Hybrid PV and diesel as multi master in islanding microgrid system

Abstract

The electrification for remote or isolated communities which are inaccessible by national grid is a demonstrated challenge anywhere. The conventional solution for these off-grid sites is diesel generator set because of its ease in design and installation however they have higher operational & maintenance costs, and negative environmental impact. Photovoltaic (PV) is a sustainable green energy source with proven economic benefits under operation. Integration of PV panels, PV inverters and energy storage batteries into an off-grid diesel generation (DG) system to form a hybrid PV-DG system can help enrich system stability, cost efficiency and reduce pollution emissions. This paper introduces the PV-DG hybrid multi-master operation microgrid system under the concept of distributed generation configuration, as opposed to the traditional central generation configuration. PV inverters will be in parallel operation with generators without any communication link, whilst utilizing AC line voltage/frequency alongside with droop-control algorithm in the coordination and management of each source operation for load sharing. Although PV power plant requires a large land space for installation, the hybrid PV-DG under multi-master concept will allow PV inverters to be developed in different location with DG, resulting in highly proficient system flexibility, stability and efficiency. Furthermore, the investment cost of the multi-master concept can prove to be more financially viable in comparison to central hybrid generation.