Assessment and Control of Microgrid Impacts on Distribution Networks by Using Experimental Tests

The main aim of this article is to assess and control impacts that a grid-tied microgrid may have on a distribution network. For this purpose, the tie-line power flow has been considered in a performance index to be minimized. In particular, three statistical indices have been compared on the microgrid operated under a classical day-ahead dispatching policy and an online optimal control strategy. The online optimization process starts from the same day-ahead dispatching policy and tries to compensate the tie-line power flow deviations from the scheduled value. For this purpose, a real-time economic dispatching algorithm based on a proportional integral derivative controller has been developed and implemented on the PrInCE Lab microgrid, located at the Polytechnic University of Bari, Bari, Italy.