Robust Control Scheme for Distributed Battery Energy Storage Systems in Load Frequency Control

This paper proposes a robust control scheme to involve the distributed Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESSs) in Load Frequency Control (LFC) through BESS aggregators with sparse communication networks. In order to cope with the uncertainties associated with system operation, a two-layer Model Predictive Control (MPC) is developed so that more efficient control signals are provided to improve the response of BESSs to make larger contribution to the LFC. The outer layer in the proposed structure produces the command signal for the aggregator based on signals which are produced by the inner layer as well as the signal provided from the actual system. These command signals are provided so as to achieve the least value of error in Area Control Error (ACE) with a minimum control effort taking a variety of operational and physical constraints into consideration. Optimization procedures are also carried out to compute the optimal value of weighting coefficients contained in the objective functions. The capability of controller to cope with uncertainties is compared with a conventional single-layer MPC. In addition, the delay caused by propagation channels in delivering control signals to BESSs is modeled, and its impact on the performance of frequency regulation is evaluated. An intelligent fuzzy coordination control is then developed to coordinate the BESS aggregator and conventional power plants to avoid extra power injection/withdrawal by the conventional power plants in case of long delays. Case studies are conducted to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed structure in controlling distributed BESSs with diverse energy capacities, rated powers, charging/discharging coefficients and time constants; and State of Charges (SoCs).