Abstract
Microgrid usually consists of a cluster of distributed generators(DGs), energy storage systems and loads, and can operate in the grid-connected mode and the islanded mode. This paper presents detailed descriptions of two different options for controlling the active power of DGs in the microgrid. One is regulating the power injected by the unit to a desired amount(Unit output power control) and the other is to regulate the flow of active power in the feeder where the unit is installed to a constant(Feeder flow control). Frequency-droop characteristics are used to achieve good active power sharing when the microgrid operates in the islanded mode. The change in the frequency and the active power output of DGs are investigated according to the control mode and the configuration of DGs when the microgrid is disconnected from the main grid. From the analysis, this paper proposes a method to determine the droop constant of DGs operating in the feeder flow control mode. Simulation results using the PSCAD/EMTDC are presented to validate the approach, which shows good performance as opposed to the conventional one.