Evaluating microgrid controllers using an advanced hardware-in-the-loop testing chain integrated with digital twin technology

Digital twin technology, leveraging sensor data to replicate physical systems, offers a potent means to validate equipment dynamics and control strategies. This paper presents an advanced Hardware-in-the-Loop setup coupled with a Real-Time Digital Twin for evaluating the performance of the ecoMG tool—an Energy Management System tailored for microgrids and small off-grid systems. Demonstrating its effectiveness, the digital twin of Gaidouro- mantra MG is utilized with real-time data from the field. The results demonstrate that the proposed setup, despite its complexity, enables the thorough evaluation of the tool as part of the overall system.