Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 32 (2014) 222–228

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rser

A review of coordination strategies and protection schemes for

microgrids
Sachit A. Gopalan n, Victor Sreeram, Herbert H.C. Iu
School of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Hwy, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia

art ic l e i nf o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Distributed generation (DG) using renewable energy resources, is intended to reduce the impact of
Received 3 September 2013 power generation from fossil fuels on climate change. Microgrids (MGs) represent a method of
Received in revised form interconnecting several low voltage (LV) renewable energy sources and loads to the distribution system.
19 November 2013
Multi-microgrids (MMGs) integrate distributed generators (DGs) and MGs with medium voltage (MV)
Accepted 4 January 2014
Available online 31 January 2014
distribution systems. Protection system design for MGs pose significant challenges due to bi-directional
flow from DGs as well as lower fault current levels due to the inverter connected DG sources in islanded
Keywords: MGs. This paper reviews the coordination strategies and protection schemes that have been proposed
Microgrids for MGs to address these challenges. The protection coordination strategies based on communication
Multi-microgrids
and time grading including their relative performance are described. The advantages and limitations
Coordination strategies
of existing MG protection schemes are discussed. As most of these protection schemes apply to relatively
Protection schemes
small MGs, they may need to be extended for larger MG configurations in practical power systems. Some
future directions for research in the protection system design for both MGs and MMGs are also outlined
in this paper.
& 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
2. Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
2.1. Microgrids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
2.2. Multi-microgrids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
3. Microgrid protection schemes and coordination strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
3.1. Protection coordination strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
3.1.1. Time grading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
3.1.2. Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
3.1.3. Other coordination strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
3.2. Protection schemes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
3.2.1. Voltage-based protection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
3.2.2. Admittance relaying. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
3.2.3. Adaptive techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
3.2.4. Differential zone protection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
4. Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
5. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

1. Introduction

n The use of fossil fuels for large scale power generation is

Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: [email protected] (S.A. Gopalan), associated with problems such as high levels of greenhouse gas
[email protected] (V. Sreeram), [email protected] (H.H.C. Iu). emissions, depletion of fossil fuel resources, and low energy

1364-0321/$ - see front matter & 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2014.01.037
 S.A. Gopalan et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 32 (2014) 222–228 223

efficiency. These problems are partly addressed by augmenting the

PV PV
distribution system with distributed generators (DGs) that pro-
duce electricity from renewable energy resources such as wind, DC DC
photovoltaic (PV), geothermal, and biomass. As the penetration of AC AC
distributed resources increases, their direct interconnection to
MV LV MC MC
the distribution system becomes difficult to manage due to their
intermittency. Microgrids (MGs) have been proposed as an effec-
tive way to integrate DGs with the distribution system. A low DMS MGCC
LC LC
voltage (LV) MG enables the connection of multiple DG micro-
sources and LV loads to the distribution system. It can also operate
in isolation from the distribution grid [1–5]. Fig. 1. Control structure for an MG that contain LCs and MCs.

As MGs have a limited load capacity of 10 MVA, multi-

microgrids (MMGs) have been proposed to enable the supply of DMS
electric power from renewable energy sources to a larger load
pocket. The MMG consists of a number of LV MGs and DGs that are
HV HV
connected to the distribution system at MV level. It can operate CAMC
when connected to a high voltage (HV) transmission system or in
RTU RTU
standalone mode. The operation, control and architectures of the
MMG have been studied in the More Microgrids Project [6,7].
MV MV
Even though the connection of DGs to the distribution system DG DG
brings benefits such as reduced transmission and distribution
losses, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and improved power
quality and reliability, it poses some challenges to protection
system operation. A significant problem is the loss of coordination MGCC MGCC
between overcurrent protection devices during faulted conditions
due to bidirectional power flows within the distribution system.
Whenever faults occur in active distribution systems, the conven- LV LV
tional practice is to disconnect all DGs based on IEEE Standard
Fig. 2. Control structure for an MMG containing several LV MGs connected to the
1547. While this approach is feasible with low penetrations of DGs, MV grid.
the system reliability will be adversely affected when there are a
large number of DGs [1–5].
The conventional overcurrent protection scheme for the dis- capacitors [3]. Power electronic interfaces are used to interconnect
tribution system is based on high fault currents. When a fault AC or DC DG sources, storage devices, and loads to the MG which
occurs with the MG connected to the distribution system, the fault may be either AC or DC. MGs can be used in rural and urban
currents within the MG will be high enough for the overcurrent communities, industrial sites, and commercial areas. An unba-
relays to function. However, when the MG is islanded from the lanced MG may be viewed from the distribution system as either a
distribution system, the fault currents will be significantly lower net load or a net generator even though it may consist of several
due to the limited contributions from the inverter-connected generators and loads [5]. MGs can operate when either connected
sources. The low fault current level will be insufficient to activate to the distribution system or islanded from it [4].
the overcurrent relays [1–5]. In this paper, several coordination The control scheme for MGs proposed in [7] consists of a
strategies and protection schemes that have been proposed to Distribution Management System (DMS), a Microgrid Central
address these issues are reviewed. Controller (MGCC), Load Controllers (LCs), and Microsource Con-
The rest of this paper is organised as follows: Section 2 des- trollers (MCs) as shown in Fig. 1. The DMS establishes the rules for
cribes the background information on MGs and MMGs. Section 3 each controller to balance generation and load. The MGCC inter-
reviews the current coordination strategies for protecting MGs and acts with the LCs and MCs by acquiring data on active and reactive
various protection schemes that have been proposed. Section 4 powers, and sending commands to balance generation and load.
discusses the general characteristics, advantages, and disadvan- LCs and MCs control the power supplied to the loads and the
tages of the coordination strategies and protection schemes. power set points of the microsources respectively.
Section 5 concludes the paper and presents some directions for MGs offer several advantages over conventional distribution
future research. systems. They can be used to supply power to remote areas that
are difficult to reach from the main grid. The MG can continue
operation as a single aggregated unit in the islanded mode
2. Background whenever power outages occur within the distribution system.
CHP units in MGs can directly meet the heat and electricity
This section briefly describes the concepts, typical configura- requirements of customers. As the microsources use low carbon
tions, and the general advantages of MGs and MMGs to provide technologies, MGs can contribute to reducing global warming and
the background for understanding the protection schemes and climate change [1].
coordination strategies surveyed in later sections.

2.1. Microgrids 2.2. Multi-microgrids

MGs interconnect microsources, storage devices, and loads at MMGs consist of DGs and MGs that are connected to the MV
LV level. They can either be DC or AC grids. Examples of micro- distribution system. The large load pockets of an MMG can be
sources include renewable energy sources of wind, PV, and hydro divided into smaller load units served by individual MGs. The
as well as combined heat and power (CHP) plants. Storage devices MMG can operate either connected to a HV transmission grid or in
employ technologies such as flywheels, batteries, and super- islanded mode [6,7].
224 S.A. Gopalan et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 32 (2014) 222–228

Fault detection cleared. Adding a communication network can improve the speed
module of the protection system operation, though it may become vulner-
Zone Zone Zone able to communication failures. No experimental results have been
C1 C2 C3 provided for this scheme.
A protection strategy based on microprocessor relays for both
the grid-connected and islanded modes was proposed in [9]. Each
microprocessor relay contains modules for tripping, interface,
Utility grid Zone Zone Zone
B1 B2 B3 negative-sequence directional function, three-phase protection,
and also phases a, b, and c. Each phase module protects the
corresponding phase of its secondary mains feeders. The three-
phase protection module provides redundant protection based on
Zone Zone Zone zero/negative sequence detection. The protection of the MG is
A1 A2 A3 coordinated with a time grading technique containing directional
Fig. 3. MG with multiple protection zones and fault detection modules. elements for identifying forward and reverse faults. If the primary
protection relay fails with this technique, downstream relays will
respond one-by-one after different time delays until the fault is
A hierarchical frequency control scheme for MMGs proposed in cleared. This scheme does not use communication or adaptive
[6,7] is shown in Fig. 2. The DGs and MGs are treated as individual protection devices, but adapts to different fault current levels and
controllers. The remote telemetry units (RTUs) control the opera- fault types. However, it experiences relatively long fault clearing
tion of the HV/MV substations. A Central Autonomous Manage- times due to the time grading technique for protection
ment Controller (CAMC) is interfaced with a DMS similar to the coordination.
one described in Section 2.1. The CAMC performs the following
tasks: acquiring active and reactive power measurements from the
MGCCs, DGs, and RTUs; receiving commands from the DMS for 3.1.2. Communication
balancing generation and load; and scheduling the operation of In communication-based protection schemes, a central control
the MGCCs, DGs and RTUs. The operation of this scheme is similar unit is interconnected with the measurement devices and circuit
to that of Automatic Generation Control (AGC). breakers via communication networks. The central control unit
MMGs provide improved reliability due to the presence of analyses the measured voltages and currents to determine the
several MGs. Their distributed control structure ensures greater fault location. Trip signals are then sent to nearby circuit breakers.
stability and controllability [6,7]. Sortomme et al. [10] proposed a protection scheme for phase-
A-to-ground faults using digital relays and a communication
system. The primary protection based on the differential scheme
3. Microgrid protection schemes and coordination strategies for each feeder segment trips the switching device on both ends of
a faulted feeder. If the switching device fails to operate, a backup
Protection systems for islanded MGs need to consider the following trip signal is sent to the adjacent relay on the same bus after a time
factors: protecting the MV side of the MG; microsource protection; delay. But if either the backup protection relay or communication
protection of distribution transformers; and neutral grounding con- link fails, the relays use comparative voltage protection until the
siderations. This section reviews protection schemes and coordination system recovers. When the MG is islanded, this scheme also
strategies for both grid-connected and islanded MGs. Section 3.1 detects high impedance faults (HIFs) from the measured differ-
describes the protection coordination strategies and Section 3.2 the ential current. It has high reliability because of its looped config-
various protection schemes. uration and can cope with communication failures. However, the
placement of relays and switching devices at each end of the
3.1. Protection coordination strategies feeders is expensive. The errors and mismatches of the current
transformers (CTs) has not been considered in this protection
Strategies are needed to coordinate the operations of primary scheme. It also assumes technical features such as faster tripping
and backup protection schemes. Primary protection acts as the times that are not available in state-of-the-art equipment.
first line of defence against the damaging consequences of faults, A scheme proposed in [11] for radial grid-connected MG
whereas backup protection acts only when the primary protection configurations uses an integrated protection and control (IPC)
fails. The strategies for protection coordination based on time unit. An IPC is interconnected by an optical Ethernet communica-
grading, communications and other techniques are reviewed in tion network to the measurement devices, circuit breakers, and
the following subsections. control units at each bus. The currents, voltages, and other
electrical quantities are used by the IPC to make protection and
3.1.1. Time grading control decisions to be sent to the circuit breakers and control
When the primary protection fails, time grading strategies units respectively. A pilot instantaneous overcurrent protection
enable the backup relays to operate after varying time delays. Loix scheme for the local feeder and remote busbar is implemented.
et al. [8] developed a strategy to detect and clear faults within This protection scheme provides faster fault clearing times. How-
radial MGs containing a large number of inverter-coupled energy ever, communication failures and lack of available communication
sources. Fig. 3 shows a MG consisting of multiple protection zones channels are not considered.
that are each covered by fault detection modules. Traditional Nthontho et al. [12] proposed a wide-area differential protection
overcurrent protection is used within a given time delay to detect scheme using communication links to protect a MG containing
a fault in the grid-connected MG. If the fault is not detected within household PV systems against three-phase faults. Intelligent electro-
the time delay, the MG is islanded from the grid and the fault is nic devices (IEDs) and circuit breakers at each bus are connected to
detected using voltage measurements. The direction for each fault the control centre via wireless mobile broadband. The embedded
type is determined by the voltage and current measurements from sensors in the IEDs monitor the real-time current measurements and
the fault detection module. When the fault direction is known, communicate this information to the control centre. The control
time delays are selectively applied to each module until the fault is centre executes advanced differential protection for each feeder to
 S.A. Gopalan et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 32 (2014) 222–228 225

determine the faulted section, send trip signals to the circuit breakers
at the faulted location, and apply auto-reclosing. If this primary
protection fails, backup protection uses the current sensor measure-
ments and time-stamped Global Positioning System (GPS) coordi- R K
nates to locate and isolate the fault. This scheme is simple, effective,
and adaptable to the dynamic behaviour of MGs. However, it has only
been tested for small grid-connected PV systems. Communication
failures and the optimisation of the networking technologies have
not been considered in this scheme.
Li et al. [13] investigated the differential and voltage protection Fig. 4. Feeder segment showing the measured admittance Ym between points R
methods for islanded MGs using communication networks. The and K and total admittance Yt.
differential scheme was implemented at every connection point in
the MG. This scheme works for both internal and external faults, fault. If the primary protection for the feeder fails, then the circuit
operates accurately, and adapts to changes in MG configuration. breakers near the converter and battery must be opened. Fuses on
However, it does not detect HIFs or provide backup protection for the AC side provide backup protection to the converter. Low
neighbouring feeders. It is also expensive to implement due to the impedance ground faults are easily detected and cleared. The
placement of relays at every connection point. In the voltage based converter is effectively protected by using both the converter
scheme, the control centre determines the fault type and location current derivative and DC link undervoltage protection. However,
using the indicator voltage waveforms at each connection point HIF detection within the MG is difficult due to the low ground
and sends trip signals. This method accurately determines the fault currents. The protection methods are not systematically
faulted zone for large MGs that have sufficient gradient voltage dip coordinated.
along the feeders. However, it cannot cope with shorter feeder
distances since the gradient voltage dip would be low. The
3.2. Protection schemes
calculation complexity for this method is high.
A communication-assisted protection strategy for MV MGs
In each protection scheme, relays compare the measured data
using microprocessors was proposed in [14]. Each microprocessor
such as voltages and currents against pre-determined thresholds.
relay consists of directional, grid-connected, islanded, interface,
Trip signals are sent to the circuit breakers when these thresholds
and tripping modules. The proposed protection strategy intercon-
are exceeded. The protection schemes vary based on the measure-
nects a MG protection commander (MGPC) and the individual
ments used such as voltages, currents, power, and frequency as
relays at each MG subsection via a communication network. The
well as the operating characteristics defining the trip thresholds.
MGPC determines the faulted MG subsection using the fault
The various schemes proposed are grouped under voltage-based
detection and directional signals from each relay. The primary
protection, admittance relaying, adaptive techniques, and differ-
protection trip signals are sent to the circuit breakers near the
ential zone protection in the following subsections.
faulted MG subsection. If the primary protection fails, backup trip
signals are sent to the neighbouring circuit breakers after a time
delay. Time grading is applied to all the circuit breakers in the 3.2.1. Voltage-based protection
faulted MG subsection if either the backup protection or commu- Al-Nasseri et al. [17,18] developed voltage-based schemes to
nication link fails. This protection strategy can cope with different protect islanded MGs containing inverter-interfaced microsources
fault current levels, fault types, MG operating modes, as well as for all the fault types. The measured utility voltages undergo a
deal with different types, sizes, and locations of DGs. The fault series of conversions before they are used to identify the fault type
clearing time for this strategy is faster than the scheme in [9]. and zone. In [17], the faulted zone is tripped if the disturbance
Looped configurations of MGs are not considered in this scheme. voltage exceeds the threshold corresponding to the fault type. In
[18], the measured voltage is transmitted via communication links
between any two relays within the MG, and compared with the
3.1.3. Other coordination strategies mean average value of the two relays to identify the faulted zone
Primary and backup protection strategies for MGs in both grid- within the network. This scheme protects against both internal
connected and islanded modes were proposed by Nikkhajoei and and external faults relative to any protective zone. However, it
Lasseter [15] without communication links or time-grading. The ignores HIFs and symmetrical faults and also does not enable
primary protection scheme for the single-line-to-ground fault uses single phase tripping.
differential current detection for zones upstream of the fault
and zero-sequence detection for downstream zones. Negative
3.2.2. Admittance relaying
sequence current detection is used for line-to-line faults. The main
The admittance relays proposed in [19] protect feeder seg-
backup protection for both single-line-to-ground and line-to-line
ments of a radial MG connected to the utility network via back-to-
faults is I2t. Undervoltage backup protection is also employed for
back converters against the three-phase-to-ground fault. The
the islanded MG. Three-phase faults are not considered in this
feeder segment in Fig. 4 shows the measured admittance Y m
protection scheme and it lacks systematic coordination. It also
between the relay and an arbitrary point on the feeder K as well as
does not enable single phase tripping.
the total admittance value Y t . The normalised admittance Y r is
Salomonsson et al. [16] proposed a protection system for a
calculated in the following equation:
radial LV direct current (DC) MG that uses primary protection  
schemes for the converter, battery, and feeder against pole-to-pole Y m 
Y r ¼   ð1Þ
and pole-to-ground faults. The converter is protected by compar- Yt
ing the measured current derivative with a minimum threshold.
The inverse time characteristic is used to find the tripping time
Undervoltage protection is used for the DC link capacitor and
corresponding to Yr in the following equation:
overcurrent protection for the battery. For feeder protection, the
measured ground currents of the converter and battery are A
tp ¼ þk ð2Þ
compared against their predetermined ranges to detect the ground Yrρ 1
226 S.A. Gopalan et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 32 (2014) 222–228

islanded modes are developed for components which include

the Point of Common Coupling (PCC), LV feeders, loads, and DG
units. The MGMS detects the change in MG configuration and
Fault current direction Fault current direction Fault current direction sends the appropriate settings and pick-up limits to the protective
devices for each component. This scheme protects against double
phase faults. High speed communication links provide fast, selec-
OUT IN OUT IN OUT IN tive, and reliable protection. However, the possibility of commu-
nication network failure has not been considered and the scheme
Interlock direction Interlock direction Interlock direction
does not support plug-and-play DGs.
A centralised adaptive protection scheme for a MG has been
proposed by Ustun et al. [22]. The protection system interconnects
a MG central protection unit (MGCPU) with all the relays at each
Fault current direction Fault current direction Fault current direction bus and the DGs via the TCP/IP-based Ethernet communication
network. In this scheme, the MGCPU receives interrupts to
calculate and update the operating fault currents in the relays.
OUT IN OUT IN OUT IN
When the measured currents exceed the relay operating currents,
the relays near the fault send signals to the MGCPU to set their
Interlock direction Interlock direction Interlock direction
fault detection statuses. The relays that detected the fault trip the
circuit breakers to isolate the fault. This scheme works well with
the MG component models based on IEC 61850 and IEC 61850-7-
420, but is not suitable for complex systems with changing relay
Fault current direction Fault current direction Fault current direction connections. The dynamic behaviour of the communication net-
work is not considered.

OUT IN OUT IN IN OUT

3.2.4. Differential zone protection
Interlock direction Interlock direction Interlock direction
Sortomme et al. [23] proposed a differential zone protection
that uses an optimum number of relays and sensors for each
protection zone. Current sensors are placed on the secondary side
Fig. 5. Directional interlock operation of the adaptive protection scheme.
of the transformers for each load and relays at the DG source
locations. The zone relays detect a fault when the DG source
where A, ρ and k are constants. A fault occurs when the value of Y r currents exceed the sum of the load currents within the zone.
exceeds 1. The circuit breakers near the faulted location are When a fault is detected, the relays send trip signals to the DG
tripped after a time delay tp. Each upstream admittance relay source at the faulted zone. A genetic algorithm was used to find
provides backup protection to its immediate downstream relay. the optimal placement of sensors, relays, and circuit breakers to
The admittance relay0 s inverse time characteristic does not use minimise the total cost. This scheme is less expensive than the
safety margins to cover protection zones. However, this scheme differential protection in [10]. However, the operation of this
only works for smaller MG configurations. scheme has not been experimentally validated.

3.2.3. Adaptive techniques 4. Discussion

Adaptive protection schemes enable different MG topologies to
be protected against all the fault conditions. The calculated relay Several coordination strategies and protection schemes have
settings for various topologies are stored in a database. Whenever been developed for MGs to meet the challenges of bidirectional
the topology changes, the relays are updated with their new power flows from DGs and lower fault current levels within
settings from the database. islanded MGs. Table 1 summarises the advantages and disadvan-
An adaptive protection scheme is proposed in [20] where a tages of the protection coordination strategies. The advantages and
MGCC is connected to directional overcurrent relays at each bus disadvantages of voltage-based, admittance, adaptive, and differ-
via a communication system. Off-line analysis is performed by ential schemes are given in Table 2.
constructing event and action tables for the circuit breaker The protection coordination strategies include primary and
statuses and relay settings respectively for all the MG configura- backup protection. Most communication-based protection schemes
tions. During online operation, the MGCC monitors the MG0 s use a central controller connected with individual relays in the MG.
operating state and uses the event and action tables to configure Communication links improve the speed of these coordination
the relays. During real-time operation, the measured current strategies. Communication failures have only been considered in
values are compared with the relay settings to detect the presence some schemes [10,14]. Protection strategies using time-grading
of a fault. The fault current direction is checked against the present results in slower fault clearing times [8,9]. The protection strategies
interlock direction as shown in Fig. 5 to locate the fault. This that do not use either communication or time-grading lack systema-
scheme adapts to several MG configurations. Protection is pro- tic coordination of primary and backup protection [15,16].
vided for all fault types. The communication system speeds up the The protection schemes vary based on measurements used
operation of the scheme. This scheme is not efficient for larger MG such as voltage, current, power, and frequency as well as operating
configurations due to excessive memory used to store large characteristics set as thresholds. The voltage-based schemes in
amounts of off-line analysis data. It does not protect against HIFs [17,18] work for grounded faults within islanded radial MGs. The
and the connection of new loads and DGs has not been considered. admittance relaying scheme in [19] is useful for protecting radial
Laaksonen [21] proposed an adaptive protection scheme for a MGs containing different feeder segments. Adaptive protection
LV MG where a communication network is connected between the schemes in [20–22] are suitable for protecting different radial MG
MG Management System (MGMS) and the different MG compo- topologies. The differential zone protection scheme can protect
nents. Protection strategies for both the grid-connected and multiple zones in the MG [23].
 S.A. Gopalan et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 32 (2014) 222–228 227

Table 1
Advantages and disadvantages of various coordination strategies.

Coordination strategies Advantages Disadvantages

Time grading [8] Reliable scheme as it does not use communication. Absence of communication could slow down the speed of
operation. No study results have been reported to test the proposed
scheme.
Microprocessor-based Accommodates different fault levels. Does not use adaptive Does not use communication devices. Slower fault clearing times.
strategy for LV MGs [9] protection devices.
Communication-assisted Increased reliability as it accommodates looped configuration and Placement of relays and switching devices on each end of the feeder
digital relays [10] communication failures. is expensive. CT errors and mismatches were not considered within
the protection scheme. Assumes technical features not present in
state-of-the-art equipment.
Integrated protection and Faster fault clearing times. Possibility of failure or lack of availability of communication
control scheme [11] network was not considered.
Wide-area differential Can adapt to dynamic behaviour of MGs. Simple and effective. Only tested for small grid-connected PV systems within MG. Does
protection [12] not consider the optimisation of the communication technologies or
communication failures.
Communication-based Differential protection works for internal and external faults, Differential protection does not detect HIFs, cannot provide backup
protection schemes [13] operates accurately, and adapts to changes in MG configuration. protection to neighbouring feeders, and expensive to implement.
Voltage measurement method is able to accurately determine the Voltage measurement method cannot cope with reduced feeder
faulted location provided that the MG is large and there is sufficient distances due to insufficient gradient voltage dip. Voltage
gradient voltage dip along the faulted feeders. measurement method has high calculation complexity.
Communication-assisted Accommodates different fault current levels, MG operating modes, Does not consider the looped configuration of MG.
microprocessor-based and type, size, and location of DG units. Faster fault clearing times.
strategy for MV MGs
[14]
MG protection coordination Covers both primary and backup protection strategies. Three-phase faults are not considered in the protection scheme.
strategy [15] A systematic coordination technique was also missing from this
scheme. Does not enable single phase tripping.
LV DC MG protection [16] Low impedance ground fault are easily detected and cleared. Low ground currents make HIFs difficult to detect. No systematic
Combination of dc link voltage and converter current derivative coordination between the protection methods.
protects the converter more effectively.

Table 2
Advantages and disadvantages of voltage, admittance, adaptive, and differential zone protection schemes.

Protection scheme Advantages Disadvantages

Voltage-based [17,18] Able to protect against faults that are internal and Does not consider symmetrical faults, single phase tripping, and HIFs.
external to any protection zone.
Admittance relaying [19] Each upstream relay protects their downstream relay. Only considers a smaller MG system.
Relay0 s inverse time characteristic does not use safety
margins.
Novel adaptive Adapts to a variety of MG configurations. Off-line analysis data may consume large amounts of computational
protection scheme Communication improves the speed of operation. memory. Does not consider HIFs. Connections of new loads and DGs are not
[20] considered in this scheme.
Adaptive protection for High speed communication enables the scheme Does not consider the possibility of communication network failure.
future MGs [21] to have fast, selective, and reliable operation. Does not consider new deployments of plug-and-play DGs.
Centralised protection Works well for the MG component models based Does not work for complex systems with changing relay connections. Does not
scheme based on IEC on IEC 61850 and IEC 61850-7-420. consider the dynamic behaviour of the communication network.
61850-7-420 [22]
Differential zone [23] Effective and less expensive. No test results have been performed for the proposed scheme.

5. Conclusion In future research, protection schemes for MGs need to con-

sider using communication networks and microprocessors for
The protection of MGs presents a number of challenges. If conven- improved speed of operation. HIF detection and differential
tional overcurrent protection devices are used, the coordination will be protection could improve the sensitivity and reliability of these
affected by bidirectional power flows from DGs. The fault currents from schemes. The protection of MMGs poses additional challenges due
inverter-interfaced microsources in islanded MGs are too low to be to bidirectional power flows from DGs and MGs as well as higher
detected by overcurrent protection relays. Several coordination strate- fault current levels compared to single grid-connected MGs. The
gies and protection schemes to address these challenges were existing protection philosophy in islanded MMGs is to disconnect
reviewed in this paper. The communication-based coordination stra- all DGs during fault conditions. A possible future research direc-
tegies operate faster compared to strategies that use time grading. tion is to develop flexible protection systems that allow MMGs to
Voltage-based schemes were found to be effective against both internal continue operation during fault conditions.
and external faults but they cannot detect symmetrical faults and HIFs.
The admittance relaying scheme enables the tripping time to be
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