Applying Flywheel Energy Storage in Islanded Microgrid to Mitigate Voltage/Frequency Fluctuations in the Presence of Solar Energy

Islanded microgrid (MG) systems are the ideal solution to supply remote areas with the necessary electrical power through renewable energy sources (RESs). Solar power generation (SPG) is considered one of the most promising RESs, however, there are some significant problems facing SPG systems. The problem is that the output of the generated power depends on weather conditions such as solar radiation and temperature, which affect the reliability of the MG system in these circumstances. In addition, these fluctuations in SPG systems can adversely affect the power transmitted, frequency, and voltage level at the point of common coupling at the MG system. Control of SPG systems can partially help improve MG performance and power system reliability in any system operation. Energy storage technologies have an important role in solving the abovementioned problems of islanded MG systems. This paper proposes an efficient control strategy using a flywheel energy storage system (FESS) based fuzzy logic controller (FLC) to enhance the performance of the islanded MG system during normal operation and contingency events. The MATLAB/Simulink platform is used to construct the entire MG system, including loads. The simulation results show that the recommended approach is preferable in reducing fluctuations in both frequency and voltage due to unexpected changes in the climate of SPG load and reducing the dependency on power from the main generation source.