A new approach to the design of multiple inverter systems using evolutionary optimization

The use of distributed generators (DGs), especially renewables like wind and solar photovoltaics, depends upon inverter technology to provide compatibility between multiple DGs on a local bus. It is becoming more common to group dissimilar DGs together to form microgrids, and desirable to allow DGs to be connected or disconnected without detrimental effects upon the stability of the microgrid. This has implications for the design of suitable control systems for operating inverters in a heterogeneous microgrid. Evolutionary computing provides a powerful optimization tool that has the potential to assist in the design of control systems for microgrids. As a first step, we introduce a feasibility study, where evolutionary design is used to optimize control parameters for an islanded microgrid with a large number of inverters. We show that the evolutionary optimization provides improved transient response when compared to a manual design, and propose that this approach is worthy of further investigation.