Trends in Islanded Microgrid Frequency Regulation - A Review

With the growing concern for the environment and increasing power demand, utilizing renewable energy sources (RESs) in the form of microgrid clusters has become critically important and essential. However, there are associated challenges due to the intermittent nature of RESs from the viewpoint of reliable operation and control of the microgrids. Frequency control is one such most significant control issue. This paper has attempted a review of various methodologies and strategies for frequency control in microgrids and presented their classifications into different categories as per the available literature. The scope of this review includes exploration of many strategies for frequency control in microgrids such as demand response (DR) schemes, different control concepts, energy storage, optimization approaches/algorithms, effect of prosumers, smart homes, shiftable loads, emergency DR programs, electrical vehicle charging and discharging, heating ventilation and air conditioning systems, etc. The novelty of this review is in the categorization, the comprehensiveness, and outlining of future research directions for frequency control in microgrids.