MICRO GRID AND

DISTRIBUTION ENERGY
RESOURCES

M.TECH(POWER SYSTEMS & AUTOMATION)

CONTENTS
CONCEPT OF MICRO GRID
NEEDS AND APPLICATIONS OF MICRO GRID
FORMATION OF MICRO GRID
ISSUES OF INTER CONNECTION
PROTECTION AND CONTROL OF MICRO GRID
 CONCEPT OF MICROGRID:

DEFINITION OF MICROGRID:
A Micro grid is a group of interconnected loads and distribution energy resources within clearly
defined electrical boundaries that acts as a single controllable entity with respect to the grid. A
micro grid can connect and disconnect from the grid to enable it to operate it in both grid-
connected mode and islanded mode.
Micro grids are small scale ,LV CHP supply networks designed to supply electrical & Heat loads for
a small community/a commercial area/an industrial site/a trading estate or a municipal region.
A generator/micro sources employed in micro grid are usually renewable/non-conventional
Distributed energy Resources integrated together to generate power at distribution voltage.
 Concept of micro grid :
 It comprises of various small power generating sources that makes it highly flexible and efficient.
 It is connected b/w both the local generating units and the utility grid thus preventing power outages.
Size of micro grid may vary from housing estate to municipal regions.
Micro grids provide economic and environmental benefits for end customers, utilities and society.
A micro grid not only provides backup for the grid in case of emergencies, but can also be used to cut
costs, or connect to a local resource that is too small or unreliable for traditional grid use.
 A micro grid allows communities to be more energy independent and, in some cases, more
environmentally friendly
 DIFFERENCENCE BETWEEN CONVENTIONAL POWER
PLANT & MICROGRID
 Micro sources are of much smaller capacity w.r.t large generators in conventional power plants.
 Power generated at distribution voltage can be directly fed to the utility distribution network.
 Micro sources are normally installed closer to consumer’s premises so that electrical/heat loads can be
efficiently supplied with satisfactory voltage& frequency profile with negligible line losses.
Difference B/W micro grid and smart grid:

Micro grid Smart grid

• Micro grid permits DG at small scale as • Smart grid permits DG at large scale.
compared • Installation cost is very high.
to • Smart grids operate at the utility and national
smart grid. grid level, involving the large transmission and
• Installation cost is economical. distribution lines.
• Micro grids are at smaller scale, require fewer
decision makers and have faster implementation.
Features of micro grid:
From Environmental P.O.V: Reduces pollution and global warming through utilization of low
carbon technology.
From grid P.O.V: The main advantage of a micro grid is that it is treated as a controlled entity, it
can be operated as single aggregated load, this brings easy controllability and compliance with
grid rules and regulations without hampering the reliability & security of power utility.
From customer’s P.O.V: Micro grids beneficial for locally meeting their electrical requirements
They can supply uninterruptible power supply, improve local reliability, reduce feeder losses and
provide local voltage support.
 The needs of Micro grid:
The reason for implementation of micro grid:

ELECTRICAL & GAS PRICES

FLUCTUATIONS
APPLICATIONS OF MICRO GRID
MILITARY BASES
COMMERCIAL/ INDUSTRIAL FACILILTIES
DATA CENTERS
MUNICIPALITIES
REMOTE OFF GRID COMMUNITIES
INSTITUTIONAL/CAMPUS SITES
EV CHARGING STATIONS
FORMATION OF MICROGRID:
ARCHITECTURE OF MICRO GRID
It consists of electrical/heat loads and micro sources, connected through an LV distribution
network. The loads and the sources are placed close together to minimize heat loss during het
transmission.
The micro sources have plug-and-play features. They are provided with power electronic
interface’s to implement the control, metering & protection function during standalone and
grid-connected modes. These feature also help seamless transition of micro grid from one mode
to another.
 The micro grid consists of three radial feeders(A,B and C) to supply the electrical and heat
loads. It has 2 CHP& 2 non-CHPs, micro-sources and storage devices.
Micro-sources and storage devices are connected to feeders A and C through micro-source
controllers(MC)s. Here, some loads on A and C feeders are assumed to be priority loads and
others are non-priority loads. Feeder-B contains non-priority loads.
Micro grid is coupled with MV utility grid through PCC(point of common coupling),CB4.
CB4 is operated to connect/disconnect the entire micro grid from main grid as per selected
mode of operation.
 Operation of Micro grid
The Micro grid is operated in 2 ways:
1.Grid-connected mode
2.standalone/Islanded mode
GRID-CONNECTRD MODE:
The micro grid remains connected to main grid either
totally/partially and exports/imports power from or the
main grid via PCC.
 All the feeders are supplied by the grid.
CB4/static switch is closed.
Islanded/standalone mode:
Islanded operation means that the micro grid is disconnected from the main grid at the PCC
and by opening CB4, followed by a grid failure. The micro grid will operates as an autonomous
system with all the micro sources feeding all the loads.
CB4/static switch is open.
Disconnecting A&C by opening CB1 & CB3, feeders A&C will supply

Only the priority loads while feeder B will be left ride through the
Disturbance.
Issues of Interconnection:
•Electricity grid must have standard condition of supply to ensure that end-use equipment and
infrastructure can operate safely & affectively. These conditions are often referred to as power
quality requirement and are defined in standards of supply authorities.
• They most commonly relate to voltage and frequency regulation, power factor correction and
harmonics.
•In all these distribution n/w, challenges to maintain these power quality requirement arise from the
technical characteristics & end-user operation of electrical loads and n/w equipment & lines.
Some of them are:
A)voltage fluctuation & Regulation
B) power factor correction
C) frequency variation and regulation
D) Harmonics : Harmonics are eliminated by using passive and active filters, which are generally
cheaper than inverters.
E) Unintentional islanding : unintentional islanding occurs when distributed generation delivers
power to the n/w even after CB have disconnected that part of the n/w from the main grid
associated generators.
 Control of micro grid
The operation and management of Micro grid in different modes is controlled and coordinated
through local MCs and the central controller (CC) whose functions are enlisted as follows:
1) Micro source controller(MC):
The main function of MC is to independently control the power flow and load-end voltage
profile of the micro source in response to any disturbance and load changes.
MC also participates in economic generation scheduling, load tracking/management and
demand side management by controlling the storage devices.
It must also ensure that each micro source rapidly picks up its generation to supply its share of
load in stand-alone mode and automatically comes back to the grid-connected mode with the
help of CC.
2)Central controller – The CC executes the overall control of Micro grid operation and protection through
the MCs. Its objectives are:
(1) to maintain specified voltage and frequency at the load end through power-frequency (P-f ) and voltage
control and
(2) to ensure energy optimization for the Micro grid.
Two main functional modules of CC are
 Energy Management Module (EMM) and
Protection Co-ordination Module (PCM)
A) EMM:EMM provides the set points for active and reactive power output, voltage and frequency to each
MC. This function is coordinated through state-of-the-art communication and artificial intelligence
techniques. The values of the set points are decided according to the operational needs of the Micro
grid.
 Protection Co-ordination Module – PCM responds to Micro grid and main grid faults and loss of grid
scenarios in a way so as to ensure correct protection co-ordination of the Micro grid.
•It also adapts to the change in fault current levels during changeover from grid-connected to stand-alone
mode. For achieving this, there is proper communication between the PCM and the MCs and main grid
controllers.
•PCM detects five possible events:
1.Normal condition
2.Micro grid feeder fault
3.Utility grid
4.Micro grid bus fault
5.Re-synchronization
The functions of the CC in the grid-connected mode are as follows:
(1) Monitoring system diagnostics by collecting information from the micro sources and loads.
(2) Performing state estimation and security assessment evaluation, economic generation
scheduling and active and reactive power control of the micro sources and demand side
management functions by using collected information.
(3) Ensuring synchronized operation with the main grid maintaining the power exchange at
priori contract points
The functions of the CC in the stand-alone mode are as follows:
(1) Performing active and reactive power control of the micro sources in order to maintain stable
voltage and frequency at load ends.
(2) Adopting load interruption/load shedding strategies using demand side management with
storage device support for maintaining power balance and bus voltage.
(3) Initiating a local black start to ensure improved reliability and continuity of service.
(4) Switching over the Micro grid to grid-connected mode after main grid supply is restored
without hampering the stability of either grid.
Protection of micro grid:
Protection requirements for a Micro grid are quite different from those of conventional
distribution systems and conventional DER installations. Unlike them, a Micro grid has to meet
two sets of protection criteria, viz.
(1) the interconnection requirements imposed by the utility or specified by appropriate
technical standards and
(ii) the requirement of separating from the utility in time to maintain the desired power quality
and reliability within the Micro grid.
If there is any conflict between these two criteria, then these must be resolved, negotiated or
tolerated
The following scenarios related to the islanding of the Micro grid:
(1) Fast separation from the faulted feeder
(2) Prevention of spurious separation
(3) Non-fault separation
(4) Separation from exporting Micro grids
(5) Re-synchronization
Different faults identified in micro
grid
Major protection issues of stand-alone Micro grid
When a Micro grid operates in the stand-alone mode, the protection considerations become
significantly different from those for the grid-connected condition. The four main protection
considerations, assuming a proper separation of the Micro grid at the PCC, which are as follows:
(1) Distribution system fault protection
(2) Protection of micro sources
(3) National Electric Code (NEC) requirements for distribution transformer protection
(4) Neutral grounding requirements.
Micro grid distribution system protection
Generally a low voltage distribution system (including micro grid) is divided into local protective
zones which are covered either by a network (overhead lines and cables) or apparatus (buses,
transformers, generators, loads, etc.) protection.
Over-current and directional over-current protection
Distance protection
Differential protection
Over-current distribution feeder protection
Over-current distribution feeder protection and DERs
Protection of micro sources
The design of a reliable micro source protection scheme should consider the following issues:-
Modification of voltage and frequency windows :-widening voltage & frequency ranges
Anti-islanding:- anti-islanding protection or controls can be decided by simulation results.
Generally, this can be done when the ratio of utility generation to micro source generation is too
high.
Load shedding and demand side management:- to stabilize voltage and frequency during
disturbance.
NEC requirements for distribution transformer protection
As per Article 450 of the NEC, overcurrent protection for transformer can be set as high as
600% of the transformer rating.
Fault current to rated transformer current ratios lower than three will also violate the
transformer protection requirements of NEC 450. This can be achieved only if the Micro grid
contains a large percentage of synchronous generation or inverters with high fault current
delivery capability.
For too low-fault currents, new protection schemes that are not based on overcurrent sensing
must be developed and installed, in spite of some uncertainty regarding their cost effectiveness
and efficiency
Neutral grounding requirements
The neutral grounding system for a Micro grid must ensure effective fault protection, insulation
integrity and safety under the islanded or stand-alone mode of operation
Most power utilities have Y-grounded/Y-grounded connected step-down distribution
transformers on their MV multi-grounded Y-connected distribution networks. Although, this
connection provides several advantages for supplying conventional customer loads, but it may
lead to certain problems in the operation of a Micro grid with interconnected micro sources.
 For Micro grids, other connections like grounded Y–Delta or Delta –Delta should rather be
considered.
THANK YOU