IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER SYSTEMS, VOL. 27, NO.

4, NOVEMBER 2012

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Integrated Microgrid Laboratory System

Bo Zhao, Xuesong Zhang, and Jian Chen
AbstractThe paper presents an integrated microgrid laboratory system with a exible and reliable multimicrogrid structure; it contains multiple distributed generation systems and energy storage systems and integrates with a diesel generator that serves as a back-up power source and ywheel energy storage for fast balancing to provide uninterruptible power-supply services in cooperation with the diesel generator. The microgrid system, by adopting the masterslave control strategy, can be transited exibly between grid-connected and islanded modes and can be disconnected from the utility when a fault occurs or the power quality falls below specied standards. The developed bi-directional inverter which is applied in the system plays an important role. The small microgrids of this system are intended to operate separately or in the form of one large microgrid with a certain switch status. Furthermore, experiments on control, protection, and other technologies have been carried out. The results show that the operation conditions meet the related IEEE Standard 1547 and power quality requirements. The integrated microgrid laboratory system is able to operate stably and reliably under different conditions, including mode transition and fault events. Index TermsBi-directional inverter, diesel generator, ywheel energy storage, masterslave control, microgrid.

I. INTRODUCTION HE increase in the penetration depth of distributed generations (DGs) and the presence of multiple DGs in the electrical proximity to one another have brought about the concept of the microgrid, which can provide more technical benets and control exibilities to the utility gird [1][5]. Research on microgrid technologies has received increasingly widespread attention recently. Many microgrid technologies such as energy management, control strategies, protection methods, power quality, laboratory systems, and eld tests have been studied in particular [6][12]. As the carrier of microgrid technologies, the microgrid laboratory system is designed to provide a verication platform for the researches. The development of laboratory-scale microgrid systems with the DGs and energy storage systems has become one of the key technology problems that need to be solved in microgrid research. Many microgrid systems have been built in recent years internationally. In North America, the CERTS Microgrid Laboratory Test Bed [13] is one of the most authoritative microgrid
Manuscript received October 06, 2011; revised February 01, 2012; accepted March 13, 2012. Date of publication May 01, 2012; date of current version October 17, 2012. This work was supported by the Hi-Tech Research and Development Program of China (863) under Contract 2011AA05A107. Paper no. TPWRS-00940-2011. B. Zhao and X. S. Zhang are with the Zhejiang Electric Power Test and Research Institute, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310014, China (e-mail: zhaobozju@163. com; ee_zxs@163.com). J. Chen is with the School of Electrical Engineering and Automation, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China (e-mail: chenjiantju@gmail.com). Color versions of one or more of the gures in this paper are available online at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org. Digital Object Identier 10.1109/TPWRS.2012.2192140

systems and plays an important role in microgrid research. FortZED (Zero Energy District) [14] is a community-driven initiative to create one of the worlds largest net zero energy districts in the downtown area and the main campus of Colorado State University. The 1-MW FREEDM System [15] demonstration laboratory of North Carolina State University not only demonstrates the Center-developed technologies, but it is also used to showcase the third-party renewable energy technologies, such as solar, wind, fuel cell, battery storage, ywheel storage, and plug-in vehicles. Perfect Power at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) is setting an example for smart grid projects throughout the country. Launched in 2006, the smart microgrid-based system is a ground-breaking approach to electricity distribution and management, creating a reliable power system [16], [17]. Many works have been done in Europe as well. The Association of European Distributed Energy Resources Laboratories (DERlab) [18] aims to cluster the best European DER laboratories from each EU member state, including IWES, KEMA, AIT, NTUA, CRES, and so on. Each member laboratory of DERlab is strong in specic DER-related areas, and together they cover the whole eld of distributed generation and smart grids. The DERlab association offers an access point to the testing capabilities. Testing of the qualications of system components and products can be performed according to standards or customer specications. The Microgrids Consortium [19] comprises major European manufacturers, power utilities, and potential microgrid operators and research teams with complementary high-quality expertise. The microgrid systems include the Kythnos microgrid, the Manheim microgrid, CESI, the Bornholm microgrid, the Kozuf microgrid, and so on. European institutes play an important role in promoting microgrid systems. In Asia, a small-scale microgrid pilot plant has been designed at the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI) [20]. However, parts of the distributed power sources in this system are emulators, including the wind turbine (WT) simulator and photovoltaic (PV) simulator. Many microgrid projects have been constructed in Japan, including the Aichi microgrid project [21], Kyotango project, Hachinohe project, CRIEPI [22], and so on. The microgrid testbed constructed at Hefei University of Technology (HFUT) [23] is a small laboratory-scale microgrid including different distributed power sources in China. At present, microgrid laboratory and project systems are increasingly under construction. Microgrid systems which integrate more advantages are the development trend of the future. Recently, the Chinese government has paid more and more attention to microgrids that can help fulll the targets of energy conservation and emission reduction. In this paper, we present the integrated microgrid laboratory system that was formulated at Zhejiang Electric Power Test and Research Institute in 2010 as a cluster of multiple DGs and energy storage systems with the ability to operate stably and reliably under different conditions.

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Fig. 1. Conguration of the integrated microgrid laboratory system.

The DGs in the system are of multiple types, including a wind turbine (WT) system, photovoltaic (PV) system and Double-fed Induction Generator (DFIG) system. A battery energy storage system is used in the system and a diesel generator serves as a back-up power source. Moreover, ywheel energy storage has been used in this microgrid system, which is applicable for fast balancing and can provide uninterruptible power-supply services in cooperation with the diesel generator. The system structure is so exible that several different topological structures are available in accordance with different research requirements. The objective of the integrated microgrid laboratory system is to carry out experimental and theoretical studies on DGs and microgrids, including: 1) studies on the operation control strategy and development of microgrid related equipment; 2) studies on the impacts of microgrid on power systems; 3) analyses of the economic efciency and social benets of microgrids; and 4) formulation of guidelines regarding microgrids and implementation of microgrid security access to the utility grid. The project accomplishes this objective by developing and demonstrating advanced technologies in the rst stage, including: 1) control methods including islanded operation control and automatic and seamless transitions between grid-connected and islanded modes; 2) dynamic simulation of the distribution network with DGs and microgrids; and 3) an approach to microgrid protection considering the features and impacts of DGs. Section II introduces the physical conguration and control structure of the integrated microgrid laboratory system, and Section III describes the proposed control strategy in detail. The results of experiments and discussions are reported in Section IV. The conclusion is given in Section V. II. MICROGRID LABORATORY SYSTEM A. Physical System Conguration Fig. 1 presents the conguration of the integrated microgrid laboratory system. The microgrid system, which is connected to

the external grid through an isolation transformer, is composed of two small microgrids: microgrid A and microgrid B. The rules for naming switches are as follows: The switches in microgrid A are denoted by names beginning with the letter A, and the switches in microgrid B by names beginning with B. Meanwhile, switches which are connected to equipments have names beginning with F. The two switches that can be automatically controlled by the mode controller have names beginning with M, and the two interconnection switches have names beginning with L. Microgrid A includes three busbars: LM3, LM4, and LM5. It is composed of the PV system, WT system, DFIG simulation system, the Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), and two load banks. The 30-kW DFIG simulation system is a simulator with an ABB frequency converter and a real generator to emulate the real system. However, the 33-kW PV system and 10-kW WT system are real systems. The three-phase output power of the 33-kW PV system passes through a three-phase PV inverter, and the BESS near to the point of common coupling (PCC) will be utilized while microgrid A is being transferred. The load banks are composed of RLC (resistance, inductance, capacity) branches that can be changed by remote control device. When microgrid A operates in islanded mode, the battery units provide the reference voltage and frequency. Microgrid A is connected to the external grid through M1. Microgrid B includes three busbars: LM7, LM8, and LM9. There are a PV system, ywheel energy storage, diesel generator, and two load banks. However, differently from microgrid A, in microgrid B, the three-phase output power of the 30-kW PV system passes through three single-phase inverters. Therefore, the PV system can be tested with different connection forms, and the ywheel energy storage is utilized for fast balancing to supply uninterruptible power to important loads in the short-term during mode transition and other fault events. Then, the diesel generator starts to provide the long-term reference voltage and frequency to microgrid B. The interconnection switch L2 between LM8 and LM9 allows microgrid B to have

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Fig. 2. Hierarchical control structure.

different topological structures with certain switch statuses. Microgrid B is connected to the external grid through M2. Details of the components of the system are as follows: 1) System conguration: a) renewable sources: PV, WT, and DFIG; b) energy storage system: BESS and ywheel energy storage; c) controllable source: diesel generator; 2) Capacity of microsources: a) PV: 63 kW; b) WT: 10 kW; c) DFIG: 30 kW; d) diesel generator: 250 kW; 3) Capacity of energy storage systems: a) BESS: 168 kWh; b) Bi-directional inverter of BESS: 100 kW; c) Flywheel energy storage: 250 kVA; 4) Loads: a) Load 1: 30 kW 24 kVar 24 kVar; b) Load 2: 60 kW 45 kVar 45 kVar; c) Loads 3 and 4: 10 kW 8 kVar 8 kVar. Interconnection switch L1 is designed between LM5 and LM8. When L1 is opened, microgrids A and B operate separately. When L1 is closed, microgrids A and B are combined into one large microgrid. In addition, the diesel generator or battery units provide the reference voltage and frequency when the large microgrid operates in islanded mode. Otherwise, each DG can be directly connected to the external grid when there are no tests. For example, when F22 is opened with F72 closed, the output power of the 33-kW PV system ows into LM1 directly. Furthermore, in order to simulate real transmission lines, there are simulated lines with a certain resistance between different busbars. There are also ve simulated fault points in the system, which are connected to ground only through a small resistance, to simulate different fault events. Faults 1 and 4 are designed to simulate the faults outside the microgrid. On the other hand, faults 3 and 5 are designed to simulate the

faults inside the microgrid, while fault 2 is designed to simulate faults in PCC. Through the above ve simulated fault points, different fault events can be simulated easily, allowing methods of protection of the microgrid to be studied further in this system. B. Control System Structure The microgrid system has a hierarchical control structure, as shown in Fig. 2. There are four control layers: the main station, coordinated control, the Feeder Terminal Unit (FTU) and protection device, and microgrid control. The main station layer implements the functions such as graphical display, monitoring, operation, management and application of historical data, remote and other communications (embedded), conguration, and modication of control logic. In the coordinated control layer, the controls of the bi-directional inverter and microsources in both grid-connected and islanded modes are managed by the mode controller. Without the mode controller, the microgrid system cannot be transited between grid-connected and islanded modes exibly and automatically. The FTU and protection device layer is composed of the devices which are responsible for protection and distribution terminal control. The microgrid control layer, as the local controller, receives commands from the control logic and implements different functions. The designed hierarchical control structure contributes to DG control, coordinated control, and the whole control process. III. CONTROL STRATEGY A. Overview The microgrid control system is responsible for the overall control and coordination of operation, including mode transition, frequency control, voltage control, stability control, black start, and so on. In general, microgrid control includes two main parts: a local distributed power control strategy and a systemlevel control mode. The major power sources of most microgrids are the invertertype DGs that are based on power electronic inverters which

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decide the stability of the microgrid. At present, there are three inverter-based DG control strategies: 1) constant power control, that is, PQ control; 2) constant voltage and frequency control, that is, V/F control; and 3) droop control [24][26]. PQ control: The purpose of PQ control is to enable the output power of the DGs to equal the reference value. PQ control generally adjusts the decoupled active power and reactive power, respectively. V/F control: Regardless of the power changes of distributed generation, the purpose of V/F control is to keep the voltage and frequency of the inverter connected bus system unchanged. Droop control: Droop control simulates the power-frequency static characteristics of the generator, which can provide voltage and frequency support. The units adopting droop control can provide voltage and frequency support separately or combined with other support units. Also, there are three main system-level control modes. Masterslave control: masterslave control refers to the operation mode in which only one DG adopts V/F control to provide the reference voltage and frequency, while the other DGs adopt PQ control. The master control unit is usually stable output energy power. Peer-to-peer control: peer-to-peer control refers to the operation mode in which the controls of all the DGs have the same status. The masterslave relationship does not exist. Each DG system is controlled based on the local voltage and frequency. The strategy of the DG controller is critical for this control mode, while a method that is currently of interest is the droop control mentioned previously. Hierarchical control: the hierarchical control generally has a central controller to dispatch control information. The central controller is responsible for work including forecasting power generation and load demand, developing appropriate operation plans, collecting voltage, current, power, and other status information, adjusting the real-time operation plan, and controlling the start-stop of DGs, load, and energy storage devices to ensure that the voltage and frequency are stable and also provide related protection. B. MasterSlave Control Masterslave control is adopted in the integrated microgrid laboratory system where a master control unit is needed for operation. A DG or energy storage system which adopts constant V/F control can serve as the master control unit, providing the reference voltage and frequency to other DGs. Obviously, there is no need to adjust the frequency when the microgrid operates in grid-connected mode as the external grid can stabilize the frequency. Thus, all of the DGs in the microgrid, adopting PQ control, only output a certain active power and reactive power. Conversely, the master control unit, adopting V/F control, has to stabilize the voltage and frequency when the microgrid operates in islanded mode. The control strategy method is shown in Fig. 3. In this system, the bi-directional inverter is the key part in microgrid operation, especially when battery units serve as the master control unit. Fig. 4 shows the portion of the structure in microgrid A. The microgrid control system is responsible for

Fig. 3. Control method of master control unit.

Fig. 4. Part structure of microgrid A.

managing the components control units. As shown in Fig. 4, the bi-directional inverter is composed of dcdc and dcac circuits. The bi-directional inverter can operate in either grid-connected mode or islanded mode. When the bi-directional inverter operates in grid-connected mode, the external grid provides the reference voltage and frequency to it, and the bi-directional inverter, adopting PQ control, controls the power ow in the dcdc and dcac circuits by adjusting the dc bus voltage. When the bi-directional inverter operates in islanded mode, battery units provide the reference voltage and frequency to the system, and the bi-directional inverter, adopting V/F control, controls the output voltage and frequency by adjusting the dc bus voltage. Therefore, two kinds of control strategies are used to operate the bi-directional inverter. The inverter model differs according to the following control strategies. 1) PQ Inverter Control: The PQ controlled inverter operates by injecting into the grid the power available at its input. The reactive power injected corresponds to a prespecied value, dened locally (using a local control loop) or centrally from the microgrid control center. As shown in Fig. 5, when operating in grid-connected mode, the dcdc module adopts constant current control and the dcac module adopts the control structure in which the dc bus voltage is the outer loop and the ac side current is the inner loop. The controls target is to keep the dc bus voltage steady. 2) V/F Inverter Control: The V/F controlled inverter emulates the behavior of a synchronous machine, thus controlling the voltage and frequency on the ac system. The inverter acts as a voltage source, with the magnitude and frequency of the output voltage being controlled. As shown in Fig. 6, when operating in

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Fig. 5. Power control structure of grid-connected mode.

Fig. 7. Control ow chart of microgrid A.

Fig. 6. Voltage and frequency control structure of islanded mode.

islanded mode, the dcdc module adopts the double loop control to keep the dc bus voltage steady, while the role of the dcac module is to control the voltage and frequency, keeping them steady. When the microgrid operates in islanded mode, if the output power of the DGs is smaller than the load, the bi-directional inverter operates in islanded discharge mode at this time. Load that cannot be satised by the DGs is supplied by battery units. If the output power of the DGs is bigger than the load, the bi-directional inverter operates in islanded charge mode. Part of the output power of the DGs ows into the battery units. C. Mode Transition Control 1) Microgrid A: The mode controller implements mode transition of microgrid A by detecting voltage changes in LM2 when microgrid A and microgrid B operate separately. Case 1: External fault occursfault 1: Fig. 7 shows the control ow chart of microgrid A when fault 1 occurs. In this case, PV and WT will disconnect from the grid when the voltage in microgrid A droops because of islanding protection, which allows harm due to non-synchronization closing to be avoided. The mode controller will open M1 when the voltage of LM2 falls below the set value and remains so for a certain duration (such as 3 s, to avoid the transient effect). Then the bi-directional inverter shifts to islanded discharge mode and serves as the master control unit of microgrid A. The PV and WT will reconnect to the grid when the bi-directional inverter provides a

steady voltage and frequency to microgrid A. Finally, microgrid A operates in islanded mode. In islanded mode, the bi-directional inverter rst shifts to standby mode when the voltage of LM2 (external grid voltage) is normal and remains so for a certain duration (such as 3 s). PV and WT disconnect from the grid because of voltage droops. The mode controller will close M1 when LM3 has no voltage. After M1 has closed, the external grid supplies microgrid A again. Then the bi-directional inverter changes to grid-connected mode, and PV and WT reconnect to the grid. Microgrid A operates in grid-connected mode again. Case 2: Internal fault occursfault 2 and fault 3: When fault 2 occurs in LM3, the busbar differential protection will open A2, A3, and F12. In this case, electricity failure inevitably occurs in microgrid A. The mode controller does not issue a mode transition instruction. In another case, when fault 3 occurs in the feeder, the voltage of LM2 droops for a moment and the voltages in microgrid A soon droop. PV and WT disconnect from the grid because of islanding protection, and the bi-directional inverter changes to standby mode. The voltage of LM2 will be established again after the pilot protection clears the fault. In this case, the mode controller does not issue a mode transition instruction because the voltage of LM2 returns to normal 3 s after the fault is cleared. Then DGs reconnect to the grid and the bi-directional inverter reverts to grid-connected mode. 2) Microgrid B: The mode controller implements mode transition of microgrid B by detecting voltage changes in LM6 when microgrid A and microgrid B operate separately. As microgrid B has different topological structures, the situation where microgrid B is operating under the condition where L2 is closed and B3 is open will be discussed. Case 1: External fault occursfault 4: Fig. 8 shows the control ow chart of microgrid B when fault 4 occurs. In this case, the ywheel is applicable as an energy storage device only for

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connect to microgrid A and begin to work normally. In microgrid B, the diesel generator is the startup power source in the black start process. After the diesel generator begins operating, other DGs connect to microgrid B and begin to work normally. For one large microgrid, the battery bi-directional inverter or diesel generator can serve as the startup power source in the black start process. IV. EXPERIMENTAL STUDY Fig. 9 shows the major components of the integrated microgrid laboratory system which is composed of the PV system, WT system, DFIG simulation system, BESS, ywheel, diesel generator, isolation transformer, bi-directional inverter, electricity meters, loads, primary equipments, and secondary equipment. These components communicate with the management software, which is installed on a remote PC, by network communication. Fig. 10 shows the supervisory software developed for management of the microgrid system. It monitors and displays the systems current states including power output, voltage, current, state of charge of battery storage, state of ywheel and diesel generator, and so on. Relying on this microgrid system, different classes of tests were performed. As is well known, a microgrid is a small autonomous power system that can operate in grid-connected mode or islanded mode, and the transition between the two modes is an important issue of microgrid control. Since the microgrid laboratory is composed of different DGs and energy storage systems, it is signicant to study and implement the transition process in this system. Thus, experiments carried out with regard to this topic are mainly discussed next. A. Microgrid A 1) Mode Transition of Microgrid A: In this experimental case, the control performance of mode transition of microgrid A is evaluated. Fig. 11 shows the dynamics of transition of microgrid A from grid-connected to islanded mode. When the grid side switch opens at T1 because of protection or maintenance, the voltage of LM2 droops immediately. When this situation lasts for 3 s, the mode controller opens M1 at T2 and orders the bi-directional inverter to shift from grid-connected charge to islanded discharge mode. The voltage is established within 2.5 s and microgrid A operates in islanded mode at this time. Fig. 12 shows the dynamics of transition of microgrid A from islanded to grid-connected mode. The voltage of LM2 returns to normal at T1. The mode controller orders the bi-directional inverter to switch from islanded discharge to standby mode after ensuring the normal state, and then closes M1 at T2 when LM3 has no voltage. Microgrid A is supplied by the external grid and the bi-directional inverter shifts to grid-connected charge mode. Microgrid A operates in grid-connected mode again. PV and WT reconnect to the grid later as it takes several seconds for the PV and WT inverters to connect to the grid and work again. At this stage, the battery bi-directional inverter does not have the ability to achieve seamless transition. Thus, the voltage of the battery bi-directional inverter becomes zero during mode transition. After the voltage becomes zero, the DGs disconnect from the microgrid because of islanding protection, which allows harm due to non-synchronization closing to be avoided.

Fig. 8. Control ow chart of microgrid B.

fast balancing during fault events. The mode controller will open M2 when the voltage of LM6 falls below the set value and remains so for a certain duration (such as 3 s). At the same time, the diesel generator starts instantly to provide voltage and frequency to microgrid B. After the diesel generator starts, the ywheel goes to charge mode again when the voltage of LM7 is normal. The diesel generator supplies microgrid B independently at this time. Finally, microgrid B operates in islanded mode. In islanded mode, the diesel generator rst stops when the voltage of LM6 (external grid voltage) is normal and remains so for a certain duration (such as 3 s). Then the mode controller closes M2. Microgrid B reconnects to the grid and operates in grid-connected mode at this time. Case 2: Internal fault occursfault 5: When fault 5 occurs in microgrid B, directional pilot relaying will start to clear the fault, which leads to the exit of the ywheel. In this case, it does not make sense to start the diesel generator because there are no loads connected to it. Thus, microgrid B will not operate in islanded mode when fault 5 occurs. 3) One Large Microgrid: In one-large microgrid mode, L1 is closed, and only one switch between M1 and M2 can be closed at the same time. The mode controller implements mode transition by detecting voltage changes of LM2 or LM6. The diesel generator serves as the master control unit and the energy storage system serves as the regulating unit when the microgrid operates in islanded mode as one large microgrid. In this case, regardless of the microgrid operation mode, the bi-directional inverter operates in grid-connected mode all the time. The control strategy is similar to that of microgrids A and B. 4) Black Start: In microgrid A, the battery bi-directional inverter is the startup power source in the black start process. After the battery bi-directional inverter begins operating, other DGs

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Fig. 9. Components in the microgrid (site photographs).

In the transition of microgrid A from grid-connected mode to islanded mode, there is actually a black start process with bi-directional inverter when the battery bi-directional inverter starts as master control unit which adopts V/F control to provide reference voltage and frequency. After the bi-directional inverter provides reference voltage and frequency, PV and WT reconnect to microgrid A again and then work normally. Thus, we can see the starting transients and voltage conditions of a black start process with power electronic devices in Fig. 11 that the startup waveforms are smooth, without violent uctuations in the microgrid system. It must be noted that the time scales of dynamic events shown in Figs. 1118 are not uniform. The sampling rate of the fault recorder changes in different situations so that the sampling rate is low in the steady state and high in the transient state, as can be seen from Figs. 11 18. In these gures, m: s: ms in the horizontal coordinate means minute: second: millisecond. 2) Startup Characteristics: The startup characteristics of the battery storage system are shown in Fig. 13. In this test condition, the 100-kW bi-directional inverter charges the battery at 23.9 kW in grid-connected mode and its startup time is approximately 5 ms. As we can see, the startup waveforms of the bi-directional inverter are smooth, without violent uctuations. B. Microgrid B 1) Mode Transition of Microgrid B: In this experimental case, the control performance of mode transition of microgrid B is evaluated. The dynamics of transition of microgrid B from grid-connected to islanded mode are shown in Fig. 14. When the grid side switch opens at T1 because of protection or maintenance, the voltage of LM6 droops immediately. When this situation lasts for 3 s, the mode controller of microgrid B opens M2 at

T2 and sends the command to start the diesel generator and then closes F61 after a short time delay. Microgrid B soon shifts to islanded mode, and the ywheel for fast balancing provides uninterruptible power-supply services to the important load in cooperation with the diesel generator during the transient process. Fig. 15 shows the dynamics of transition of microgrid B from islanded to grid-connected mode. The voltage of LM6 returns to normal at T1. The mode controller sends a command to stop the diesel generator after ensuring the normal state, and then closes M2 when LM7 has no voltage. Microgrid B operates in grid-connected mode, supplied by the external grid again. 2) Startup Characteristics: The startup characteristics of ywheel energy storage are shown in Fig. 16. The startup time of the 250-kW ywheel energy storage is 15.25 s. The startup waveforms of ywheel energy storage are smooth. These experimental results in part A and B indicate that the control strategy can implement the mode transition successfully and the microgrid system is able to operate stably and reliably under different conditions. C. Protection Tests 1) Fault Events in Grid-Connected Mode: The protection performances are also evaluated in this system. Fig. 17 shows the dynamics of fault events of microgrid A in grid-connected mode with the initial condition that the bi-directional inverter operates in discharge mode. Meanwhile, the battery discharge power is 25.7 kW, the PV system output power is 5.3 kW, the resistive load is 30 kW, and the inductive load is 5 kVar. The BC-phase ground fault is simulated at the location of fault 1 and the fault current is 102 A. In order to isolate the fault, feeder automation opens A1 and A2 after detecting it. The islanding protection of PV and WT then starts. The isolation setting times are both 1 s while the actual breaking times are 1.40 and 1.71 s.

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Fig. 10. Developing supervisory software (only the Chinese version exists so far).

Fig. 11. Dynamics of transition of microgrid A from grid-connected to islanded mode.

Fig. 13. Dynamics of startup of battery storage system.

Fig. 12. Dynamics of transition of microgrid A from islanded to grid-connected mode.

Fig. 14. Dynamics of transition of microgrid B from grid-connected to islanded mode.

2) Fault Events in Islanded Mode: The dynamics of fault events of microgrid A in islanded mode are shown in Fig. 18, with the initial condition that the battery discharge power is

9 kW, the PV system output power is 10.5 kW, the resistive load is 20 kW, and the inductive load is 5 kVar. The A-phase ground fault is simulated in the location of fault 3, which is located at

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Fig. 15. Dynamics of transition of microgrid B from islanded to grid-connected mode.

Fig. 18. Dynamics of fault events of microgrid A in islanded mode.

Fig. 19. Harmonic voltage spectrum of microgrid A. Fig. 16. Dynamics of startup of 250 kW ywheel storage system.

D. Power Quality Test The power quality tests are carried out in normal operation and test conditions. Figs. 19 and 20 show the harmonic voltage spectrum and harmonic current spectrum of the grid-connected point M1 of microgrid A. The tests are carried out from 21:30 to 05:00 the next day. The average statistical method is adopted, and the results are shown in Table I. The results show that microgrid A supplies high-quality power. The harmonic voltage spectrum and harmonic current spectrum of the grid-connected point M2 of microgrid B are shown in Figs. 21 and 22, respectively. The tests are carried out from 00:00 to 14:00, and the results, obtained using the same statistical method as those of Table I, are shown in Table II. From the results, we can see that microgrid B has good quality power. Following further analysis, some differences are found in the power quality of microgrids A and B. First, in order to satisfy the objective of the test, the converters installed in microgrids A and B are produced by different manufacturers, and thus inevitably have different performances. What is more, in microgrid A, the three-phase PV is connected through one three-phase converter, while in microgrid B, the three-phase PV is connected through three single-phase converters, as has been discussed above. This factor also contributes to the differences in power quality between the two small microgrids. During the power quality test, the inuence of WT is insignicant because of the poor wind resources. So the harmonics are mainly decided by PV converters, and the differences in the PV converters mentioned above eventually cause the differences in power quality.

Fig. 17. Dynamics of fault events of microgrid A in grid-connected mode.

the midpoint of line A3A4, and the fault current is 112 A. The feeder automation opens A3 and A4 to isolate the fault after detecting it. The islanding protection of PV and WT then starts. The isolation setting times are both 1 s while the actual breaking times are 1.5 s and 1.52 s. These experimental results indicate that the protection system can clear the faults accurately and immediately, which plays an important role in improving the system control performance.

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TABLE II POWER QUALITY TEST RESULT OF MICROGRID B

Fig. 20. Harmonic current spectrum of microgrid A.

V. CONCLUSION An integrated microgrid laboratory system with multiple DGs and energy storage systems was developed and tested. The system structure was exible as the microgrid system had several different topological structures according to different requirements. Control strategies for application during grid-connected mode, islanded mode, and mode transition were proposed. Many tests of the control strategy, protection, and power quality were carried out to obtain the optimal control method and operating conditions. The tests demonstrated the exibility of mode transition, stable behavior under different conditions, and high quality of power supply. All the results show that the microgrid system performs as expected and has a high level of robustness. As most components of the microgrid laboratory are real, it can also serve as a verication platform for engineering applications. Since microgrid projects are often constructed in remote areas, such as islands, it is difcult to validate the functions of equipments due to the adverse power situation. Thus, debugging and validation of equipment, such as converters, can be carried out with the aid of the microgrid laboratory. Because of the exibility and controllability of the microgrid laboratory, the control systems of the project can be debugged and validated more conveniently and easily by simulating different working conditions. We can adopt a veried method in the microgrid laboratory and then transfer it to projects. In this way, the microgrid laboratory has played an important role in our construction of an island microgrid project, Dongfu island wind-solar-diesel-battery-seawater desalination project. Thus, the microgrid laboratory also has a vital role to play in the construction of microgrid projects. Relevant information about the project will be presented in detail in the future. In the second phase of this integrated microgrid laboratory system, a monitoring system based on the IEC 61850 standard will be imported. The whole microgrid system will be connected to a distribution automation system. Additionally, more types of energy storage, such as compressed air, lithium batteries, sodiumsulphur batteries, super-capacitors, and electric vehicle devices will be employed. The integrated microgrid laboratory system will be further improved. Furthermore, continuing work will be carried out in the near future in order to conduct further research on key issues. ACKNOWLEDGMENT The authors would like to thank all research teams of the microgrid project for valuable discussions.

Fig. 21. Harmonic voltage spectrum of microgrid B.

Fig. 22. Harmonic current spectrum of microgrid B.

TABLE I POWER QUALITY TEST RESULT OF MICROGRID A

Power quality tests of one large microgrid have also been carried out. The results of the power quality tests in normal conditions show that the power quality meets all the national standards. The microgrid system has the ability to provide a high-quality power supply to system loads.

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Bo Zhao was born in Guizhou, China, in 1977. He received the Ph.D. degree from the Department of Electrical Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China, in 2005. He is currently an Engineer with the Research Center, Zhejiang Electric Power Test and Research Institute, Zhejiang, China. His research interests include distributed generation and microgrids.

Xuesong Zhang was born in Hebei, China, in 1979. He received the Ph.D. degree from the Department of Electrical Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China, in 2006. He is currently an Engineer with the Research Center, Zhejiang Electric Power Test and Research Institute, Zhejiang, China. His research interests include relay protection and microgrids.

Jian Chen was born in Shandong, China, in 1986. He is currently working toward the Ph.D. degree at the School of Electrical Engineering and Automation, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China. His research interests include design and operation optimization issues in microgrids.