A hierarchical multi-agent control scheme for a black start-capable microgrid

This paper presents a hierarchical control scheme using a multi-agent system for black start operation of a microgrid with power electronic interfaces. Five types of agents are proposed in this architecture, namely Grid Agent, Central Agent, Generation Agent, Load Agent and Breaker Agent. With this architecture, the multi-agent system is able to coordinate distributed generators (DG) and loads to maintain steady state operation of the microgrid either in grid-connected mode or islanded mode; it can also perform a black start if a seamless transition to the islanded mode fails or if a black start becomes necessary for any other reason. A system with four DG units is demonstrated using MATLAB/SIMULINK to demonstrate the operation of the proposed system.