The integration of smart grid technologies in interconnected power system networks presents multiple challenges for the power industry and the scientific community. To address these challenges, researchers are creating new methods for the validation of: control, interoperability, reliability of Internet of Things systems, distributed energy resources, modern power equipment for applications covering power system stability, operation, control, and cybersecurity. Novel methods for laboratory testing of electrical power systems incorporate novel simulation techniques spanning real-time simulation, Power Hardware-in-the-Loop, Controller Hardware-in-the-Loop, Power System-in-the-Loop, and co-simulation technologies. These methods directly support the acceleration of electrical systems and power electronics component research by validating technological solutions in high-fidelity environments. In this paper, members of the Survey of Smart Grid International Research Facility Network task on Advanced Laboratory Testing Methods present a review of methods, test procedures, studies, and experiences employing advanced laboratory techniques for validation of range of research and development prototypes and novel power system solutions.

A stand-alone multi-microgrid (MMG) system can be formed by connecting multiple stand-alone microgrids (MGs). In the stand-alone MMG system where the frequencies of each MG system are different, a back-to-back (BTB) converter can be used for interconnecting the adjacent MG system. The frequency control performance of the MMG system can be improved by designing the suitable controller of the BTB converter. This study proposes a multi-frequency control in the BTB converter to improve the performance of frequency regulation in the MMG system. Autonomous power sharing between each MG system is achieved by using the proposed multi-frequency control. The stand-alone MMG system where two stand-alone MG systems with different nominal frequencies are interconnected using the BTB converter is simulated in this study to show the feasibility of the proposed multi-frequency controller. Each stand-alone MG system consists of an inverter-based distributed generator (DG) that uses a grid-forming converter with a conventional frequency droop controller. The inverter-based DG is responsible for the primary frequency control in each MG system. To show the effectiveness of the proposed multi-frequency control, a comparison study of the multi-frequency control and the single frequency control is presented in this study. Simulation results show that the system stability can be improved by using the proposed multi-frequency controller.

Battery energy storage systems (BESSs) have been widely used for microgrid control. Generally, BESS control systems are based on proportional-integral (PI) control techniques with the outer and inner control loops based on PI regulators. Recently, model predictive control (MPC) has attracted attention for application to future energy processing and control systems because it can easily deal with multivariable cases, system constraints, and nonlinearities. This study considers the application of MPC-based BESSs to microgrid control. Two types of MPC are presented in this study: MPC based on predictive power control (PPC) and MPC based on PI control in the outer and predictive current control (PCC) in the inner control loops. In particular, the effective application of MPC for microgrids with multiple BESSs should be considered because of the differences in their control performance. In this study, microgrids with two BESSs based on two MPC techniques are considered as an example. The control performance of the MPC used for the control microgrid is compared to that of the PI control. The proposed control strategy is investigated through simulations using MATLAB/Simulink software. The simulation results show that the response time, power and voltage ripples, and frequency spectrum could be improved significantly by using MPC.

Multiple microgrid (MG) systems can exist in a wide geographical area. They can interconnect and operate on different frequency qualities to enhance the penetration of renewable en-ergy resources. To operate multiple MGs on different frequency qualities, a framework of the stand-alone multi-microgrid (MMG) system is proposed in this study. In the proposed MMG system, each MG connects to the common DC line through an AC/DC interlinking converter. A droop frequency control is proposed for the interlinking converter to improve frequency control perfor-mance and achieve autonomous power sharing. The sensitivity analysis with respect to the proposed control is performed to evaluate the stability of the converter system. The proposed droop frequency controller is evaluated in the MMG system with three MGs. The feasibility of the proposed controller is verified by the hardware-in-the-loop simulation using OPAL-RT technologies. The droop frequency controller is executed in digital signal pro-cessor (DSP) TMS-320F-28335 while the proposed MMG system is modeled in real time simulator (OP5600). A comparison study on the proposed droop frequency control and conventional P/f control is presented. By using the proposed frequency control, the energy reserves in the adjacent microgrids can be shared effec-tively to achieve better performance of frequency regulation in the stand-alone MMG system.

Microgrids are eco-friendly power systems because they use renewable sources such as solar and wind power as the main power source. However, the stochastic nature of wind and solar power is a considerable challenge for the efficient operation of microgrids. Microgrid operations have to satisfy quality requirements in terms of the frequency and voltage. To overcome these problems, energy storage systems for short- and long-term storage are used with microgrids. Recently, the use of short-term energy storage systems such as flywheels has attracted significant interest as a potential solution to this problem. Conventional flywheel energy storage systems exhibit only one control mode during operation: either smoothing wind power control or frequency control. In this paper, we propose a new flywheel energy storage system based on a doubly fed induction machine and a battery for use with microgrids. The new flywheel energy storage system can be used not only to mitigate wind power fluctuations, but also to control the frequency as well as the voltage of the microgrid during islanded operation. The performance of the proposed flywheel energy storage system is investigated through various simulations using MATLAB/Simulink software. In addition, a conventional flywheel energy storage system based on a doubly fed induction machine is simulated and its performance compared with that of the proposed one.