Power Control for Hybrid Isolated Micro-Grids: A Three-Level Converter-Based Experimental Approach

An advanced power control and energy management strategy for an isolated hybrid microgrid system is presented in this paper. With the help of a battery energy storage system (BESS), the architecture combines a wind turbine (WT) emulator, photovoltaic (PV) arrays, and a variable-speed diesel generator (VSDG) emulated by a controlled DC source on a 1/22 reduced-scale laboratory platform. Three-level converters are used in a robust power control method to reduce the inherent intermittency of renewable sources and the stochastic nature of isolated loads. These converters are used to improve power quality, lower harmonic distortion, and control dynamic interactions between the sources in real time. The main goal is to minimize the VSDG contribution and estimated fuel consumption while optimizing renewable energy penetration, with fuel consumption reduction assessed through power dispatch analysis rather than direct measurement. Comprehensive simulations and real-time experimental prototyping using the dSPACE (CP1104) controller on a 1/22-scale platform were used to validate the proposed control strategy. Results from both simulations and experiments support the strategy’s viability and efficacy in preserving system stability and maximizing energy dispatch under various load profiles.