Comprehensive Review on Challenges of Integration of Renewable Energy Systems into Microgrid

The integration of renewable energy systems (RES) into microgrids faces challenges from technical, economic, and socio-environmental perspectives. Despite their potential to address energy access and climate change challenges, RES-based microgrids face significant barriers, including technical complexities, economic constraints, socio-cultural resistance, regulatory inadequacies, and environmental concerns. Some of the technical issues, like energy intermittency and lack of compatibility with other energy sources, are managed by the energy management systems (EMS) and the integrated battery systems. These economic barriers include high capital investment and unpredictable revenue sources, which are addressable through chosen microgrid architecture, flexible payment structures, and tariffs. Community opposition and lack of local knowledge are overcome by employing socio-cultural mitigation measures that pertain to partaking in planning processes and developing training programs. These gaps are addressed by the use of standardized regulatory and policy structures, as well as streamlined permitting procedures, while environmental issues are managed by the application of life cycle assessment (LCA)-based solutions and environmentally sustainable materials. Furthermore, the paper addresses more recent developments, including energy management by artificial intelligence (AI), peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading, and microgrids with an emphasis on improvement and prospects. Finally, the policy implications are presented, stressing the need for systemic solutions to address the observed tendencies. This paper systematically reviews the multifaceted challenges of integrating RES into microgrids. It presents innovative solutions, including AI-driven energy management, peer-to-peer energy trading, modular microgrid designs, and policy frameworks that enhance efficiency, reliability, and sustainability for a scalable energy transition. This review provides a diverse view to enhance the future growth of microgrids and provides several insights for the stakeholders related to the future development of microgrid technology for making energy transition scalable and sustainable.