Transient Response Improvement of Microgrids Exploiting the Inertia of a Doubly-Fed Induction Generator (DFIG)

Storage devices are introduced in microgrids in order to secure their power quality, power regularity and offer ancillary services in a transient period. In the transition period of a low voltage microgrid, from the connected mode of operation to the islanded mode of operation, the power unbalance can be partly covered by the inertia energy of the existing power sources. This paper proposes fuzzy local controllers exploiting the inertia of a Wind Turbine (WT) with a Doubly Fed Induction Generator (DFIG), if such a machine exists in the microgrid, in order to decrease the necessary storage devices and the drawbacks that arise. The proposed controllers are based in fuzzy logic due to the non linear and stochastic behavior of the system. Two cases are studied and compared during the transient period where the microgrid architecture and the DFIG controller differ. In the first case, the understudy microgrid includes a hybrid fuel cell system (FCS)-battery system and a WT with a DFIGURE. The DFIG local controller in this case is also based in fuzzy logic and follows the classical optimum power absorption scenario for the WT. The transition of the microgrid from the connected mode of operation to the islanded mode is evaluated and, especially, the battery contribution is estimated. In the second case, the battery is eliminated. The fuzzy controller of the DFIG during the transition provides primary frequency control and local bus voltage support exploiting the WT inertia. The response of the system is estimated in both cases using MATLAB/Simulink software package. OPEN ACCESS Energies 2010, 3 1050