An Advanced Optimized Virtual Inertia Control Technique for Wind Energy Integrated AC Microgrids

Wind energy-integrated AC microgrids encounter difficulties in preserving voltage and frequency stability because of the fluctuating characteristics of wind power. Also, power electronic converter decoupling between wind generators and AC microgrids reduces overall inertia. Effective energy management systems are essential for maintaining a balance between the supply and demand of energy, considering the sporadic and unpredictable wind patterns. Moreover, the use of wind energy necessitates sophisticated control systems to address power quality concerns and guarantee the reliable functioning of the microgrids. This paper introduces a new optimized virtual inertia control technique to stabilize the frequency during natural fluctuations and contingencies in the systems. A dynamic model of the AC microgrids is developed, considering the wind turbine, thermal generator, load, and energy storage device, to facilitate controller design and analysis. A fractional order controller is introduced in the virtual inertia loop to achieve a higher degree of freedom compared to a conventional integer order controller. A gray wolf optimizer is used to tune the parameters of the proposed virtual control technique. Simulation studies are conducted considering fluctuating wind energy and disturbances to guarantee frequency stability with the proposed controller.