Simulation of a Microgrid with OpenDSS an Open-Source Software Package

Abstract

The power system network is a very complex and exorbitant entity. Moreover, the condition becomes more complex once a distributed generation, renewable energy sources, energy storage devices are added to the grid/microgrid. For adding any source in the grid, proper analysis for load flow, short circuit studies, transient studies, etc., is required to understand the performance of different components. It is dangerous to directly load the network to check the performance of the system, hence, an alternative mechanism is adopted wherein the real-time scenario is modeled virtually using some simulation tools, and thereafter, different scenarios can be analyzed for different cases. Simulation using simulation tools is a well-known technique to assess the performance of the system in a virtual environment. Simulation tools artificially create models, and it helps in analyzing the performance of the system over multiple scenarios. Hence, an effort has been made in this paper in compiling the non-exhaustive list of simulation software package to tackle microgrid capabilities, wherein microgrid is comprised of distributed generation and renewable energy sources. Also, a detailed review has been done to discuss the features and shortcomings of different simulation software packages. After a detailed review of simulation software packages, it has been found that OpenDSS works well for distribution systems or microgrids and works efficiently not only for balanced systems but also for unbalanced systems. Therefore, a tutorial has been presented to model microgrids with the help of OpenDSS. Apart from this, an example using IEEE 13 node feeder is discussed with distributed generation and renewable energy sources to showcase the performance of OpenDSS.