DC Microgrid Planning, Operation, and Control: A Comprehensive Review

In recent years, due to the wide utilization of direct current (DC) power sources, such as solar photovoltaic (PV), fuel cells, different DC loads, high-level integration of different energy storage systems such as batteries, supercapacitors, DC microgrids have been gaining more importance. Furthermore, unlike conventional AC systems, DC microgrids do not have issues such as synchronization, harmonics, reactive power control, and frequency control. However, the incorporation of different distributed generators, such as PV, wind, fuel cell, loads, and energy storage devices in the common DC bus complicates the control of DC bus voltage as well as the power-sharing. In order to ensure the secure and safe operation of DC microgrids, different control techniques, such as centralized, decentralized, distributed, multilevel, and hierarchical control, are presented. The optimal planning of DC microgrids has an impact on operation and control algorithms; thus, coordination among them is required. A detailed review of the planning, operation, and control of DC microgrids is missing in the existing literature. Thus, this article documents developments in the planning, operation, and control of DC microgrids covered in research in the past 15 years. DC microgrid planning, operation, and control challenges and opportunities are discussed. Different planning, control, and operation methods are well documented with their advantages and disadvantages to provide an excellent foundation for industry personnel and researchers. Power-sharing and energy management operation, control, and planning issues are summarized for both grid-connected and islanded DC microgrids. Also, key research areas in DC microgrid planning, operation, and control are identified to adopt cutting-edge technologies. This review explicitly helps readers understand existing developments on DC microgrid planning, operation, and control as well as identify the need for additional research in order to further contribute to the topic.

Automated summary

In recent years, the importance of DC microgrids has been increasing due to the wide utilization of DC power sources. Unlike conventional AC systems, DC microgrids do not have synchronization and harmonics issues, but controlling voltage and power-sharing remains a challenge. Different control techniques are needed to ensure secure operation, and detailed research on planning, operation, and control is lacking.