Renewable Energy 52 (2013) 251e259

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Renewable Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/renene

An approach for the integration of renewable distributed generation in hybrid

DC/AC microgrids
Abdulkerim Karabiber a, Cemal Keles b, Asim Kaygusuz b, B. Baykant Alagoz b, *
a
Bingol University, Engineering Faculty, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Turkey
b
Inonu University, Engineering Faculty, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Turkey

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This paper presents an investigation of a hybrid DC/AC integration paradigm to establish microgrids
Received 17 August 2012 (MGs) by using a conventional three-phase local power delivery system. This approach adds an addi-
Accepted 28 October 2012 tional DC power line to the local power distribution system in order to collect energy generated by
Available online 28 November 2012
distributed domestic renewable sources. The local renewable distributed generation (DG) works in
conjunction with the conventional grid utility to reduce the power draw from the grid. Researchers
Keywords:
designed an energy conversion station to mix energy from the local DGs with energy from the grid
Microgrid
utility. This approach, therefore, uses a continuous energy mixing strategy for DC integration of local
Renewable energy
DC/AC hybrid integration
generation and grid energy to supply energy to MG consumers via the conventional three-phase power
distribution system. Thus, local distributed renewable generators do not have to contend with AC
integration problems, such as AC stability and line synchronization. This approach can facilitate the
transformation of conventional local power distribution systems into reliable MGs in an affordable way
for stakeholders and it is a step towards construction of future smart grids.
Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction (RES) in electricity generation. However, a transformation phase is

Although fossil fuels are expected to continue supplying much
of the energy used worldwide, renewable energy is the world’s
fastest growing energy market [1]. Renewable energy has the
potential for infinite use by end users with improved control
devices and techniques. The incorporation of existing grids with
renewable sources for residences responds to the need for low-cost,
efficient power distribution and addresses the need to control the
greenhouse effect. Utilization of one or more renewable sources for
hybrid power systems (HPS), such as a combination of wind
turbines and solar panels, will support local energy demands more
efficiently than solo renewable energy installations because of
hourly changing regional wheatear and irradiation conditions [2].
Sharing the renewable energy of domestic distributed generators in
MGs can considerably reduce energy demands on the grid, and
thus, provide more efficient energy distribution and lower energy
prices; more environment-friendly energy harvesting will be
possible in the near future.
The strategic aims of the European Union (EU) clearly describe
the role of distributed generation and renewable energy resources
* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ90 5552734170.
E-mail address: baykant.alagoz@inonu.edu.tr (B.B. Alagoz).
required to move from the conventional power system to a smart
grid that aims at increasing efficiency, RES utilization, and local
energy balancing [2]. Local energy balancingealso called an islan-
ded operation or a self-support operationerefers to cases in which
local DGs supply almost all local consumption [2,3].
Since early in the nineteenth century, engineers have con-
structed electrical network systems as highly connective systems
that consist of generation, transmission, distribution, and
consumption apparatus. Today, and in the future, electrical gener-
ation and distribution systems must be more distributed, smart,
renewable, and adaptable; these requirements will fuel an evolu-
tion from the conventional power grid to future smart grids. Both
solar and wind energy are the most preferred renewable energy
sources in HPS; however, both of them have daily changeable
effective working hours. Dependence of generation profiles on
hours and weather conditions causes these sources to exhibit
uncertain and intermittent generation characteristics. Therefore,
there is an urgent need for controllable and intelligent hybrid, DC/
AC MG systems, which can provide robust electricity distribution to
consumers from local renewable distributed generators by
applying control strategies in grid-connected and islanded condi-
tions [4].
The evolution of traditional power systems to smart grids is
a main concern of diverse stakeholders laboring to construct future

0960-1481/$ e see front matter Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2012.10.041
252 A. Karabiber et al. / Renewable Energy 52 (2013) 251e259

smart grids. This evolution of power system is possible with three delivery system, called the consumption line. Asynchronous mixing
soft transformation steps. First, affordable and reliable integration of the grid energy and local renewable DG energy by a logic
of distributed generators, largely based on renewable sources, into controller produces electrical energy flowing from the grid and the
the current local power system will be a milestone for the emer- local DGs to the AC consumption line. Such a mixed energy flow to
gence of MGs over the traditional power networks. Second, local consumption lines provides autonomous and dynamical control of
consumers will turn into active players skilled with energy gener- the rates of energy coming from the grid and local renewable DGs.
ation, so called Prosumers [2,5,6], because of the economical We propose a controlling strategy that gives energy flowing priority
advantages of domestic energy generation and because of clean to local renewable DGs to supply MG consumers. When power
energy policies and government funds for renewable generation. coming from the local renewable DGs decreases, energy coming
Third, MG clusters will be linked on a global scale to establish from the grid supports MG consumption, concurrently.
a worldwide smart grid.
MGs are the smallest fragments of a smart grid. Today’s MG 2. Methodology
concepts mainly focus on integration of distributed renewable
energy sources, stationary battery storage in MGs, and MG control 2.1. Line hybrid DC/AC MGs with separated consumption and
and management methodologies [7e13]. Integration of renewable generation
sources in MGs is an efficient solution for reducing CO2 emission,
energy transmission losses, and energy investments, and for Discrimination of the power collection line from the power
improving power reliability. However, one of the substantial delivery line provides several benefits. Firstly, each distributed
problems in integrating DGs in MGs is retaining power quality due generator does not have to install AC integration equipment to cope
to the dissimilarity of the electrical characteristics of the energy with AC integration problems, such as AC conversion and line
sources and the uncertain and intermittent character of renewable synchronization. Thus, it reduces power electronic equipment and
sources. In order to deal with these problems, researchers should maintenance costs for individuals, and promotes joining small-
address amplitude and frequency stability problems, power conti- scale domestic generators to MG utilization. Secondly, an energy
nuity and quality problems, fault handling, and control and reli- conversion station bridges both separated generation and
ability problems. Another complication in transforming to a future consumption lines and this provides manageable integration of
smart grid is the need for compatibility with conventional local local distributed renewable generation and conventional power
power delivery utilities at the beginning. Currently, all consumer delivery systems in MGs.
equipment, power infrastructures, and utilities installed for Fig. 1 illustrates the main blocks of the separated consumption
conventional grid prerequisites. In order to avoid unnecessary and generation line implementation of a hybrid DC/AC MG struc-
additional cost for MG users and stakeholders laboring in the ture. It uses the conventional three-phase power line as the
construction of MGs, MG designs should utilize the current power consumption line. An additional line, namely generation line,
delivery infrastructures and should be 100% compatible with added to the system, connect active users, who install domestic
traditional three-phase power distribution standards. distributed renewable generators. Energy collected from local DGs
Throughout the last decade, a number of papers have proposed via the DC generation line can supply local consumers of the MG in
the DC-AC hybrid MG system structure and control strategies to conjunction with energy coming from the grid. An MG energy
save energy, thereby reducing cost and increasing reliability. Many conversion station mixes and controls the energy flows coming
structures proposed a discriminated grid-connected and islanded
operation in MGs, which consisted of photovoltaic panels, wind
turbines, batteries, and super-capacitors with DC and AC buses and
control strategies [14e20]. AC integration of loads and sources in
a MG required advanced frequency and voltage control techniques
to maintain AC power quality and stability when islanded, grid-
connected, and in transient modes [13,14].
A DC distribution MG [8,12,21,22] does not require complex
voltage and frequency control mechanisms, compared to AC inte-
gration techniques, and this reduces costs spent for control and
power electronics equipments [2,23]. Although DC distribution
presents several advantages over AC power distribution in a MG
[2,24,25], it does require radical reinstallation of the conventional
AC distribution system. Many power utility and consumer elec-
tronics are now compatible with three-phase AC voltage standards.
With widespread employment of DC distribution in MG, all
consumers will require local DC/AC inverters for use of their DC
incompatible power equipment.
In our study, we investigated a hybrid DC/AC MG concept sepa-
rating generation lines and consumption lines. This concept aims to
facilitate integration of domestic DGs based on hybrid renewable
sources over conventional three-phase power distribution systems.
In this approach, a DC bus combines all domestic distributed
renewable energy sources in the MG, and this bus is called as
generation line. Energy coming from the grid utility is converted to
DC voltage and it combines in the generation line in order to support
energy consumption. An energy conversion station in the MGs Fig. 1. A schema for separated consumption and generation line implementation of the
integrates grid energy and local DG energy by using a DC integration hybrid DC/AC MGs with an energy conversion station. Smart houses and smart sites are
method and it supplies the conventional three-phase AC power prosumers of MG [3,5,6].
 A. Karabiber et al. / Renewable Energy 52 (2013) 251e259 253

Fig. 2. Block diagram of energy conversion stations and grid energy distribution.

from the grid utility and local renewable DGs. The energy conver-
sion station contains all equipment required for high power DC/DC,
AC/DC and DC/AC conversions also their control and management
facilities. This station collects local energy as 120 V DC and delivers
it to local consumers as three-phase 220 V AC. The 120 V DC in the
generation line is compatible with outputs of renewable energy
systems and domestic storages (batteries). Three-phase 220 V AC is
widely preferred and it is the power delivery standard for energy
consumption.
Fig. 2 shows a block diagram of a possible energy conversion
station. A DC/DC conversion increases the 120 V DC coming from
the generation line to the 580 V DC that is required for the DC
integration line of the conversion station. An AC/DC conversion
produces 570 V DC from the grid. These two elevated DC voltages
combine via a DC integration line to feed a DC/AC inverter. Output
from the DC/AC converter supplies the local three-phase 220 V AC
power distribution system. A DC integration line-control unit yields
control signals for switches S1 and S2 in order to provide DC voltage
stability on this line. By appropriate switching, it performs to limit
the fluctuation of DC integration line voltage between predefined
upper and lower bounds. Diodes in the station indicate the direc-
tions of current flows, and correspondingly energy flows, in the
system.
Isolation of consumption lines from DGs enables supplying the
three-phase line with a single DC/AC inverter. Thus, this single
driver power distribution structure provides robust and control-
lable AC power delivery in the MG. Particularly, any fault or loss of
synchrony conditions of distributed generators connected by
a multi-use AC bus can cause AC instability in the MG. Hence, DC
integration of diverse DGs in separated generation lines and driving
consumption lines solely by energy conversion stations improve AC
quality in MGs.
2.2. Simulink simulation of energy conversion station
Matlab/Simulink simulation tool was used to test of the sepa-
rated consumption and generation line hybrid DC/AC MG structure.
We designed a simulation model composed of an energy conver-
sion station, a load representing the overall power demand of MG
consumers, and a distributed generator block representing the
overall renewable generation in a MG, as in Fig. 2. Fig. 3 illustrates
the block diagram of the simulated energy conversion station. In
this figure, a diode rectifier circuit implemented the AC/DC
conversion. Six individual insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBT)
switches driven by a pulse width modulation (PWM) circuit and
a low-pass filter performed the DC/AC conversion. A transformer

Fig. 3. Simulink simulation model of energy conversion station.

254 A. Karabiber et al. / Renewable Energy 52 (2013) 251e259

consumers of MG from the grid. When the DC integration line

1 <= 550 voltage rises above VL, it opens the S1 switch to supply consumers
Enteg _Voltage from only local DGs. When the voltage of the DC integration line
VL Bound
Lower Voltage AND 1
rises above the upper DC voltage boundary (VU), the logic controller
VL
Grid _Online also opens the S2 switch to drop below VU and keep the voltage
between VL and VU. This control operation gives priority to
>= 580 NOT
2 supplying consumers from possible local renewable DGs. If power
Lower Voltage
VU Bound from local renewable DGs is not adequate for MG consumption,
DG_Online
VU energy from the grid supports it. This cooperation between the grid
utility and local renewable DGs provides good AC voltage stability
Fig. 4. Simulink simulation model of integration line voltage stability logic controller. in three-phase consumption lines because it provides persistent DC
integration line voltage stability between a predefined range of VL
Table 1
and VU. Moreover, such DC integration of the grid energy and DG
Logic table of integration line voltage stability logic controller. energies does not require frequency and angle synchronization
between grid and generation lines. In AC integration techniques,
VI  VL VI  VU Grid_Online DG_Online Status
line synchronization required sophisticated control mechanisms,
0 0 0 1 Use DG energy
for instance containing phase locked loops (PLL). Any loss of
0 1 0 0 Over generation
1 0 1 1 Use DG þ Grid energy synchrony with line could cause serious AC instability problems.
1 1 0 0 Impossible status Hence, AC integration techniques are not recommended unless it is
a necessity. Fig. 5(a) presents a simulation result illustrating three-
phase AC line voltages when energy provided by DGs in the MG is
flyback DC/DC converter was used to obtain the 580 V DC in the DC enough for consumers. Fig. 5(b) and Fig. 5(c) show DC integration
integration line from the 120 V DC in the generation line. line voltage and the control signal of the logic controller,
Fig. 4 shows a basic logic controller designed for controlling S1 respectively.
and S2 switches to maintain DC integration line voltage stability. S1 After a transient regime at the start up of simulation, voltage in
and S2 switches perform DC power chopping according to the logic the consumption line reaches its nominal value of 220 V in Fig. 5(a).
table given in Table 1. This logic controller automatically adjusts Fig. 5(b) shows that a DC integration line effectively stabilizes its
energy flow levels from the generation line and the grid utility. voltage between 550 V and 580 V. Fig. 5(c) shows the S2 switch
While energy from the DGs of MG is not enough to supply continuously closed to the supply from the DGs and the S1 was
consumers of MG, this controller provides the required additional switched by irregular short pulses to support the DGs when
energy from the grid connection. needed. Fig. 6(a) and (b) illustrates power drawn from the grid and
The logic controller maintains DC integration line voltage (VI) the local DGs during simulation.
between predefined voltage boundaries using S1 and S2 switches. An energy support rate parameter is defined as the ratio of the
When the voltage of the DC integration line decreases to below the amount of energy used from DGs (EDG) to the amount of energy
lower DC voltage boundary (VL), it closes the S1 switch to supply used from the grid (Eg) as,

a 300 b 700
200 600

100 200 500

100
0 400
0
-100 -100 300

-200 200
-200
0.46 0.47 0.48
-300
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
t [s] t [s]

DG-Online
Grid-Online

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1

t [s]

Fig. 5. (a) Consumption line AC voltages, (b) voltage of DC integration line, and (c) control signals for S1 switching (Grid_online) and S2 switching (DG_online).
 A. Karabiber et al. / Renewable Energy 52 (2013) 251e259 255

7
a x 10
20 20

15 15

SDG
Islanding
Pgrid [Watt]

10
10
5
5 S DG = 1
0
0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
DG Energy Capacity [WattHour] 5
x 10
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8
Fig. 7. Energy support rate (SDG) in the simulated MG depends on the energy supplied
t [s] by local DGs in the MG.
b x 10
6

2
operation that implies that the grid does not provide energy for
some reasonefor example, a fault in transmission lines.
1.5
3. Tests for extreme conditions
PDG [Watt]

1 We tested the energy conversion station during instantaneous

interruption of energy flows from the grid or from the generation
line, such as in an instance of a serious electrical fault causing
0.5 instant outages. Very sharp decreasing energy to zero at the input
lines would be a worst-case scenario for an energy conversion
station in terms of supplying MG consumers. If the energy
0 conversion station under this worst-case condition can give satis-
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 factorily responses and preserve AC power quality on the
t [s] consumption line, it can robustly work under uncertainty and the
intermittent characteristics of distributed generators based on
Fig. 6. (a) Instant power drawn from the grid. (b) Instant power drawn from the DGs. renewable sources.

EDG 3.1. A test of MG against a three-phase short circuit fault occurrence

SDG ¼ (1) in grid utility
Eg

when SDG ¼ 1, it indicates local DGs can supply half of the energy
consumption of MG. When 0 < SDG < 1, it implies the grid utility
provides more energy than local DGs; the energy of DGs in MG is
not sufficient for MG’s consumption. In fact, the SDG rate of the
energy conversion station adaptively changes depending on the
energy capacity provided by fluctuating local DGs. The energy
conversion station dynamically adjusts the mixture of energies
coming from the local DGs and the grid utility according to the
power of local DGs.
In the simulation shown in Figs. 6 and 7, SDG is 15.2, which
indicates that local DGs supply roughly 15 times more energy
compared to grid energy. This implies that the MG works in almost
islanded operation during the simulation.
Fig. 6(a) and (b) shows power drawn from the grid and power
drawn from the DGs during the simulation. Energy generated by
DGs was almost enough for the MG consumers and therefore power
from the grid was drawn as short pulses when it was need. These
operations were managed by the integration line voltage stability
logic controller. Fig. 7 reveals that this controller provides linear
energy support rate dependence to energy supplied by DGs. This
figure clearly demonstrates that the operating mode of this system
is an adaptive mixture of both islanded and grid-connected modes.
In the time intervals of SDG > 1, the islanding mode is the dominant
operation. When SDG < 1, it approximates to the grid-connecting
mode. A SDG ¼ 0 refers to a definite grid-connected mode that
implies no DG contribution. A SDG / N refers to a definite islanded
In this test scenario, a three-phase short circuit fault occurred on
a 25 kV, 60 Hz sub-transmission line that represents the grid utility
in the simulations. A similar test scenario was applied for a DC
distributed MG simulation in previous work [8]. In our simulation,
a three-phase short circuit fault started at 0.3 s and ended at 0.7 s
Fig. 8 shows the response of the energy conversion station to this
fault interval. Although a slight decrease (about 10e20 V) in AC
voltage in the consumption line appeared during the fault interval,
consumers in MG continued to be supplied by local DGs from
generation lines. The fact that the local DG was not as powerful as
the grid utility explains the slight voltage decrease. However, we
did not observe any deterioration of phase or frequency in the
consumption line at moments of sharp transitions in energy flows,
which occurred at the beginning of the fault and at the end of the
fault. The energy conversion station raises SDG from 15.2 to 20.6 due
to the additional power draw of the energy conversion station from
DGs during the fault interval. Fig. 9(a) shows the decrease in DC line
voltage and the maintenance of the voltage level by power supplied
from the DGs. Fig. 9(b) demonstrates the control signals of the logic
controller.
3.2. A test of MG against a sharp decrease in power from local
distributed generations
In this test scenario, the power from local DGs was sharply
interrupted between 0.3 and 0.7 s of the simulation time. Fig. 10
256 A. Karabiber et al. / Renewable Energy 52 (2013) 251e259

a b
300
200
200
100
100

0 0

-100 -100
-200
-200
-300
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 0.28 0.3 0.32 0.34 0.36
t [s] t [s]
c x 10
8
d x 10
6

3 2

2.5 Fault in
Grid Utility 1.5
2
Pgrid [Watt]

PDG [Watt]
1.5
1
1
0.5 0.5
0

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 0

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
t [s]
t [s]

Fig. 8. In the case of a fault in the grid, (a) and (b) consumption line AC voltages; (c) and (d) the power draws from the grid and DGs.

shows the response of the energy conversion station to this power
interruption. Since the power of the grid utility was enough to
supply consumers of MG, this interception of the DGs did not result
in an apparent negative effect on AC voltage of consumption lines,
as illustrated in Fig. 10(a)e(b). The energy conversion station
decreased SDG from 15.2 to 4.2 due to the drawing of more power
from the grid utility, as seen in Fig. 10(c). These results reveal that
AC quality is robust against fluctuation of local DGs and that the
energy conversion station can tolerate sharp changes in energy
flow because of its continuous energy mixing strategy. Fig. 11(a)
and (c) show DC integration line voltage and the responses of the
integration line voltage stability logic controller.
4. A discussion on integration strategy and performance
Not only physical conditions, such as wind speeds, solar irradia-
tion levels, and ambient temperatures make energy supplied from
renewable DGs fluctuate by the minute, but also uncertainty in
selling decisions by DG owners leads to extra volatility in energy
generation in MGs. This causes frequent unplanned mode shifting
between islanded and grid-connected modes in discrete mode
integration techniques [14,15]. In the case of AC integration of
generators, mode switching introduces an AC synchronization
period (detecting the correct values of voltage magnitude and
frequency [13]) because of control system delays. It leads to a tran-
sient regime in AC bus voltage, appearing in mode switching
instances. Frequent switching of modes with a large transient regime
can cause decreased AC voltage quality in AC buses. However, the
continuous mixing strategy of DGs and the grid utility discussed in
this study does not allow a transition regime influencing frequency
and phase of the AC voltage in consumption lines. This advantage is
very important when working with volatile energy generators.
DC integration of grid utility and local DGs simplifies control
mechanisms; it does not perform frequency and angle controlling
and synchronization. AC integration of grid utility and local DGs
[13e15,18] required a complex control method to deal with
frequency, shape and reactive power controls [2,4,5,15,18].
Authors tested the MG in a scenario of the fluctuating solar
energy. In the simulation, a DC current source (IL) with a diode
connected in parallel, as shown in Fig. 12, was used for modeling

a b
600

500

400
VI [V]

.
300

200 DG-Online
Grid-Online
100

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1

t [s] t [s]

Fig. 9. (a) Voltage of DC integration line and (b) control signals for S1 and S2 switching in the case of a short circuit fault in the grid.
 A. Karabiber et al. / Renewable Energy 52 (2013) 251e259 257

a 300 b
200
200
100
100

0 0

-100
-100
-200
-200
-300
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 0.28 0.3 0.32 0.34
7 t [s] t [s]
c x 10 d x 10
5

20
20
15
15
Pgrid [Watt]

PDG [Watt]
10 DGs Powers
10
Interception
5 5

0 0

-5
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 -5
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
t [s] t [s]

Fig. 10. In the case of an energy interception of DGs, (a) and (b) consumption line AC voltages; (c) and (d) the power draws from the grid and DGs.

a b
600

500

400
VI [V]

300

200 DG-Online
Grid-Online
100

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1

t [s] t [s]

Fig. 11. (a) Voltage of DC integration line and (b) control signals for S1 and S2 switching in the case of an energy interception of DGs.

photovoltaic (PV) renewable sources [23]. Fig. 13 demonstrates the Properties of the inspected MG structure:
response of the energy conversion station to fluctuations in solar
energy. The changing solar power during simulation imitates the - The separation of generation line and consumption line allows
hourly changes of solar irradiation during a day. Due to the non- supplying all consumers from a single DC/AC and provides
linear dependence of PV power generation on solar energy, the a centralized power distribution interior of MGs. This facilitates
efficiency of PV cells is best at midday. In our simulation scenario, control and management operations and improves robustness
the power of PV cells is enough to supply MG consumption fully at and quality of AC power distribution in MG.
midday. In this midday condition, the energy conversion station - Conventional AC power distribution systems can be embedded
had a considerably decreased power draw from the grid utility, as in MGs. This provides 100% compatibility of the operation of
illustrated in Fig. 13(b). Simulation results in Fig. 13(a)e(d) MGs with conventional power systems, and thus, it enables the
demonstrate satisfactory AC quality and utilization from solar establishment of MG over today’s power systems.
energy in MG. - The continuous DC mixing strategy of grid energy and local DG
energy enhances energy reliability for MG use. It can persis-
tently maintain local energy balance in MGs, and thus, it
I
effectively tolerates severe energy fluctuations of uncertain,
Rs intermittent local DGs.
V - The energy conversion station can deal with faults in grid lines
Solar IL ID or interceptions of energy from local DGs and it can retain
Energy power distribution for consumers as long as there is an
adequate energy flow from either the generation line or the
Fig. 12. Simulation model for PV cells. grid utility.
258 A. Karabiber et al. / Renewable Energy 52 (2013) 251e259
a 7
x 10
10
PDG [Watt]
5 4
0
5 10 15
Hours
c d
700
600
VI [V]
500
400
300
200
5 10 15
Hours
Fig. 13. (a) Supplied solar power from local DGs; inset figure represents fluctuation of solar energy. (b) Drawn grid power. (c) DC integration line voltage stability. (d) Consumption
line AC voltages.
5. Conclusion
This study investigated a hybrid AC/DC MG structure involving
renewable domestic generators and conventional power distribu-
tion facilities, and demonstrated its potential for transforming
today’s power distribution systems to future smart grids. The main
advantage of this method comes from its continuous mixing
strategy of grid power and local DG power. Thus, grid energy and
local DG energy can consistently support each other. This cooper-
ation greatly improves the endurance of power distribution interior
of MGs against extreme conditions, such as outages of the grid or
energy flow interruptions and it supports local energy balance in
MG. This property is very useful in integrating uncertain and
intermittent domestic distribution generators based on renewable
sources. The logic operation-based control mechanism to govern
energy mixing is very simple to implement, yet quite effective to
maintain AC stability in consumption lines.
The isolation of diverse local DGs from consumption lines via an
energy conversion station makes the energy distribution more
reliable and controllable. The energy conversion station can easily
tolerate any problem in local DGs and it can provide more secure
power flow for MGs.
In addition to its power supply-distribution potentials, the
investigated MG structure has a financial advantage as well: it will
not bring an additional cost for conventional grid consumers in MGs.
Therefore, it can also encourage smart grid stakeholders to transform
conventional power systems into smart grid systems with street-by-
street MG installations over conventional power systems.
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