Real-Time Validation of Load Frequency Control in Renewable-Powered Microgrids: Opal-Rt Hil Testing

Integrating renewable energy sources (RES) into power networks aims to strike a balance between environmental preservation and increasing energy consumption, resulting in the growth of microgrids. These systems rely on intermittent and dynamic renewable energy sources, and backup power to manage variable loads, however, maintaining frequency stability is difficult due to their nonlinear and sporadic nature of low-carbon emitting sources. Load Frequency Control (LFC) technologies have moved beyond standard controllers to metaheuristic optimisation strategies to solve these challenges. This study creates a MATLAB/SIMULINK MG model that uses Proportional-Integrator-Derivative (PID), Particle Swarm Optimization-PID (PSO-PID), Whale Optimisation AlgorithmPID (WOA-PID), and Modified WOA-PID (MWAO-PID) controllers. Simulations lasting 160 seconds illustrate the MWAO-PID controller's greater effectiveness in improving MG stability. OPAL-RT hardware evaluation shows its practical usefulness. The findings show the MWAO-PID controller's capacity to address dynamic load circumstances and improve frequency regulation, hence boosting hybrid power system stability.