Applying Real-Time Simulator to Microgrid and Verification Results of its Accuracy

Abstract

The microgrid is an energy system which aims to improve the environmental performance by using renewable energy generations, and it aims to enhance the degree of autonomy without depending on the adjustment capability of electric utility system by maintaining own energy balance of the demand and supplies which uses plural distributed generations with various characteristics. Therefore, it is required that the demand and supply controller (DSC) is applied for the microgrid, and DSC is usually composed by computer system because flexible and intelligent management technology is necessary. On the occasion of developing the DSC, it is important that dynamic characteristics and behavior of the electric power grid are considered sufficiently, and it is difficult to develop the software of DSC without controllable actual facilities. Accordingly, we developed the real-time simulator (RTS) which can simulate behavior of the microgrid on the desk of software developer for aiming to develop the DSC efficiently. Developed RTS has a feature that enabled to simulate continuously both grid connecting operation and islanding operation by using a new proposing method. This paper presents the outline of RTS functions, calculating method, and modeling method of DG, and then it shows verification results of accuracy in RTS and evaluated result of real-time performance.