing of the power generation among
parallel-connected sources is an important issue in microgrid
controls to ensure supply and demand balance within the system.
For this purpose, droop control or master-slave control methods
are generally used [1,2]. As one of its most important
advantages, droop control enables power sharing without any
communication requirement in parallel connected source
arrangement [3,4,5,6]. Thus, fault risks based on the
communication system are eliminated [5]. Therefore, a great
deal of related studies in the literature deals with the droop
control. Droop controllers act as an impedance reducing the
converter output voltage while increasing the supplied current.
This control strategy provides the current sharing among
paralleled converters connected in the dc microgrid without the
need of a central control [1]. The power sharing among the
sources is proportional to the power of each source [5].
ICRERA 2019 978-1-7281-3587-8/19/$31.00 ©2019 IEEE
Brasov, ROMANIA, Nov. 3-6, 2019
Ersan Kabalcı, Ayberk Calpbinici
Electrical and Electronics Engineering
Nevsehir Haci Bektas Veli University
Nevsehir, Turkey
{kabalci},{a.calpbinici}@nevsehir.edu.tr
While the droop control is able to successfully share power
between sources, it is insufficient to obtain maximum power
from the sources or to regulate power flow in its current structure
[7,8,9]. Therefore, conventional droop control requires to be
modified by adding different control techniques. For example,
droop control virtual resistance has been updated according to
current differences and voltage drop values, and the accuracy of
current sharing between sources has been increased in [4]. In
another study, droop resistance has been calculated as a function
of the output voltage in order to optimize the voltage regulation
[2]. In [10], an observer-based dc voltage drop and current-fed
forward control system have been added to droop control so that
sources could realize more accurate current sharing even under
changing conditions. In a study involving battery groups, the
droop resistance of the batteries has been adjusted according to
the charge status of the batteries, which makes it possible to
share the load safely considering their overcharging and
discharging situations [11]. In order to provide more economic
generation among sources those have different unit prices, cost-
based droop control methods have been presented in [12,13].
Droop control methods have been also integrated with MPPT
algorithms to increase the efficiency of intermittent energy
sources like PVs and wind turbines [8,14,15,16].
Proportional power sharing among sources prevents them
from overloading situations and ensures their safe operation.
However, when intermittent sources operate in proportional
power sharing mode, the energy generated from these sources is
not be utilized usually at its maximum level, which leads to
inefficient use of sources and increase of the energy cost as well.
Taking into consideration such issues summarized above, this
paper deals with the use of the generated energy from a PV
system at maximum level by preventing some undesired
situations like overloading. For this purpose, a modified droop
control method based on Perturb & Observe (P&O) algorithm is
achieved and then applied to an island mode microgrid. Thanks
to the presented control approach, the PV system operates both
in maximum power mode and power sharing mode. Thus, the
maximum power is transferred to microgrid without facing any
overloading.
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8th International Conference on Renewable Energy Research and Applications
II. DC MICROGRID DESIGN
DC microgrid systems are improved easily without
synchronization requirement and usage of DC distributed
generation sources increases nowadays [17]. In addition, losses
in DC microgrids are less than in AC microgrids so that there are
no skin effects and reactive power losses on the lines [1].
Therefore, a DC microgrid fed by a PV system has been
designed to test and verify the developed droop control.
Furthermore, a battery group has been also used in the system to
provide the continuous energy to the microgrid while it operates
in the island mode. When power generated by the PV system is
insufficient, the battery group provides the necessary power.
Similarly, when the generated solar power is more than the need
of the microgrid, batteries store the excess power [18].
Fig. 1 illustrates a general block diagram of the proposed
system that consists of PV system, battery, converters, load and
control units where the DC bus voltage is set to 400V. The PV
system is connected to the bus via a DC-DC boost converter.
Power transfer between the battery group and the bus is provided
through a bidirectional DC-DC converter. As seen from the
figure, the control algorithm of the whole system is based on
droop control method. While the conventional droop control is
used for controlling the bidirectional converter, droop control of
DC-DC boost converter is developed with modified P&O
algorithm. As mentioned above, the main energy source of
microgrid is PV system that consists of 10 PV panels with 330W
power and thus it provides maximum 3300W. However,
intermittent and variable power generation of the PV system
causes stability and insufficiency issues in the microgrid.
Therefore, the battery group (96V, 40A) provides energy
reliability and voltage stability [19].
III. CONTROL STRUCTURE
Although conventional droop control methods successfully
achieve proportional power sharing among the sources
connected in parallel, they are inadequate especially for
obtaining the maximum power from intermittent energy sources
such as PVs and wind turbines. Therefore, this study improves
conventional droop control of the PV system with modified
P&O algorithm to obtain the maximum more power. To explain
this improvement more clearly, once the conventional drop
control technique is reviewed, the developed control system is
introduced in detail below.
Fig 1. General block diagram of the proposed system
ICRERA 2019 978-1-7281-3587-8/19/$31.00 ©2019 IEEE
Brasov, ROMANIA, Nov. 3-6, 2019
A. Conventional Droop Control
In the conventional droop control method, the system acts as
a virtual resistor and operates a logic that reduces the output
voltage of the converter by increasing the current drawn from
the converters [11]. Thus, a feedback is added to each converter.
The output current multiplied by the calculated virtual resistance
is added as a droop to the reference voltage value. Thus, the
reference voltage of the system can be changed in this droop
ratio. The new reference value of the system is calculated as
follows [4].
Vref* Vref  Rd io (1)
where, Vref, V*ref, Rd, io are the reference voltage, the new
reference voltage after the droop control implemented, the
virtual resistance of the converter and the output current of the
converter, respectively. The virtual resistance value Rd is
obtained using the desired amount of oscillation in the output
voltage and the maximum output current of the converter. Rd
virtual resistance is calculated as shown in the following formula
[4]:
'v
Rd d (2)
i0,max
where, ∆ and , are the maximum amount (5%) of change
in the DC bus voltage [4] and the maximum output current of
the converter, respectively. With droop control structure, current
sharing is ensured among parallel connected converters without
the need for the central control system or a communication
system. Fig. 2 shows a conventional droop control block
diagram [12].
B. Droop Control Method Developed with Modified P&O
Algorithm
In this study, modified P&O algorithm is added to droop
control method in PV system to obtain maximum power and to
ensure efficient operation of PV system. The VMPPT voltage
value obtained from the modified P&O algorithm is added to the
conventional droop control formula shown in (1). The droop
control equation developed with modified P&O algorithm is
shown in (3). The V*ref coefficient has been rearranged to the
maximum power generation point of the PV system by including
the VMPPT value in (3)
Vref* Vref  Rd io  VMPPT (3)
where, VMPPT value refers to the coefficient of variation obtained
from the modeled P&O algorithm by calculating the voltage
value required to operate at the maximum power point of the PV
system. Fig. 3 shows the addition of the modified P&O
algorithm to the conventional droop control.
Fig. 2. Block diagram of conventional droop control
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8th International Conference on Renewable Energy Research and Applications Brasov, ROMANIA, Nov. 3-6, 2019

Fig. 3. Modified P&O algorithm added to the conventional droop control

As one of the most widely used MPPT algorithms [20], the

P&O algorithm continuously compares the voltage and power
values with their previous values. According to this comparison,
PWM rate of the converter switches is either increased or
decreased [21,22]. In this study, modified P&O algorithm
calculates VMPPT value instead of the switching rates. By adding
the VMPPT value, the V*ref value is updated. Then, the output
current of the boost converter is changed in accordance with the
updated Vref value so that the PV system operates in maximum
power point mode as well as in power sharing mode. Flow chart
of modified algorithm is given in Fig. 4.

IV. SIMULATION RESULTS Fig. 4. Flow chart of modified P&O algorithm

The proposed system has been tested in Matlab/Simulink
environment as shown in Fig. 5. In order to analyze the
developed control algorithm comparatively, conventional droop
control method has been applied to all converters at first.
Afterwards, modified P&O algorithm-based droop control
algorithm has been used for the converter of the PV system and
conventional droop control has been applied for the converter of
battery group.
Simulation studies have been performed for two different
scenarios, each one representing different conditions. The first
scenario includes 5 different cases as given in Table I and Fig. 6
shows the results of this analysis. The change on the DC bus
voltage of microgrid is presented in Fig. 6.a in detail. As seen,
DC bus voltage deviates to 389V when 2kW load is connected,
and the voltage decreases to 385V under 3kW load. If the load Fig. 5. General view of the DC microgrid in Matlab/Simulink
increases to 4kW, DC bus voltage decreases to 384V.
The maximum power generated from the PV system is not
TABLE I. THE FIRST TEST SCENARIO transferred to the microgrid. This leads to inefficient operation
Irradiation of PV system Load of the PV system. Fig. 7. Illustrates the results of the first
Cases scenario after applying modified P&O algorithm-based droop
(W/m2) (kW)
Case 1 1000 2 control to the converters of PV system. The voltage variations
on the DC bus is shown in Fig. 7.a. As seen, DC bus voltage is
Case 2 600 2
407V when 2kW load is connected and the irradiation is
Case 3 1000 2 1000W/m2. When the irradiation value of the PV system
Case 4 1000 3.5 decreases to 600W/m2, it is seen that the resultant DC bus
voltage decreases to 399V. When the irradiation 1000W/m2 and
Case 5 1000 4
3.5kW load is connected, DC bus voltage decreases to 398V.

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8th International Conference on Renewable Energy Research and Applications
When the load value increases to 4 kW, DC bus voltage is 395V.
When the voltage deviations of proposed controller seen in Fig.
7.a are compared to the results obtained with the conventional
droop control algorithm in Fig. 6.a, it is observed that the voltage
oscillation in the proposed algorithm is decreased. While the
voltage value of the conventional droop control deviates from
the reference voltage up to 4%, maximum voltage deviation in
the proposed algorithm is 1.8%. On the other hand, the current
values and the maximum power drawn from the PV system are
illustrated in Fig. 7.b and Fig. 7.c, respectively. In case the
generated PV power is more than the requirement of load, the
excess power is transferred to the battery for charging. If the PV
system is insufficient to supply the load, the required power is
supplied from the battery group as seen in the 4th and 5th cases.
When the power graph of the conventional algorithm in Fig. 6.c
is compared to the power graph of the developed algorithm in
Fig. 7.c, it is observed that the proposed algorithm enables to
increase the generated power from PV system.
(a)
(b)
(c)
Fig. 6. Results obtained with conventional drop control for the first scenario;
(a) Microgrid DC bus voltage, (b) Sources output currents, (c) Sources output
powers
ICRERA 2019 978-1-7281-3587-8/19/$31.00 ©2019 IEEE
Brasov, ROMANIA, Nov. 3-6, 2019
While the maximum power extracted from the PV system
was 1500W in conventional droop control, the proposed
controller increases the generated power to 3200W for the same
radiation value as seen in the 1st case. Examining the 4th and 5th
state of Fig. 6.c, it is observed that the power received from the
PV system are 1400W and 1500W by conventional droop
control at a radiation value of 1000 W/m2. In all cases where the
radiation of Fig. 7.c is 1000W/m2, it is observed the PV system
provides 3200W of power with the developed algorithm.
Once the first scenario has been studied, the second test
scenario is applied to the proposed system. In similar to the first
scenario, there are 5 different cases in the second scenario, which
parameters are given in Table II. Operational steps of both the
first and the second scenarios are proceeded as the same.
Therefore, the system is tested by applying conventional droop
control at first, results of which are shown in Fig. 8. Voltage
variation on the DC bus is presented in Fig. 8.a and currents of
both sources and the load are shown in Fig. 8.b.
(a)
(b)
(c)
Fig. 7. Results obtained with modified P&O algorithm based droop control for
the first scenario; (a) Microgrid DC bus voltage, (b) Sources output currents,
(c) Sources output powers
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8th International Conference on Renewable Energy Research and Applications Brasov, ROMANIA, Nov. 3-6, 2019

Furthermore, Fig. 8.c illustrates the source and load powers. When the PV system generates more power than needed, it
As seen from the figures, the total power is proportionally shared is seen that the excessive power is stored in the battery group,
between the PV system and the battery. When the PV system has and when the PV system does not generate power, the battery
no power generation, the battery provides all required power. group provides the required power. When the results obtained
Fig. 9. shows the results obtained after applying the modified after applying the second scenario are compared, it is observed
P&O algorithm-based droop control to the second scenario. that the voltage oscillation in the proposed algorithm is less than
the voltage oscillation in the traditional droop control algorithm.
TABLE II. THE SECOND TEST SCENARIO While the voltage deviation in the conventional droop control
Irradiation of PV system Load increases up to 5.5%, the maximum voltage deviation in the
Cases proposed algorithm is 2.5%. When the two algorithms are
(W/m2) (kW)
Case 1 1000 4 compared in terms of power, the maximum received power from
Case 2 1000 1.5 the PV system is 1500W at the radiation value of 1000 W/m2
Case 3 600 1.5 with the traditional droop control algorithm, the power value
Case 4 0 1.5 obtained from the PV system goes up to 3200W at the same
Case 5 0 2 radiation value with the proposed algorithm.

(a) (a)

(b) (b)

(c) (c)
Fig. 8. Results obtained with conventional drop control for the second scenario; Fig. 9. Results obtained with modified P&O algorithm based droop control for
(a) Microgrid DC bus voltage, (b) Sources output currents, (c) Sources output the second scenario; (a) Microgrid DC bus voltage, (b) Sources output currents,
powers (c) Sources output powers

ICRERA 2019 978-1-7281-3587-8/19/$31.00 ©2019 IEEE 1012

8th International Conference on Renewable Energy Research and Applications
As a general evaluation of all results, it is obviously seen that
the conventional droop control provides proportional power
sharing among the sources connected in parallel. However,
when the power generation of the PV system is more than the
load requirements, the excess power is not be stored.
Furthermore, oscillation on the DC bus voltage of the microgrid
is quite high. The proposed droop control based on the modified
P&O algorithm successfully fixes these problems and allows
storing the excess power by operating the PV system both in
MPPT mode and in power sharing mode. Besides, the maximum
power is obtained from the PV system and oscillation on the DC
bus voltage is decreased.
V. CONCLUSION
A droop control method based on modified P&O algorithm
is proposed to obtain the maximum power generated by
intermittent energy sources such as PV systems or wind turbines.
The conventional droop control operates only in power sharing
mode, regardless of the amount of power generated by the PV
system. Therefore, PV system operates inefficiently and the
maximum energy is not obtained from PV system when
irradiance changes. However, the proposed method provides
proportionally sharing the total power among sources at first,
and then continues to keep the operation of the PV system in
MPPT mode to use it more efficiently and to prevent effects of
overloading and partial shading. Simulation studies verify that
the developed algorithm offers better results than the
conventional droop control. Since all power generated by the PV
system is transferred to the microgrid, its operational efficiency
increases. Furthermore, if the PV power is more than the load
requirements, the excess power is stored into the battery group.
Although satisfactory and encouraging results have been
obtained from simulations, authors are in the effort of testing the
proposed control algorithm experimentally, which is the topic of
future study.
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