Reliability Analysis of a Dual Photovoltaic (PV) Microgrid: A Case Study on Renewable Power Sharing and Unplanned Outages

A microgrid is an electrical power system with interconnected distributed energy resources and loads that can be operated in conjunction with the grid or islanded, with the purpose of supplying reliable uninterrupted electric power to critical loads or providing power in off-grid conditions. Modern power systems are integrating distributed energy resources like wind power, solar photovoltaic (PV), battery energy storage systems, and advanced control to guarantee system reliability, especially during abnormal conditions caused by natural disasters or cyberattacks. This paper presents reliability experiments and analysis of a dual PV-node microgrid under various test conditions, including normal operation, short-term PV outages, and prolonged singlenode outages. Each node consists of a PV array, a maximum power point tracker (with associated data logger), a battery bank, associated circuits (combiner box, disconnects, breaker, lighting arrestor), an inverter, and loads. The results show that the microgrid was able to maintain a stable power supply to the loads under the above three test conditions, thus, demonstrating the effectiveness of the dual-node configuration in enhancing microgrid reliability.