Mitigation strategies for communication networks induced impairments in autonomous microgrids control: A review

The advancement in communication technology and the availability of intelligent electronic devices (IEDs) have impacted positively on the penetration of renewable energy sources (RES) into the main electricity grid. High penetration of RES also come along with greater demand for more effective control approaches, congestion management techniques, and microgrids optimal dispatch. Most of the secondary control methods of microgrid systems in the autonomous mode require communication links between the distributed generators (DGs) for sharing power information and data for control purposes. This article gives ample review on the communication induced impairments in islanded microgrids. In the review, attention is given to communication induced delay, data packet loss, and cyber-attack that degrades optimal operations of islanded microgrids. The review also considered impairments modelling, the impact of impairments on microgrids operation and management, and the control methods employed in mitigating some of their negative impacts. The paper revealed that innovative control solutions for impairment mitigation rather than the development of new high-speed communication infrastructure should be implemented for microgrid control. It was also pointed out that a sparse communication graph is the basis for communication topology design for distributed secondary control in the microgrid.