Roca Bert 2012

4734 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 27, NO.
11, NOVEMBER 2012
Control of Power Converters in AC Microgrids

Joan Rocabert, Member, IEEE, Alvaro Luna, Member, IEEE, Frede Blaabjerg, Fellow, IEEE,
and Pedro Rodrı́guez, Senior Member, IEEE
Abstract—The enabling of ac microgrids in distribution net- ac transmission systems, active demand management (ADM),
works allows delivering distributed power and providing grid microgrids, and smart control and management based on infor-
support services during regular operation of the grid, as well as mation and communication technologies (ICTs), have made it
powering isolated islands in case of faults and contingencies, thus
increasing the performance and reliability of the electrical system. possible to plan new horizons for conventional power systems.
The high penetration of distributed generators, linked to the grid However, not all the work for planning the future power systems
through highly controllable power processors based on power elec- is concluded yet, as an intensive research effort should be still
tronics, together with the incorporation of electrical energy stor- conducted to make such advanced systems a reality today.
age systems, communication technologies, and controllable loads, DG is a crucial issue for the development of modern power
opens new horizons to the effective expansion of microgrid appli-
cations integrated into electrical power systems. This paper carries systems. However, technical constrains, mainly related to volt-
out an overview about microgrid structures and control techniques age stability and power flow limitations, raise questions about
at different hierarchical levels. At the power converter level, a de- reliability of such a generation scheme as penetration of DG
tailed analysis of the main operation modes and control structures grows. This is partly due to the fact that such distributed
for power converters belonging to microgrids is carried out, fo- generators had been classically considered as supplementary
cusing mainly on grid-forming, grid-feeding, and grid-supporting
configurations. This analysis is extended as well toward the hierar- generation units, with low controllability from the transmis-
chical control scheme of microgrids, which, based on the primary, sion/distribution system operators (TSO/DSO), which results
secondary, and tertiary control layer division, is devoted to mini- in predominantly passive and inflexible distribution networks,
mize the operation cost, coordinating support services, meanwhile without the possibility of insolating given sections to work as
maximizing the reliability and the controllability of microgrids. microgrids when faults and contingencies occur in the main grid.
Finally, the main grid services that microgrids can offer to the
main network, as well as the future trends in the development of Moreover, this lack of controllability does not allow an efficient
their operation and control for the next future, are presented and exploitation of the DG capacity and makes necessary to maintain
discussed. conventional power plants operational, working at their mini-
Index Terms—Active and reactive power droop control, ancillary mum operating point, as auxiliary reserves, thereby resulting
services, distributed energy resources, distributed generation (DG), in an overrated increase of the overall installed capacity as the
grid converter control, grid synchronization, microgrids. penetration of DG grows. However, a high-level integration of
DG systems can play in favor of a more efficient and flexible
operation of the grid. The DG systems are normally connected
I. INTRODUCTION at the distribution networks, thus closer to the end consumers if
compared with large-scale power plants, something that permits
ENTRALIZED power generation, unidirectional power
C flow, passive electricity distribution, and demand-driven
operation are concepts coined more than one century ago, when
reducing the overall transport losses. In addition, a proper con-
trol of DG plants, combined with the integration of EES, would
permit providing a broad scope of ancillary services, as well as
the first power systems were designed. In the last decades, mod-
improving the continuity of supply, by enabling the creation of
ern solutions such as distributed generation (DG), mainly based
active islands, namely microgrids, supplied by local generation.
on renewable energies, electrical energy storage (EES), flexible
Therefore, microgrids are foreseen to play an important role in
the electrical grids of the future, mainly in low-voltage (LV)
distribution networks, where the vast majority of DG systems
are connected.
Manuscript received December 8, 2011; revised March 11, 2012, April 23, A microgrid is conceptually considered as a small-scale grid,
2012, and April 26, 2012; accepted May 7, 2012. Date of current version June 20,
2012. This work was supported in part by the Ministerio de Economı́a y Com-
formed by DG systems, EES devices, and loads that are elec-
petitividad of Spain under Project ENE2011-29041-C02-01. Recommended for trically interconnected and hierarchically controlled, with the
publication by Associate Editor L. Chang. capability to operate either as a grid connected or as an in-
J. Rocabert and A. Luna are with the Department of Electrical Engi-
neering, Technical University of Catalonia, 08222 Barcelona, Spain (e-mail:
tentionally islanded system [1], [2]. Among renewables, wind
rocabert@ee.upc.edu; luna@ee.upc.edu). and photovoltaic (PV) power plants are specially suitable to be
F. Blaabjerg is with the Power Electronics Section, Green Power Laboratory, integrated as generators in microgrids, since they are smaller
Institute of Energy Technology, Aalborg University, 9220 Aalborg, Denmark
(e-mail: fbl@iet.aau.dk).
and more scalable than central power plants, meanwhile they
P. Rodrı́guez is with the Abengoa Research, 41014 Seville, Spain (e-mail: can be potentially connected to any point of the power system
pedro.rodriguez@research.abengoa.com). [3]–[5]. Likewise, other nonrenewable-based power systems,
Color versions of one or more of the figures in this paper are available online
at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.
such as diesel or gas fuelled generators, whose generation pro-
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TPEL.2012.2199334 file can be easily controlled, are also likely to be integrated into
0885-8993/$31.00 © 2012 IEEE

ROCABERT et al.: CONTROL OF POWER CONVERTERS IN AC MICROGRIDS 4735
microgrids. In addition to generators, the EES systems are

claimed to be very important in microgrids as well, especially
if renewable energy sources, which are characterized by having
a stochastic and intermittent behavior [6], are the main energy
sources in the microgrid.
At the present time, modern DG systems, which are one of the
main actors in microgrids, present a higher controllability and
operability degree than conventional generators. This feature
will permit these systems to play a major and decisive role in
maintaining the stability of the electrical networks in the future.
This role has been already translated into changes in the grid
codes that regulate the connection of DG to the grid. This is the
case, for instance, of the regulations about the operation of DG
under grid fault conditions. In the first DG units, the standards
required their disconnection in the case of grid faults occurrence
[7], [8]. However, this operation mode is no longer permitted
in modern DG plants. For instance, in wind power systems, the
low-voltage ride-through (LVRT) requirements demand wind
power plants to remain connected to the grid and to provide
specific grid support services during grid faults [9]. In some
countries, these requirements have been also extended to PV
systems [10]. Fig. 1. Simplified representation of grid-connected power converters. (a) grid-
As a difference with LVRT requirements, which are manda- forming, (b) grid-feeding, (c) current-source-based grid-supporting, and (d)
tory almost worldwide, in most of the countries, it is not cur- voltage-source-based grid-supporting.
rently allowed to form energized islands when the main elec-
trical network experiences an outage, in order to avoid any risk
will be discussed in detail. This paper will end up with a presen-
in the maintenance operations as well as for protecting electri-
tation of the main grid services that microgrids can offer to the
cal systems against prospective damages. As a consequence of
main network, as well as the future trends in the development
this requirement, and in spite of the obvious advantages that
of microgrids operation and control for the next future.
would provide the capability of feeding isolated parts of the
grid, microgrids are forced to shut down during blackouts, thus
interrupting the energy supply to consumers that could be in fact II. CLASSIFICATION OF POWER CONVERTERS
IN AC MICROGRIDS
fed by local generators. However, the advances in the control of
microgrids and DG systems, the integration of communication Depending on their operation in an ac microgrid, power con-
technologies in DG plants and loads, as well as the higher inverters can be classified into grid-feeding, grid-supporting, and
teraction between generation and demand, permits us to foresee grid-forming power converters [13], [14].
that the intentional islanding will not be much longer a restric- The grid-forming converters can be represented as an ideal ac
tion, but a mandatory requirement, among others, in near future voltage source with a low-output impedance, setting the voltage
grid codes, [11], [12]. In this scenario, the implementation of amplitude E∗ and frequency ω ∗ of the local grid by using a
hierarchical control schemes for microgrids enables us to per- proper control loop, as illustrated in Fig. 1(a).
form a coordinated interaction with management and control On the other hand, the grid-feeding power converters are
operations of the main grid, whereby the interoperability of mi- mainly designed to deliver power to an energized grid. They
crogrids with the main grid is improved, as well as their effective can be represented as an ideal current source connected to the
integration. grid in parallel with high impedance. The simplified scheme
In this framework, this paper carries out an overview about of the grid-feeding power converter is depicted in Fig. 1(b),
microgrids structures and control techniques, at different hier- where P∗ and Q∗ represent the active and the reactive powers to
archical levels, for the operation of grid-connected power con- be delivered, respectively. In this application, it is important to
verters forming ac microgrids. This work starts with a discus- outline that this current source should be perfectly synchronized
sion about the classification of power converters according to with the ac voltage at the connection point, in order to regulate
their role in a microgrid. Their main operation features and accurately the active and reactive power exchanged with the
the detailed control schemes in each case will be introduced grid.
and discussed. After that, and due to its high influence in the Finally, the grid-supporting converters can be represented
performance of a microgrid control, a short glance to the ac either as an ideal ac-controlled current source in parallel with a
synchronization techniques used in this kind of applications shunt impedance, or as an ideal ac voltage source in series with
will be given. Finally, the common low- and high-level control a link impedance, as shown in Fig. 1(c) and (d), respectively.
structures for the power converters forming a microgrid will be These converters regulate their output current/voltage to keep
reviewed and the hierarchical control structure of the microgrid the value of the grid frequency and voltage amplitude close
4736 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 27, NO. 11, NOVEMBER 2012
to their rated values. In case of controlling a grid-supporting

converter as a voltage source, the effect of the link impedance
is usually emulated by the internal control loop.
A grid-feeding power converter, controlled as a current
source, needs a generator or a power converter to form the
grid voltage in order to be able to operate. Therefore, this kind
of converter cannot operate independently in island mode. On
the contrary, a grid-forming power converter usually operates
specifically in islanded mode, since in the main grid the ac volt-
age is conventionally formed by synchronous generators [2]. A
grid-supporting power converter is in between a grid-feeding
and a grid-forming power converter, being its main objective to
deliver proper values of active and reactive power to contribute
to the regulation of the grid frequency and the voltage. In case
of implementing it as current source, as shown in Fig. 1(c), it
needs at least one grid former to operate. However, if it is con-
trolled as a voltage source with link impedance, as detailed in Fig. 2. Basic control structure in a three-phase grid-forming voltage source
Fig. 1(d), it can operate in both grid-connected and island mode, inverter generating a sinusoidal voltage determined by a nominal voltage am-
plitude v∗ and reference frequency ω ∗ .
as a synchronous generators does in a conventional grid.
A. Grid-Forming Power Converters

The grid-forming power converters are controlled in closed
loop to work as ideal ac voltage sources with a given ampli-
tude E∗ and frequency ω ∗ . As voltage sources, they present
a low-output impedance, so they need an extremely accurate
synchronization system to operate in parallel with other grid-
forming converters. Power sharing among grid-forming convert-
ers connected in parallel is a function of the value of their output
impedances. A practical example of a grid-forming power con-
verter can be a standby UPS. This system remains disconnected
from the main grid when the operating conditions are within
certain limits. In the case of a grid failure, the power converter
of the UPS forms the grid voltage. In a microgrid, the ac voltage
generated by the grid-forming power converter will be used as
a reference for the rest of grid-feeding power converters con-
Fig. 3. Basic control structure in a three-phase grid-feeding power converter.
nected to it.
Fig. 2 shows an example of a controller for a grid-forming
power converter, which is implemented by using two cascaded ally, most of the power converters belonging to DG systems
synchronous controllers working on the dq reference frame. The operate in grid-feeding mode, like in PV or wind power sys-
inputs to the control system are the amplitude E∗ and the fre- tems [15]. These converters can participate in the control of the
quency ω ∗ of the voltage to be formed by the power converter at microgrid ac voltage amplitude and frequency by adjusting, at
the point of common coupling (PCC). The external loop controls a higher level control layer, the references of active and reac-
the grid voltage to match its reference value, while the internal tive powers, P∗ and Q∗ , to be delivered [16], [17]. Grid-feeding
control loop regulates the current supplied by the converter. power converters cannot operate in island mode if there is no
Therefore, the controlled current flowing though the inductor grid-forming or grid-supporting power converter, or a local syn-
LF charges the capacitor CF to keep the output voltage close chronous generator, setting the voltage amplitude and frequency
to the reference provided to the voltage control loop. Usually, of the ac microgrid. Fig. 3 shows a typical control structure for
in industrial applications, these power converters are fed by sta- an ac grid-feeding power converter. The operation of the grid-
ble dc voltage sources driven by batteries, fuel cells, or another feeding converters is often regulated by a high-level controller,
primary source. like a maximum power point tracking (MPPT) controller or a
power plant controller, which sets reference values for P∗ and
B. Grid-Feeding Power Converter Q∗ .
Grid-feeding power converters are controlled as current
C. Grid-Supporting Power Converter
sources, presenting high parallel output impedance. These
power converters are suitable to operate in parallel with other A grid-supporting power converter is controlled as a volt-
grid-feeding power converters in grid-connected mode. Actu- age source with a link impedance, as shown in Fig. 1(d), or
Fig. 4. Basic control structure of three-phase grid-supporting power converters. (a) Grid-supporting power converter operating as a current source. (b) Grid-
supporting power converter operating as a voltage source.
alternatively, as a current source with a parallel impedance, as additionally be adjusted to contribute to regulate the volt-
shown in Fig. 1(c). In any case, its main objective is to par- age amplitude and frequency of both the ac grid and the
ticipate in the regulation of the ac grid voltage amplitude E∗ microgrid. For example, the grid codes regulating the grid
and frequency ω ∗ by controlling the active and reactive power connection of wind turbines [19] are defined so that they
delivered to the grid [18]. should be designed to provide a given amount of power
Two main types of power converters can be found within the to the grid for regulatory purposes. The effect of the de-
grid-supporting group. livered power on the regulation of the grid frequency and
1) The power converter is controlled as a current source, as voltage amplitude is explained in detail in Section IV.
in Fig. 4(a), in which the main objective is not only to 2) The power converter is controlled emulating the behavior
supply the load connected to the microgrid, but it should of an ac voltage source, as shown in Fig. 4(b), which is
connected to the grid through a link impedance, like in

the simplified scheme of a synchronous generator [20]. In
such a control scheme, the active and reactive power de-
livered by the power converter is a function of the ac grid
voltage, the ac voltage of the emulated voltage source,
and the link impedance, as explained in [21]. The link
impedance in this power converter can be either a phys-
ical device connected between the VSI and the grid, or
a virtual component, emulated within the current control
loop. This kind of converters can participate in regulating
the amplitude and the frequency of the grid voltage in both
grid-connected and island modes, with no need of connect-
ing any grid-forming converter in the microgrid. An exam-
ple of grid-supporting power converters can be found in
line-interactive UPS systems. Such power converters can
operate in parallel in a microgrid, regulating power sharing
without using any communication line, by implementing
droop and virtual output impedance controllers, which dy-
namically modify their operating parameters according to
Fig. 5. (a) SRF-PLL and (b) DSOGI-FLL block diagrams.
the microgrid conditions [22].
A. Synchronous Reference Frame Phase-Locked Loop

The phase-locked loop technology has extensively been used
to synchronize grid-connected power converters with the grid
III. SYNCHRONIZATION OF POWER CONVERTERS voltage. In three-phase systems, the synchronous reference
IN AC MICROGRIDS frame phase-locked loop (SRF-PLL) has been broadly used
for this purpose. The structure of the SRF-PLL is depicted in
The accuracy in the estimation of the ac grid voltage pa-
Fig. 5(a). The SRF-PLL translates the three-phase instantaneous
rameters has a strong influence in the overall performance of
voltage waveforms from the abc reference frame into the rotat-
grid-connected power converters. A precise synchronization al-
ing dq reference frame, by means of the Park transformation.
gorithm is needed to estimate the grid voltage parameters, i.e.,
The angular position of this dq reference frame is controlled
voltage amplitude, frequency, and phase angle, as these values
through a feedback control loop which drives the v q component
are needed for conducting an accurate control of the active and
to zero. In this synchronization structure, the estimated grid fre-
the reactive power delivered to the grid. In addition, a precise
quency is ω . As depicted in Fig. 5(a), the value of the rated
monitoring of the grid conditions is mandatory in order to de-
frequency is normally included as a feed forward ω ∗ in order
termine the most suitable operation mode of the converters, as
to improve the dynamics of the phase estimation θ , which is
well as for supporting properly the connection and disconnec-
obtained by integrating ω [23]–[26].
tion maneuvers. Due to the importance of the control of micro-
In spite of the good behavior of the SRF-PLL under balanced
grids under generic grid conditions, the synchronization system
grid conditions, its performance is deteriorated when the three-
should be able to ensure a proper behavior under unbalanced
phase input signal becomes unbalanced or distorted [27], [28].
and distorted voltage conditions.
To overcome this drawback, some advanced grid synchroniza-
In the case of grid-forming power converters, the synchro-
tion techniques have been proposed in the literature. This is for
nization system should be able to work on both grid-connected
instance the case of the decoupled double-synchronous refer-
and island modes. In the transition between these two oper-
ence frame PLL, which is an enhanced PLL that stems from
ation modes, the synchronization unit should provide precise
the same operation principle as the SRF-PLL, but improves its
synchronization signals that allow the grid-forming power con-
phase-angle and magnitude estimation under unbalanced con-
verter to establish a stable voltage in the microgrid. In the is-
ditions [29], [30].
land mode, the synchronization system works as an oscillator
at a fixed frequency ω ∗ . In the reconnection transient, the volt-
B. Stationary Reference Frame Frequency-Locked Loop
age generated by the grid-forming power converter should be
resynchronized with the restored grid voltage. The synchro- As an alternative to PLL-based synchronization structures,
nization system slowly varies the phase angle and frequency of other implementations based on a frequency-locked loop (FLL)
the island’s voltage to resynchronize with the grid voltage. All can be used. Among different proposals, the synchronization
the grid-feeding power converters connected to such microgrid structures based on the implementation of a second-order gen-
would be subjected to the reconnection frequency and phase- eralized integrator (SOGI) and an FLL to detect the grid volt-
angle transients, so that this maneuver has to be made in a stable age components, vα β and qvα β , as well as the grid frequency
and secure way. ω [31], as is presented in Fig. 5(b), have proven to be effective
and accurate under generic conditions. The SOGI is imple- 1) Current Control Based on the dq Synchronous Reference
mented in both αβ axis, giving rise to a dual-SOGI (DSOGI) Frame: The implementation of current controllers based on the
structure, which is an adaptive bandpass filter that provides the dq synchronous reference frame has been broadly used in the
filtered version of the input voltage vector vα β , as well as its control of ac currents in three-phase systems. By means of the
quadrature component qvα β . The resonance frequency of the Park transformation, the sinusoidal currents under control can be
DSOGI is the grid frequency estimated by the FLL. represented as dc values in an orthogonal dq frame, rotating syn-
One of the main advantages of using an FLL lays on the chronously at the detected grid fundamental frequency. In this
fact that this structure is less sensitive than the PLL to phase- reference frame, two independent control loops are in charge of
angle jumps that may occur in the grid voltage during transient regulating the direct and quadrature current components. In the
grid faults, thus improving its performance under abnormal grid case of grid-feeding converters, the reference currents [i∗d , i∗q ]
conditions [32]. This interesting feature of the FLL provides a are usually provided by a power controller that regulates the ac-
fast dynamic response with low overshooting, thus allowing a tive and reactive power delivered to the grid. The instantaneous
fast and a smooth transition between the grid-connected and the active and reactive power components are calculated by
islanded operating modes of the microgrid.
p = vd id + vq iq ; q = vd iq − vq id . (1)
Fig. 3 shows the structure of a dq-based synchronous cur-
IV. CONTROL SCHEMES OF POWER CONVERTERS rent control, including the grid voltage feed-forward and the
IN AC MICROGRIDS
decoupling network used to improve the performance of the
In a microgrid, different DG technologies, based on dif- controller [37]. However, in this standard structure, the PI
ferent primary resources (oil, gas, wind, sun, water, etc.) and controllers are unable to regulate the oscillations that appear
with a broad variety of objectives and roles (grid-feeding, grid- in the dq signals under unbalanced grid conditions. In order
forming, energy storage, etc.), may be interconnected. There- to overcome this drawback, two dq synchronous controllers
fore, microgrids require a set of structured controllers to ensure may be implemented in order to regulate independently both
a proper system operation under generic operating conditions, the positive- and the negative-sequence current components of
such as different operation modes or grid-fault handling. In this the injected current [38]. Likewise, multiple reference frames,
section, the local controllers used in different types of power rotating at multiples of the fundamental frequency, should be
converters in a microgrid will be described. implemented to properly control the harmonic currents injected
Low-level voltage and current controllers are responsible of into the ac grid.
regulating locally the power converter output variables. These 2) Current Control Based on a Resonant Controller in a
controllers should have a high bandwidth and performance in Stationary Reference Frame: This kind of controllers work with
order to guarantee a fast time response under generic operating ac variables expressed on the αβ stationary reference frame [39].
conditions. At a higher control level, primary controllers take In this case, the PI controllers are replaced by proportional reso-
care of the stability of the microgrid. These controllers manage nant (PR) controllers, whose resonance frequency is tuned at the
the power sharing among the DGs in a microgrid by imple- fundamental grid frequency detected by the grid synchroniza-
menting droop controller equations and, optionally, emulating tion system [40], [41]. The transfer function of a PR controller
virtual impedances at the output of the power converters. Pri- can be written as
mary controllers do not require any communication among the kR s n
kih s
power converters of the microgrid. GαPRβ
(s) = kP + 2 + (2)
s + ωo 2
h=2
s + (hωo )2
2
where kP is the proportional gain, kR is the resonant gain at the

A. Grid-Feeding Power Converter
grid frequency, kih is the resonant gain at the h-harmonic to be
The inner controller of grid-feeding power converters lays controlled, and ω o is the detected fundamental frequency [33].
on fast current control loops that regulate the current injected Like in the case of dq synchronous controllers, the reference cur-
into the grid [33]. Another external controller sets the reference rents in the αβ stationary reference frame are calculated by the
current to regulate the power delivered to the grid [34], [35]. power controller in charge of regulating the power exchanged
This reference current is usually provided as a feed-forward with the grid. The instantaneous active and reactive power com-
signal calculated as a function of the reference powers, P∗ and ponents in the αβ stationary reference frame are calculated by
Q∗ [36], [37].
p = vα iα + vβ iβ , q = vβ iα − vα iβ . (3)
The most broadly used solutions for implementing linear cur-
rent controllers in three-phase systems are those based on regular There is a significant advantage in the implementation of PR
PI controllers working on dq synchronous reference frames, or controllers in a stationary reference frame compared to the use
the ones based on the implementation of resonant controllers of PI controllers working in a dq synchronous reference frame,
working on a αβ stationary reference frame [33]. In addition when controlling unbalanced sinusoidal currents is intended.
to these proposals, others based on nonlinear control structures, In such case, the applications based on PR controllers do not
such as those based on hysteresis, sliding, or predictive con- require the implementation of decoupling networks, neither in-
trollers, can be also used for tracking sinusoidal reference cur- dependent sequence controls, as such controllers are able to
rents in a fast and robust way [37]. control both positive and negative sequence components with a
Fig. 6. Basic structure of the grid-feeding converter implemented in stationary reference frame control, with PR controller (PR) and HC.
single PR block. These features make the PR controllers a very grid-supporting converters contributes positively to improve the
convenient candidate to be applied to the regulation of the cur- voltage quality along the microgrid line, in both grid-connected
rent injected by grid-feeding converters under generic grid con- and island modes.
ditions, even under grid faults. Moreover, additional harmonic The grid-forming power converters can be controlled in both
compensators (HC), working in parallel, can be implemented the dq synchronous and the αβ stationary reference frames [4],
straightforward, by means of tuning multiple PR controllers at [42].
the desired harmonic frequencies (h·ω ). The control structure
of a grid-feeding converter using resonant controllers is shown C. Grid-Supporting Power Converter: Active
in Fig. 6. and Reactive Power Control Loop
Techniques for controlling power sharing in microgrids have
B. Grid-Forming Power Converter: Voltage previously been used in applications dealing with paralleled
and Current Control Loop
UPS. Different current sharing strategies have been proposed
Grid-forming power converters are in charge of setting the for small rated paralleled inverters, such as centralized con-
voltage that will be supplied to loads, the main control struc- trollers, master–slave, average-load sharing, or circular-chain
ture of a grid-forming power converter consists of two cascaded controls [43]. However, these solutions are conceived for par-
loops, as depicted in Fig. 2. The external loop is in charge of alleling systems which are close to each other and intercon-
regulating the output voltage. In this loop, the error between nected through high-bandwidth communication channels used
the reference and the measured voltage is the input to a con- for control purposes. These communication-based solutions are
troller whose output establishes the current reference i∗ to be not the most suitable choice for controlling microgrids, since
injected by the converter. It should be pointed out that the volt- distributed generators and loads in microgrids may be separated
age control loop of the grid-forming power converter will be several kilometers. To overcome this problem, droop control
enabled only when the microgrid is disconnected from the main algorithms are used to control the power sharing in microgrids
network and works in the island mode. On the other hand, the without using communication channels, thereby eliminating the
inner current loop regulates the current supplied by the power limits imposed by the physical location and improving the mi-
converter, tracking the reference current provided by the outer crogrid performance [44]. The droop regulation techniques are
voltage loop. implemented in grid-supporting power converters to regulate the
The voltage quality in a microgrid voltage does not exclu- exchange of active and reactive powers with the grid, in order
sively depend on the performance of the grid-forming converter, to keep the grid voltage frequency and amplitude under control.
since the connection of loads and other DG sources to the mi- The main idea to support the droop control comes from mimic
crogrid distribution lines, usually weak LV lines, can modify the self-regulation capability of the synchronous generator in
substantially the voltage profile along the line. The presence of grid-connection mode, decreasing the delivered active power
Fig. 8. Frequency and voltage droop characteristics in grids with dominant

inductive behavior.
Expressions (6) and (7) show a direct relationship between the

power angle δ and the active power P, as well as between the
Fig. 7. Simplified modeling of power converter connection to a distribution voltage difference VA – VB and the reactive power Q. These
network. (a) Equivalent circuit. (b) Phasor diagram.
relationships permit regulating the grid frequency and voltage
at the point of connection of the power converter, by controlling
TABLE I the value of the active and reactive powers delivered to the
TYPICAL LINE IMPEDANCES VALUES grid. Therefore, the following droop control expressions can be
written for inductive lines:
f − fO = −kp (P − PO ) (8)
V − VO = −kq (Q − QO ) (9)
where f – fO and V – VO represent the grid frequency and the

when the grid frequency increases and decreasing the injected voltage deviations, respectively, from their rated values, and P
reactive power when the grid voltage amplitude increases. – PO and Q – QO are the variations in the active and reactive
1) Grid Impedance Influence on Droop Control: Consider- powers delivered by the power converter to compensate such
ing the power converter as an ideal controllable voltage source deviations. These relationships can be graphically represented
that is connected to the mains through a given line impedance, by the droop characteristics shown in Fig. 8, where, as stated
as shown in Fig. 7(a), the active and reactive powers that it will in (8) and (9), the gain of the control action in each case, i.e.,
deliver to the grid can be written as: the slope of the frequency and voltage droop characteristic, is
set by the kP and kQ parameters, respectively. Therefore, as
VA depicted in Fig. 8, each of the grid-supporting power converters
PA = [R (VA − VB cos δ) + XVB sin δ] (4)
R2 + X 2 operating in a microgrid will adjust its active and reactive power
VA reference according to its P/f and Q/V droop characteristic to
QA = 2 [−RVB sin δ + X (VA − VB cos δ)] . (5) participate in the regulation of the microgrid frequency and
R + X2
voltage, respectively.
where PA and QA are the active and reactive powers, respec-
b) Resistive grid: On the contrary to the case of HV net-
tively, flowing from the source A (power converter) to the B
works, the grid impedance in LV networks is mainly resistive,
(grid), VA and VB are the voltage values of these sources, δ
as it is shown in Table I [46], and thus, the inductive part can be
corresponds to the phase-angle difference between the two volt-
neglected. As a consequence, and maintaining the assumption
ages, Z = R + jX is the interconnection line impedance and θ
that the power angle δ has a small value, (4) and (5) give rise to:
is the impedance angle. As R = Z·cos(θ) and X = Z·sin(θ), the
performance of this simplified electrical system can be depicted VA RPA
by its vector representation, as shown in Fig. 7(b) [45]. PA ≈ (VA − VB cos δ) ⇒ VA − VB ≈ (10)
R VA
a) Inductive grid: The inductive component of the line
VA · VB RQA
impedances in HV and MV networks is typically much higher QA = − sin δ ⇒ δ ≈ − . (11)
than the resistive one, as shown in Table I [46]. R VA VB
Therefore, the resistive part can be neglected without making Therefore, the voltage amplitude in LV networks depends
any significant error. In addition, the power angle δ in such lines mainly on the active power flow, while their frequency is mainly
is small, so it can be assumed that sin(δ) ≈ δ and cos(δ) ≈ 1 [47]. affected by the reactive power injection. From (10) and (11), the
Therefore, (4) and (5) can be rewritten as: following droop control expressions can be written for resistive
VA XPA lines:
PA ≈ (VB sin δ) ⇒ δ ≈ (6)
X VA VB
V − VO = −kp (P − PO ) (12)
VA XQA
QA ≈ (VA − VB cos δ) ⇒ VA − VB ≈ . (7) f − fO = kq (Q − QO ) (13)
X VA
grid-supporting power converter in a microgrid can be adjusted

by changing the values kp and kq .
D. Virtual Impedance Control

Conventional P/f and Q/V droop controls have been proven to
be an effective solution for regulating the voltage magnitude and
frequency in MV networks, where the lines have a predominant
Fig. 9. Voltage and frequency droop characteristics in mainly resistive grids, inductive behavior. However, as shown previously, the perfor-
generally in LV systems.
mance of this kind of controls is highly dependent on the R/X
ratio of the line [50]. Due to this feature, this method cannot be
directly applied in all kind of networks, unless sophisticated grid
being their droop characteristics represented in Fig. 9 [48], [49], impedance estimation algorithms are implemented in order to
which depicts the P/V and the Q/f droop control actions to be calculate the rotated powers indicated in (14). This issue is even
taken in resistive networks for regulating the grid voltage and more important when the droop control is applied to LV micro-
frequency. grids, as stated in [44], [49], and [51]. In such a case, a small
c) General case: In the general case, the combined effect mismatching in the grid impedance estimation results in an in-
of the resistive and inductive line impedance components should efficient power sharing among the droop controlled distributed
be taken into account in the droop control equations [14]. To generators.
do that, a rotation matrix T is used to transform the active and As an intuitive solution to solve these drawbacks, resulting
reactive powers, P and Q, into the rotational power components, from the strong dependence of the conventional droop controller
P and Q , as detailed in the following: performance on the line impedance value, large inductors could
be used to link the power converter to the ac bus and thereby the
P P line impedance would be predominantly inductive. However,
= [T] ·
Q Q this is not an efficient solution since, in addition to the increase
X in the size and the costs, the dc-bus voltage level should be sig-
cos φ − sin φ P /Z −R/Z P
= · = R X · nificantly increased to compensate the high voltage drop across
sin φ cos φ Q /Z /Z Q
these inductors, thus reducing the overall efficiency. A more
(14) effective solution consists on introducing virtually the effect
of this link impedance, adapting the control loop of the power
where ϕ = π/2 – θ = arctan (R/X), ϕ is the rotation angle of the converter in order to include its effect.
matrix T and θ is the angle of the line impedance, Z = Z θ. This concept was successfully implemented in [52] and [53]
Provided that δ takes a small value, the application of the T where an adjustable virtual output impedance was used for reg-
rotation matrix to (4) and (5) results in the following simplified ulating the power sharing among parallelized inverters and lim-
equations: iting overcurrents under grid disturbances [54]. It is worth to
VA ZPA remark that the value of the virtual impedance should be larger
PA ≈ (VB sin δ) ⇒ δ ≈ (15) than the actual line impedance; otherwise, it will not have a
Z VA VB
predominant effect in the power flow equations.
VA ZQA
QA ≈ (VA − VB cos δ) ⇒ VA − VB ≈ (16) The virtual impedance modifies the power converter output
X VA voltage reference as indicated in (19), where the modified volt-
where PA and QA are the rotated components of PA and QA age reference vref is obtained by subtracting the virtual voltage
according to (10). drop across the virtual impedance ZV ·igrid from the reference
∗
From (15) and (16), it can be concluded that the power angle value originally provided by the droop equations, vref [43].
δ can be controlled by regulating the rotating active power PA , v ref = v ∗ref − ZV · igrid . (19)
while the voltage difference VA – VB can be changed by reg-
ulating the rotating reactive power QA . Therefore, in a general The value of ZV sets the dynamic of the controller; hence, it
case, the droop control equations can be written as: must be considered as a control variable and should be selected
according to the nominal power of the converter. An example
f − f0 = −kp (P − P0 ) of the implementation of the virtual impedance concept in a
X R grid-connected power converter is shown in Fig. 10.
= −kp (P − P0 ) + kq (Q − Q0 ) (17)
Z Z
V. HIERARCHICAL CONTROL OF AC MICROGRIDS
V − V0 = −kq (Q − Q0 )
In a microgrid, where different power generation systems
R X
= −kp (P − P0 ) − kq (Q − Q0 ) . (18) based on different technologies and power ratings are intercon-
Z Z nected, it is necessary to implement a hierarchical control struc-
According to (17) and (18), the contribution in the compensation ture oriented to minimize the operation cost, while maximizing
of the frequency and the voltage amplitude variations by each efficiency, reliability, and controllability.
Fig. 10. Block diagram of the virtual output impedance loop working with P and Q droop method in the grid power converter.
Fig. 11. Block diagram of primary, secondary, and tertiary microgrid control.
Power ratings, distribution of loads and generation systems, microgrid voltage and frequency, restoring their values to the
electrical market prices, generation costs, and energy availabil- nominal ones. In addition, the secondary control is responsible
ity from stochastic primary sources are the main issues to be for controlling the voltage profile along the ac buses in order to
considered when determining the optimum operation point of a keep it within its operational limits at any point of the microgrid
microgrid [51]–[55]. Therefore, to guarantee a proper regulation structure. The secondary control makes use of communications
of the operation set point, the hierarchical control of microgrids and wide-area monitoring systems to coordinate the action of all
can be organized into three main layers, i.e., primary, secondary, the generation units within a given area, being its time response
and tertiary control, as presented in Fig. 11. Some extra ancillary in the range of minutes, thus having a slow dynamic if compared
services, many of them implemented locally in the generation with the primary control.
units, have been included in Fig. 11 as well. The objective of Finally, the tertiary control level is responsible for optimizing
these services is discussed in Section VI. the microgrid operation and setting its interaction with the dis-
The primary control, the so-called local control, is devoted tribution network by controlling the active and reactive power
to control local variables, such as frequency and voltage, as references for each DG unit. This optimization is usually based
well as current injection. In addition to other low-level controls, on economic criteria, which considers the relationship between
these local controllers deal with implementing droop and virtual the demand and the energy supply balance, together with the
impedance control techniques in each of the distributed power marginal generation cost of each DG unit. The estimation in
converters connected to the microgrid. the short-term load changes, the generation forecast, and en-
The secondary control works as a centralized automatic gen- ergy storage capability, as well as the specific demands set by
eration controller and compensates the steady-state errors in the the TSO/DSO and the prize signals provided by the electrical
market, are taken into account in the microgrid operation anal- and connected sources. These voltage and frequency deviations
ysis [56]. The tertiary control level is also in charge of restoring are translated into changes in PI∗ and Q∗I references for each
the secondary control reserve, managing eventual congestions, inverter through the primary droop control action. The objec-
and giving support to the secondary control if necessary. tive of the primary control in this case is to balance the power
The secondary and tertiary control levels are coordinately injected into the microgrid by each DG unit. Under any voltage
used in grid-feeding and in grid-supporting inverters to control or frequency deviation, a secondary control action is applied to
the microgrid operation point. In the grid-connected mode, the multiple DG units in the microgrid to restore their nominal val-
DG units supply a specified power, usually set by such high- ues. If compared with conventional generators, the secondary
level control layers. On the other hand, when the microgrid control in modern grid-supporting power converters is able to
works in stand-alone mode, the main duty for DG sources is to provide a faster response; however, these control actions are lim-
keep the voltage and frequency value within operational limits, ited by some factors such as the battery capacity or the primary
also during disconnection and reconnection transients [57], [58]. renewable resource availability.
Therefore, grid-forming inverters will be in charge of locally The tertiary control, acts over the secondary control level with
controlling the voltage and frequency of the ac waveforms pro- the objective to restore the secondary control reserve, as well
vided to the microgrid in stand-alone mode [59], [60] and grid- as to set the microgrid voltage and frequency to their nominal
supporting inverters will contribute to guarantee a proper voltage values in case the secondary reserve, is not effective enough.
profile along the microgrid extension.
C. Grid-Forming Power Converter
A. Grid-Feeding Power Converters When a microgrid works in the island operation mode, its
The local control of grid-feeding power converters can set grid-forming power converters set the microgrid nominal volt-
the active and reactive power references to maximize the en- age and frequency by adjusting their internal voltages and virtual
ergy yield according to a given MPPT algorithm [61], either impedances. Thus, the secondary control, or the microgrid cen-
in grid-connected or stand-alone conditions. However, grid- tral controller, will only act in the transition between the island
feeding converters can also deliver given active and reactive and the grid-connected operation modes. Under such operating
power levels, PI∗ and Q∗I , set as references by the secondary conditions, the microgrid voltage and frequency reference val-
control. In such a case, the secondary control layer sets the op- ues, E∗ and ω ∗ , will experience small and slow variations, δE and
eration point of each inverter, as a function of its capacity and δω, to resynchronize in phase angle, frequency, and amplitude
prime mover technology, with the objective of minimizing the with the main network voltage before reconnecting.
voltage and the frequency deviations. In island operation, the
secondary controller acts on the grid-feeding DG inverters es- VI. GRID SERVICES PROVIDED BY MICROGRIDS
tablishing a set of power references, PI∗I and Q∗I I , that intends
The distributed generators forming a microgrid can be con-
to properly share the power generation in the microgrid.
trolled in a coordinated way to provide some ancillary services
The tertiary control level of grid-feeding power converters
oriented to enhance the performance of the main network [62].
sets the optimal operation of the system from an economical
According to the IEEE Standard 1547.2-2008 [63], among the
point of view, taking into account different criteria, such as:
ancillary services that distributed power generation systems
prime mover generation cost, prime mover availability, cost of
may offer to the electrical power systems, generation schedul-
purchasing energy, and profit objectives.
ing optimization, enhanced system control and dispatch ser-
vices, reactive power supply and voltage and frequency control
B. Grid-Supporting Power Converters regulation, black-start restoration, energy imbalance compensa-
In grid-supporting power converters, the primary control loop, tion, and spinning reserve operation can be highlighted as the
combined with the virtual impedance technique, sets the ampli- most representatives. Moreover, these services can be further
tude, frequency, and phase angle of the reference voltage in the extended if EES systems are integrated in the microgrid. In
inner control loops, as it has been discussed in the previous sec- such a case, functionalities like the extension of the operational
tions. This v∗ is constantly updated according to the difference reserve capability, frequency regulation, peak shaving, backup
between the actual and the nominal values of the voltage and of intentional electrical islands, and optimized management of
the frequency at the point of connection. This primary control daily wind/solar cycles [64], [65] might be implemented as well.
level allows multiple grid-supporting power converters to work Among the services offered by microgrids, the capability for
together with the aim of maintaining the voltage and the fre- safely operating in island mode is of special interest, as it in-
quency stability in the microgrid. The secondary control level creases the operability of the electrical network while improves
in the grid-supporting converters adjusts the droop characteristic the continuity of the electricity supply into the local network in
coefficients, kP and kQ in (17) and (18), to restore the microgrid case of contingencies. Nevertheless, this operation mode is not
voltage and the frequency to their target values by changing PI∗ yet permitted by the majority of TSO/DSO. The prospective risk
and Q∗I references. in the repair operations of lines that can be partially powered,
The frequency deviations will be the same for all the ele- the liability for damage of end-user equipment in case of devi-
ments belonging to the microgrid. However, different voltage ations of the grid frequency and voltage respect to their rated
deviations will occur as a function of the grid impedance values values and difficulties for reclosing the electrical circuit onto an
unsynchronized active island are some of the main reasons why units and loads. In the microgrid restoration and grid connec-
TSO/DSO are concerned about islanding operation. Neverthe- tion, the synchronization should be accurate enough in order to
less, it is foreseen that mandatory disconnection and shutting avoid hazardous voltage and frequency excursions. The micro-
down of active islands in the electrical grid will be gradually grid blackout restoration procedure is analyzed in [73], where
relaxed, as the control techniques for the management of DG it is discussed how the coordinated action of multimicrogrids
systems, in both operation modes, are continuously improv- improve the global performance in two main steps: building the
ing [66]–[68]. Recent Standards, IEEE 1547.4 [12], work to grid by synchronizing small islands and integrating generation
give a guideline for microgrids with stand-alone capability to and loads. This restoration process from a black-start can be
guarantee the safe connection and disconnection from the grid. enhanced by integrating EES systems into microgrids.
The capability for providing ancillary services by a microgrid Finally, it is worth to point out that microgrids can offer other
depends mainly on the capability of its grid-connected power coordinated services related to power quality improvement, in
converters to accurately control the active and reactive power both grid-connected and island modes. Harmonics and unbal-
flow in the system, in a coordinated manner, under generic ance compensation, flicker reduction, transient voltage support
operating conditions [69]. during grid-faults, or reactive power compensation are actually
Microgrid power converters can competently participate in common functionalities in modern DG systems [69]. The hier-
regulating the grid voltage profile, mainly in LV grids, by means archical control of microgrids allows sharing power quality con-
of controlling the active and reactive power delivery through ditioning functionalities among the elements of the microgrid
droop control algorithms [47], [60], [70]. This regulation capa- in such a way that an optimal use of the microgrid power con-
bility can be further improved if ES systems are also integrated version capacity for attenuating disturbances can be achieved.
in the microgrid, as the control capability becomes less depen-
dent on the availability of the primary energy resource. In ad-
dition, the microgrid hierarchical control permits to carry out a
distributed control of the voltage in different points of the micro- VII. TRENDS IN THE CONTROL OF MICROGRIDS
grid according to the load and generation conditions, and the grid Advances in the control of microgrids have improved their po-
layout and X/R characteristics [69]. The high-level control of a tential to be integrated into the conventional electrical systems,
microgrid should be coordinated within the secondary and ter- not only improving their connection and disconnection proce-
tiary control schemes of the TSO/DSO, which allows optimizing dures in the aim of limiting negative effects in the network in
power flow sharing among all the DG facilities forming the grid. its neighborhood, but also providing grid support functionalities
In addition to the grid voltage and the frequency regulation, oriented to enhance the global operation of the network under
new grid-supporting power converters in a microgrid should be generic conditions. Even though microgrids are not extensively
able to contribute to damp power oscillations, either in grid- exploited nowadays, being its installation mostly restricted to
connected or island mode [10], [71]. Power oscillations dete- demonstrative projects, these control advances should positively
riorate power quality in a microgrid and can even give rise to contribute to increase its participation in electrical networks
serious problems regarding the stability of the system. The oc- boosting thus its presence and competitiveness in future electri-
currence of active power oscillations in microgrids are not only cal markets [10].
due to the inherent intermittent nature of the primary renewable Regarding the current development of microgrids and its fu-
energy sources used in distributed generators, but they are also ture role in the new electrical networks, the route map of the
produced as a consequence of the characteristic electromechan- new developments in microgrids can be grouped into three main
ical response of conventional synchronous generators when a areas, which are closely linked to each other: 1) grid integration
sudden load variation happens [72]. The coordinated control of of EES systems in microgrids and power generation facilities,
the power converters forming a microgrid allows optimizing the 2) active management of the demand, and 3) improvement of
attenuation of the power oscillations generated by distributed the microgrid controllability and monitoring.
generators and setting the most effective power damping strat- The integration of EES technologies is a key issue in the de-
egy according to the grid layout and operating conditions. It velopment of the future smart electrical networks [74], as the
should be outlined here that the installation of EES systems in capability for storing energy permits the development of con-
microgrids benefits the damping of active power oscillations. trol strategies that shall permit solving many of the drawbacks
Modern microgrids can provide backup and black-start ser- that nowadays hinder the high-scale integration of DG systems.
vices, being this the last procedure for recovering from total or As a straightforward application, the integration of EES systems
partial shutdown of electrical supplies in a network area [69]. would permit damping the power variations in the generation fa-
The grid-forming and grid-supporting power converters in mi- cilities whose energy resource is stochastic, like in PV and wind
crogrids can provide backup and black-start functionalities since power plants. The implementation of EES is providing promis-
they present the capability of setting active islands in the electri- ing results already in WT applications [75], [76] and PV [77],
cal network during contingencies. Energizing and synchroniza- where such systems enhance the peak power response as well
tion of electrical areas from these active islands after a blackout as firming energy production. Likewise, EES systems will also
can be performed by coordinating the operational control lay- be used to smooth the load profile [78], offering load-leveling
ers of the microgrids and the TSO/DSO centralized controllers, and load-tracking functionalities. The load-leveling service is
in order to properly restore the grid by connecting generation used to smooth the load profile, while the load-tracking services
regulate power in response to the frequency variations originated have been described for both grid-connected and islanded oper-
by load fluctuations. ation modes. The droop control schemes for inductive, resistive,
It is important to point out that the participation of EES in mi- and generic lines have been presented as an effective solution
crogrids should not only take into account generation facilities, to support the amplitude and frequency of the voltage in ac
but also some external systems which are not linked directly microgrids. Likewise, the virtual impedance concept has been
to the generation technologies, but whose role can be decisive introduced and its suitability to control power sharing in paral-
in the next future. This is the case of the vast amounts of EES leled power converters has been pointed out.
which are foreseen to be present in the future electrical grids The hierarchical control structure on microgrids has been pre-
in the form of millions of electric vehicles (EV) [79]. In such sented as well and the functionality of each layer has been dis-
grids, the EV are not understood as passive loads but also as cussed, being highlighted the importance of high-level control
active elements being able to support grid services and guaran- layers for optimizing efficiency and performances, meanwhile
tee supply continuity [79], [80], and thereby the vehicle-to-grid generation costs are reduced. The grid services provided by mi-
concept being stated. crogrids have been reviewed as well and their requirements on
The second area where relevant contributions are expected to the control scheme layers have been pointed out. By the same
arise in the next future is related to the active management of token, it has been stressed that the integration of decentralized
demand and supply, i.e., the active coordination of distributed EES systems facilitates the energy balance in the microgrids,
consumers and generators to optimize the energy use and power improves the grid stability, and improves the performance of
flows [81]. The ADM is based on regulating the user electricity active electrical islands. Finally, new trends in the control of
consumption in response to the power system operating con- microgrids have been reviewed, highlighting the importance of
ditions. The demand response should help us to compensate the role that ICT will play in the grid integration and active
fluctuations in the electrical power generated from renewable management of future microgrids.
energies and uses economic incentives to increase the participa-
tion from consumers.
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P. Rodrı́guez, “Intelligent connection agent for three-phase grid-connected Barcelona, in 2003, where he also received the Ph.D.
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[69] M. Braun A. Notholt-Vergara. (2008). Advanced architectures and con- Researcher and Assistant Professor since 2008. His
trol concepts for more microgrids - inverter performance with regard to current research interests include power electronics
ancillary services and fault-ride-through capabilities [Online]. Available applied to photovoltaic and wind energy systems, particularly their application
at http://www.microgrids.eu into microgrids.
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ing,” IEEE Trans. Power Electron., vol. 27, no. 3, pp. 1283–1294, Mar.
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system with a Ni-Cd battery Energy Storage,” in Proc. 35th Annu. Conf. Catalonia (UPC), Barcelona, Spain, in 2001, 2005,
IEEE Ind. Electron., 2009, pp. 4589–4594. and 2009, respectively, all in electrical engineering.
He joined the UPC as a Faculty Member in 2005,
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where he is currently an Assistant Professor. His re-
of renewable sources and user demands in grids: Power electronics for
search interests include wind turbines control, inte-
modular battery energy storage systems,” IEEE Trans. Power Electron.,
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Dr. Luna is a Student Member of the IEEE Power
making framework and simulator for sustainable electric energy sys-
Electronics Society, the IEEE Industrial Electronics
tems,” IEEE Trans. Sustainable Energy, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 37–49, Jan.
Society, and the IEEE Industrial Applications Society.
2011.
Frede Blaabjerg (S’86–M’88–SM’97–F’03) re- Pedro Rodrı́guez (S’99–M’04–SM’10) received the

ceived the Ph.D. degree from the Institute of Energy M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering
Technology, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark, from the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC),
in 1995. Barcelona, Spain, in 1994 and 2004, respectively.
He was with ABB-Scandia, Randers, Denmark, He was a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Cen-
during 1987–1988. He is currently with the Institute ter for Power Electronics Systems, Virginia Tech,
of Energy Technology, Aalborg University, where Blacksburg, in 2005, and in the Department of Energy
he became an Assistant Professor in 1992, Asso- Technology, Aalborg University (AAU) in 2006. He
ciate Professor in 1996, and full Professor in power joined the faculty of UPC as an Assistant Professor in
electronics and drives in 1998. He has been a part- 1990, where he became the Director of the Research
time Research Programme Leader at Research Center Center on Renewable Electrical Energy Systems in
Risoe in wind turbines. In 2006–2010, he was the Dean of the Faculty of Engi- the Department of Electrical Engineering. He was also a Visiting Professor at
neering, Science and Medicine at the same place and became a Visiting Professor the AAU from 2007 to 2011, acting as a co-supervisor of the Vestas Power Pro-
at Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China, in 2009. His research interests include gram. He still lectures Ph.D. courses at the AAU every year. Since 2011, he has
power electronics and its applications like wind turbines, PV systems, and ad- been the Head of Electrical Engineering Division in Abengoa Research, Seville,
justable speed drives. Spain, although he is a part-time Professor at UPC. He has coauthored one book
Dr. Blaabjerg has been the Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON and more than 100 papers in technical journals and conference proceedings. He
POWER ELECTRONICS since 2006. He was a Distinguished Lecturer for the IEEE is the holder of seven licensed patents. His research interests include integration
Power Electronics Society from 2005 to 2007 and for the IEEE Industry Ap- of distributed generation systems, smart grids, and design and control of power
plications Society from 2010 to 2011. He received the 1995 Angelos Award converters.
for his contribution in modulation technique and the Annual Teacher Prize at Dr. Rodrı́guez is a member of the Administrate Committee of the IEEE
Aalborg University, also in 1995. In 1998, he received the Outstanding Young Industrial Electronics Society (IES), the General Chair of IEEE-IES Gold and
Power Electronics Engineer Award from the IEEE Power Electronics Society. Student Activities, the Vice-Chair of the Sustainability and Renewable Energy
He has received ten IEEE Prize paper awards and another prize paper award Committee of the IEEE Industry Application Society, and a member of the
at PELINCEC Poland 2005. He received the IEEE Power Electronics Society IEEE-IES Technical Committee on Renewable Energy Systems. He is an Asso-
Distinguished Service Award in 2009 as well as the EPE-PEMC 2010 Council ciate Editor of the IEEE TRANSACTION ON POWER ELECTRONICS.
Award.

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4734 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 27, NO.

11, NOVEMBER 2012

Control of Power Converters in AC Microgrids

0885-8993/$31.00 © 2012 IEEE

microgrids. In addition to generators, the EES systems are

to their rated values. In case of controlling a grid-supporting

A. Grid-Forming Power Converters

connected to the grid through a link impedance, like in

A. Synchronous Reference Frame Phase-Locked Loop

where kP is the proportional gain, kR is the resonant gain at the

Fig. 8. Frequency and voltage droop characteristics in grids with dominant

Expressions (6) and (7) show a direct relationship between the

where f – fO and V – VO represent the grid frequency and the

grid-supporting power converter in a microgrid can be adjusted

D. Virtual Impedance Control

Frede Blaabjerg (S’86–M’88–SM’97–F’03) re- Pedro Rodrı́guez (S’99–M’04–SM’10) received the

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Roca Bert 2012

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Document Informationclick to expand document information

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Roca Bert 2012

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Copyright

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Roca Bert 2012

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Copyright:

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4734 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 27, NO.

11, NOVEMBER 2012

Control of Power Converters in AC Microgrids

0885-8993/$31.00 © 2012 IEEE

microgrids. In addition to generators, the EES systems are

to their rated values. In case of controlling a grid-supporting

A. Grid-Forming Power Converters

connected to the grid through a link impedance, like in

A. Synchronous Reference Frame Phase-Locked Loop

where kP is the proportional gain, kR is the resonant gain at the

Fig. 8. Frequency and voltage droop characteristics in grids with dominant

Expressions (6) and (7) show a direct relationship between the

where f – fO and V – VO represent the grid frequency and the

grid-supporting power converter in a microgrid can be adjusted

D. Virtual Impedance Control

Frede Blaabjerg (S’86–M’88–SM’97–F’03) re- Pedro Rodrı́guez (S’99–M’04–SM’10) received the

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