A utility connected microgrid based on power emulators

A utility connected microgrid based on power emulators is presented. The microgrid has been developed in the Catalonia Institute for Energy Research (IREC), Barcelona, Spain and applied to the ”Smart City” project (led by the utility Endesa) which will be implemented in the near future in Màlaga, Spain. The microgrid is composed of different nodes configurable as renewable or conventional generators, energy storage systems or controllable or non-controllable loads. These different configurations are emulated by a power converter which can be parameterized to behave as any given generation, storage or load node. The emulators are connected to voltage sourced converters (VSC) which are connected to the microgrid. The VSCs have been designed in the framework of the project and feature independent control of active and reactive power. Active and reactive power references are provided by a higher lever energy management system which is based on i-Nodes and i-Sockets. The i-Nodes manage the microgrid and communicate with i-Sockets using IEC61850. i-Sockets control individual nodes of the microgrid and communicate with VSCs by means of CAN. The microgrid can be controlled using centralized or distributed control.