Advanced Control of Grid-Connected Microgrids: Challenges, Advances, and Trends

Sustainable microgrids are powered by renewable energy sources (e.g., solar PV and wind energy), and these support the reliability, resilience, and the decarbonization of the electrical grid. In recent decades, advanced nonlinear control techniques are increasingly being used to integrate power converters to meet grid requirements. This study reviews the advanced nonlinear control techniques predominantly used for grid-connected converters namely, data-driven control, nonlinear model predictive control, direct power control, sliding mode control, disturbance-observer methods, and passivity control. Recent advances in these control policies are highlighted and various design and performance features are compared. Solutions for grid-synchronization stability, non-ideal and distorted grid conditions, circulating current suppression, power quality, harmonics suppression and grid support are presented—as well as the future trends of the advanced control methods. The study indicates that advanced control offers advantages in dynamic performance, disturbance rejection and multi-objective control over linear control for multi-objective and multi-timescale microgrids.