Micro Grids with Distributed Generation in an Open Access Environment

University Of Washington, Seattle WA

Investigators

Abstract

This proposal is submitted under the Small Grants for Exploratory Research (SGER) program. Distributed generation is emerging as an important part of the power grid. The smaller generating units and renewable energy, e.g., micro turbines, wind and solar power, fuel cells and diesel generators, provide the resources that are critical at the peak load conditions. The availability of such generators also helps industrial, commercial or residential users avoid power outages caused by problems of the power grid. These distributed generators need to be connected to the grid in order to increase the flexibility of utilization. Small generators can also participate in the electricity market in an environment where the transmission access is open. After the recent energy crisis in California, distributed generation or distributed power has attracted even more attention. Many technical and economic issues are involved in distributed generation. The voltage and frequency of the generating units need to be regulated. Protective devices are needed to ensure that the faulted devices can be isolated and such protective functions must be coordinated with the grid. There are also economic issues from the suppliers' point of view such as market monitoring and decision support for buying and selling. These economics related tools allow the distributed generation to be able to respond to the market needs, leading to a larger pool of available resources for the grid. This study will develop an intelligent multi-agent system that is able to handle the technical and economic functions of a control center for a micro grid. If each generating device and load has the ability and intelligence to communicate with the micro grid control agent and work together to solve technical and economic problems, then the grid can be managed by a multi-agent system. A Micro Grid Agent (MGA) works with generation, load and other control agents to manage the grid and maintain the grid security. New micro grid phenomena related to distributed generation and their integration into the power grid will be explored. This study will also explore the new dynamic phenomena and the protection concepts associated with the micro grids. The other goal is to develop an intelligent system method that allows the micro grid to be operated by intelligent hardware and software tools without the sophistication and costs associated with a control center. The results of this exploratory research grant to serve as a roadmap for researchers interested in the important and futuristic area of distributed generation. These researchers may come from the communities of power engineering, power electronics, and intelligent systems, optimization, control and economics.