With the continuous development of renewable energy technologies, both domestically and internationally, the focus of energy research has gradually shifted towards renewable energy directions such as distributed photovoltaics and wind power. The penetration rate of renewable energy generation is constantly increasing, at the same time, the elements in the grid are becoming increasingly complex, and large-scale energy storage, as well as a variety of electricity loads such as electric vehicle charging piles and data centers are gradually appearing. Therefore, traditional distribution methods of the power grid are difficult to ensure the stable operation of the power system and cannot achieve efficient integration of renewable energy. Consequently, some scholars have proposed the concept of an energy internet. Compared to traditional power grids, the energy internet employs more comprehensive power electronics and communication technologies, enabling the interconnection of various new and traditional energy sources, and effectively integrating renewable energy. As the core device in the energy internet, the energy router plays a role in energy transformation and distribution, facilitating multi-information interconnection and multi-energy exchange within the energy internet. At the level of distribution network, the energy router can realize the efficient access of various forms of energy and the flexible control and management, which is of great significance for the optimal operation of distribution network. Against this backdrop, this paper reviews the development and current research status of energy routers, systematically analyzes the typical topologies and related control technologies of multi-port energy routers and summarizes and forecasts key issues and future development trends, aiming to provide thoughts and reference for subsequent related research.

In order to analyze the influence of uncertainty and an operation strategy on the reliability of a standalone microgrid, a reliability evaluation method based on a sequential Monte Carlo (SMC) simulation was developed. Here, the duty cycles of a microturbine (MT), the stochastic performance of photovoltaics (PV), and wind turbine generators (WTG) were considered. Moreover, the time-varying load with random fluctuation was modeled. In this method, the available capacity of an energy storage system (ESS) was also comprehensively considered by the SMC simulation. Then, the reliability evaluation framework was established from the perspectives of probability, frequency, and duration, and reliability evaluation algorithms under different operation strategies were formulated. Lastly, the influence of WTG and PV penetration and equipment capacity on the reliability was evaluated in the test system. The results showed that the complementary characteristics of wind and solar and the enhancement of the equipment capacity can both improve the reliability; but, with the increase in the penetration rate of WTG and PV, more ESS capacity is needed to cope with the randomness of WTG and PV. In addition, load shedding minimization strategies can minimize the probability and the number of reductions and achieve optimal reliability, which can provide a reference for the formulation of microgrid operation strategies.

With the evolution of the distribution network to an active bidirectional interactive system, as an important active load interface in the distribution network, the large-scale access of charging piles not only brings challenges to the power quality of the distribution network but also provides opportunities for power quality regulation and optimization. This paper discusses the main factors affecting the power quality of the distribution network due to charging piles. The power quality problems such as voltage fluctuation and harmonics caused by charging piles are described. Then, the key technologies and potential of charging piles in power quality management are summarized, focusing on the technical progress in harmonic suppression and voltage regulation. Finally, the paper provides an outlook on the optimization directions of related technologies. This paper reveals the positive role of charging piles in power quality management of distribution networks from the perspective of devices. It provides a reference for future research on the participation of large-scale charging pile integration in power quality management.

With the increasing use of electric vehicles (EVs), EVs will be widely connected to the microgrid in the future. However, the influence of the disorderly charging behavior of EVs on the stable and reliable operation of the power grid cannot be ignored. To address these challenges, the charging load characteristic model is established to describe the charging behavior of EVs. Then, an EVs orderly charging strategy based on electricity price guidance is proposed, and the goal is to minimize the peak–valley difference ratio and the total cost of EV charging. The result shows that, compared with disorderly charging, the EV orderly charging strategy based on electricity price guidance proposed in this paper can effectively reduce the peaking and valley difference ratio of load, reduce user’s charging costs, and optimize the reliability level of the microgrid.

Fuel cell power generation is one of the important ways of utilizing hydrogen energy, which has good prospects for development. However, fuel cell volt-ampere characteristics are nonlinear, the output voltage is low and the fluctuation range is large, and a power electronic converter matching its characteristics is required to achieve efficient and stable work. Based on the analysis of the fuel cell’s characteristic mechanism, maximum power point tracking algorithm, fuel cell converter characteristics, application and converter control strategy, the paper summarizes the general principles of the topology of fuel cell converters. In addition, based on the development status of new energy, hydrogen energy is organically combined with other new energy sources, and the concept of 100% absorption system of new energy with green hydrogen as the main body is proposed to provide a reference for the development of hydrogen energy.

With the expansion of renewable energy sources, the stable and high-quality operation of microgrids composed of new energy sources has attracted widespread attention. Among them, the power conversion system (PCS), as an important part of microgrids, plays a crucial role in their operation and management. The PCS operation modes are classified into grid-connected and off-grid modes. However, in off-grid mode, due to the access of nonlinear and unbalanced loads, the output voltage quality of a PCS is worse, and the voltage waveform distortion is serious. To solve these problems, a fast repetitive control (FRC) strategy is proposed for a power conversion system with an Active Neutral Point Clamped (ANPC) architecture of three levels. The voltage loop control strategy can be applied to the voltage/frequency ($V/f$) mode and the grid-forming mode. The control strategy can effectively realize the suppression of the harmonics of the output voltage and has a 100% capability to carry unbalanced loads. Finally, a 1725 kVA PCS prototype is developed, and the proposed control strategy is verified using the MT3200 HIL semiphysical simulator of ModelingTech in the $V/f$ mode as an example. This practically verifies the feasibility and validity of the proposed control strategy, which has a certain degree of engineering practicability and reference due to the simplicity of the design and the ease of realization.