The operation of diesel gensets in a CERTS microgrid

In this paper the operation of diesel engine-driven wound-field synchronous generator sets as distributed generators (DGpsilas) is studied. The objective of this work is to develop the modeling and control framework for such gensets to enable their operation in a distribution system that contains multiple DGpsilas including inverter-based sources. The paper presents experimental results for the interaction of conventional gensets with inverter-based sources in a microgrid test system. From the test results it is observed that there is significant circulating reactive power between the sources as well as frequency oscillations caused by the response of the conventional genset controller. A new controller for the genset is proposed that alleviates these issues and enables the various sources to share power and maintain power quality within the system. The operation of the new controller is demonstrated using simulation results.