InternationalJournalofEnergyScience(IJES)Volume3Issue6,December2013

doi:10.14355/ijes.2013.0306.02

www.ijesci.org

Modeling,Simulation,andPerformance
AnalysisofPowerManagementStrategiesfor
anIslandedMicrogrid
FarukA.Bhuiyan*1,AmirnaserYazdani2,SergueiL.Primak3
ElectricalandComputerEngineeringDept.,WesternUniversity,London,Ontario,Canada
ElectricalandComputerEngineeringDept.,RyersonUniversity,Toronto,Ontario,Canada

*1,3
2

*1

fbhuiyan@uwo.ca;2yazdani@ryerson.ca;3slprimak@uwo.ca

Abstract
Considering both real and reactive power, this paper
presents the modeling, simulation, and performances
analysisofvariouspowermanagementstrategies(PMSs)for
the sizing of an enhanced renewable energy penetrated
islanded microgrid (IMG), which consists of an integrated
photovoltaicwinddieselbattery system. The models of the
PMSs are illustrated by flowcharts which can be utilized to
determine optimal sizes of the IMG components. When the
IMG contains both a battery energy storage system (BESS)
andadieselgeneratorsystem(DGS),thereareseveralways
to meet the load demand. The various options of fulfilling
theloaddemandmakethePMSscomplex.Thecomplexities
in PMSs have significant impact on the incurred costs
through the fuel usages rate of DGS and the deterioration
level of BESS. The PMSs are presented by considering
unknowncomponentsizesoftheIMG.Thepaperconsiders
the effect of reactive power on BESS charging. The
effectivenessofthemodifiedPMSsisdemonstratedthrough
simulation studies in the MATLAB/Simulink environment.
Then the performances of the PMSs are compared and the
costvarying areas are identified meticulously by utilizing
thesimulationresults.
Keywords
Battery; Dispatch; Microgrid; Photovoltaic; Power Management;
Wind

Introduction
Electrificationofremotecommunitiesremainsachallenge

in Canada and elsewhere due to the economical and

technical barriers. Most of the Canadian remote
communities have been supplied by diesel generator
systems (DGSs), while the rest have used low to
medium penetration wind/pv diesel systems (Arriaga
et al. 2012; Weis et al. 2008). Thus far, many studies
(BernalAgustin et al. 2009) of islanded microgrid
(IMG) have been performed and many systems are
installed with various configuration of components.

Among the installed systems, many projects have

failedduetoimproperdesign.Thesystemsdesigncan
be improved if optimization methods are applied
(Zhou et al. 2010). The sizing optimization of an IMG
can be performed by either analytical techniques or
chronological timeseries/probabilistic simulations.
Analyticaltechniquesaredifficulttoimplementdueto
the large number of variables, nonlinearity in the
models, and complexity of the configurations. The
timeseries/probabilistic simulation techniques require
welldefined power management strategies (PMSs)
andarecomputationallyintensive.Powermanagement
in an IMG can be performed by either controlling the
energy resources or/and load management
(LujanoRojasetal.2012);theaccommodationofload
management strategies during the design phase may
notbeagoodidea.
Barley et al. (1996) proposes a number of control
strategies for the operation and simulation of a
windphotovoltaicdieselbattery system. Utilizing
load setpoint to start and stop the diesel engine, and
state of energy (SOE) setpoint to charge the battery
energystoragesystem(BESS),anoptimizationmethod
for the control strategies is proposed in Ashari et al.
(1999). Bagen et al. (2005) presents a simulation
technique for the operating strategies of standalone
powersystemsbygivingtheprioritiestotheoperation
of nonconventional generating units, conventional
generatingunits,andBESSinsequence.DufoLpezet
al. (2005) combines two of the operating strategies of
Barleyetal.(1996)inaphotovoltaic(PV)systemwith
energystorageandidentifiedacriticalload.Katiraeiet
al. (2007) proposes an energyflow model for an
autonomous winddiesel system for the investigation
of the the daily and monthly performances. Various
PMSs for standalone hybrid power system integrated
withhydrogenenergystorageareproposedinIpsakis

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www.ijesci.org InternationalJournalofEnergyScience(IJES)Volume3Issue6,December2013

et al. (2009). Zhou et al. (2011) proposes the

sourcefollowing and gridfollowing dynamic
controlapproachesinordertoenableexchangepower
amongst the sources, and to manage energy of the
gridconnected system. Considering real power only,
Vrettosetal.(2011)proposesthreeoperatingmodesfor
a small isolated highpenetration renewable energy
system integrated with a BESS. Ohsawa et al. (1993)
has applied artificial neural network to the control
strategies of PVdiesel power system, although few
researchers (Lin et al. 2011; Yasin et al. 2011) have
proposed intelligencebased approaches for the
dynamic control of autonomous hybrid power
systems.
Various software tools (HOMER ; HYBRID2; iHOGA;
INSEL ; RETScreen ; TRANSYS ) are used for
simulation, optimization, and performance evaluation
of IMGs. Amongst them, HOMER (Hybrid
Optimization Model for Electric Renewable) has been
widely used for optimization studies, HYBRID2 is
popular for simulations, and HOGA (Hybrid
OptimizationbyGeneticAlgorithms)isprimarilyused
formultiobjectiveoptimization.

isreferredtoasthedischargedpoweranddenotedby
Pb. The real and reactive powers of the
powerelectronicconverteroftheBESSaredenotedas
PconandQcon,respectively;thetypicalhighefficiencyof
thepowerelectronicconverterimpliesthatPbandPcon
are almost equal and are therefore used
interchangeably in this paper. The real and reactive
power components of the primary load are
representedbyPlandQl,respectively.Thedumpload
isassumedtobearesistiveloadandrepresentedasPdl.
At any instant, stable operation of the IMG
correspondstofollowingpowerbalanceequations(1):
Pw(t)+Ppv(t)+Pdi(t)+Pcon(t)Pl(t)Pdl(t)=0
Qdi(t)+Qpv(t)+Qcon(t)Ql(t)=0
(1)

However, the aforementioned software tools and

papers have not modeled PMSs for the objective of
determiningthecomponentsizesconsideringbothreal
andreactivepowersoftheload.Thispapermodelsthe
PMSsindetailbyutilizingflowcharts,wherebothreal
andreactivepowersoftheloadareconsidered.
Study System
Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram of an IMG whose
main components are DGS, a wind power system
(WPS), a photovoltaic power system (PVS), an energy
storage system, a dump load, a primary load, and
powerelectronic converters. In this configuration, the
energy storage system is assumed to be a battery
energy storage system (BESS) connected to the power
system through a bidirectional powerelectronic
converter. In turn, the PV power system comprises
multiple PV modules interface with the point of
common coupling (PCC) through a DC/AC converter.
Also, the BESS is composed of a bank of series/
parallelconnected batteries and a powerelectronic
converter. The WPS delivers power at unity power
factortothePCC,representedasPw.Thedeliveredreal
and reactive powers of the PVS are denoted
respectively by Ppv and Qpv. The real and reactive
powers delivered by the DGS are denoted by Pdi and
Qdi, respectively. The power delivered by the batteries

384

FIG.1SCHEMATICDIAGRAMOFANISLANDEDMICROGRID

Reactive Power and Charging/Discharging of

BESS
Figs. 2 (a) and (b) show that the primary load is
decoupledintorealpower,Pl,andreactivepower,Ql.
Depending on the control strategy, the load reactive
power, Ql, can be supplied by the converters of the
PVS, BESS or DGS. To deliver the rated power of the
pv
PVS into the PCC, the PVS converter rating, Scon
,
pv
.
mustbethesameastheratedpowerofthePVS, Prat

The power delivered by the PVS usually falls below

pv
Prat
in a year. Therefore, the PVS converter can be
utilized to supply reactive power of the load. If the
instantaneousrealpowerofthePVSisPpv(t),thenthe
PVScandeliverareactivepowerof

pv 2
pv 2
Q pv ( Scon
) ( P pv )2 where ( Scon
) ( P pv )2

(2)

InternationalJournalofEnergyScience(IJES)Volume3Issue6,December2013

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than the aggregated value of

con
di
Srat
and S rat
.

Consequently, the effective real power of the BESS

con
di
) andtheDGS ( Pmax
converter ( Pava
) decreaseas
con
con 2
Pava
( Srat
) (Q con ) 2
di
con 2
Pmax
( Srat
) (Q di ) 2

(5)

b
TherateofchargeofBESS, ( Pava
) ,dependsonstateof

energy (SOE), Eb(t), and the rated charging power,

b
Pmax
,is

(a)

b
E b E b (t )
b
min Pmax
Pava
, max(0, max
(6)
t

con
b
If Pava
in (6) is larger than Pava
, then the charging of
con
the BESS needs to be lowered to Pava
; otherwise, the
b
BESScanbechargedby Pava
.Fig.2(a)showssurplus

(b)
FIG.2REALANDREACTIVEPOWERPHASORSAT(a)EXCESSRENEWABLE
GENERATION,AND(b)SHORTAGEOFRENEWABLEGENERATION

Figs. 2(a) and (b) indicate that a part of the load

reactivepowerissuppliedfromPVS,asQpv,whilethe
remaining load reactive power can be supplied from
the BESS converter and/or DGS. Fig. 2 further
illustratesthattherealpowersupplyingcapacityofthe
BESS converter decreases when the load reactive
power needs to be compensated. Thus, the BESS
con
converterrealpower, Pava
,isformulatedas,
con
Pava

con 2
( Srat
)

(max 0,(Q Q )

l
Qrem
pv

(3)

con
where Srat
is the rating of the BESS converter, and
l
Qrem
is the remaining load reactive power demand;

con
l
Srat
needstobehigherthan Qrem
whenDGSdoesnot

run. However, if DGS runs and delivers real power,

the load reactive power can be shared by the
convertersandDGS,
Q con

Q di

con
S rat
(max 0,(Q l Q pv ) )
con
di
S rat
Srat

l
Qrem
(4)

di
Srat
(max 0,(Q l Q pv ) )
di
Srat

l
Qrem

con
Srat

power,Psur,athigherrenewablepowergeneration.The
actual charging of the BESS, equation (7), is the lowest
con
b
, Pava
andPsur.
of the three values Pava
con
b
Pb min( Psur , Pava
, Pava
) (7)

If the surplus power Psur is higher than the absolute

value of Pb, then the remaining power must be
dumped. Fig. 2 (b) illustrates the real and reactive
powers of DGS and BESS converter. When DGS and
BESSconverterrun,theloadreactivepowerisshared
byDGSandBESSasdescribedby(4).DuringtheBESS
discharge,theavailabledischargingpowerfromBESS
canbeformulatedas
b
b

E b (t ) Emin
b
min Pmax
Pava
, max(0,
) (8)
t

Since the BESS discharges through its converter, the

maximumdischargepoweroftheBESSisdetermined
by the real power thatflows through the converter. If
the net load, Pdef, needs to be delivered by the BESS,
thentheBESSdischargepoweris
con
b
P b min( Pava
, Pava
, Pdef ) (9)

Depending on the PMS, Pdef may need to be supplied

by both the BESS and the DGS. Otherwise, power
shortage will occur. In Fig. 2 (b), the negative Psur
meanspositivePdef.
TheSOEintheBESScanbeexpressedas
E b (t t ) E b (t )(1 ) b Pb (t )t (10)

whereQconandQdiarethereactivepoweroutputofthe
di
BESSconverterandDGS,respectively.In(4) S rat
isthe

where is the self discharge coefficient, b is the

l
should not be higher
rated power of DGS, and, Qrem

efficiencyduringcharginganddischarging,and t is

385

www.ijesci.org InternationalJournalofEnergyScience(IJES)Volume3Issue6,December2013

thetimestep.

employed to compensate the demand (at ( P2b Pdef ));

Power Management Strategies and Their

Flowcharts

otherwise, the DGS shall start. The power shortage

in Fig. 3 indicates that the resource sizes do not meet
theloaddemand.TheBESSentersintochargingmode
iftheaggregateddeliveredpowerfromtherenewable
resources exceeds the primary load demand (Psur > 0).
The actual charging power (Pb) depends on the
capacityandpowerratingofthebatteries,andthereal
powerhandlingcapabilityoftheBESSconverter.Ifthe
surplus power cannot be absorbed by the BESS (i.e.
Psur P1b ), the rest is burnt in the dump load. The

TwodistincttypesofcontrolinanIMGare(i)dynamic
control, which deals with the frequency and
magnitudeofthevoltage,and(ii)PMS,whichcontrols
theenergyresourcesofanIMG.Thispaperdealswith
four different PMSs, which are described in the
followingsubsections.
PowerManagementStrategyA(PMSA)
Fig.3illustratesthealgorithmofthePMSA,utilizing
the renewable resources first for the real load power
demand. The load reactivepower demand is
compensated from converters (PVS and BESS) and
con
DGS.TherealpowerlimitoftheBESSconverter( Pava
)
di
and that of the DGS ( Pmax
) are then calculated

(explained earlier). If the renewable resources cannot

meet the net real load i.e., Pde f > 0, then the BESS is

PMSA does not allow DGS to charge the BESS. The

exceptioniswhentheDGSoperatesatalowloadwith
di
anonzerominimumsetpoint( Pmin
)setting.Whenthe

netloaddemandfallsbelowtheminimumsetpointof
theDGS,theDGSthenrunsatitsminimumoperating
point.TheextragenerationfromtheDGSisthenused
to charge the BESS. Otherwise it can be dumped. The
PMSAisamodifiedformofloadfollowingstrategy.

FIG.3FLOWCHARTOFPMSA

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InternationalJournalofEnergyScience(IJES)Volume3Issue6,December2013

PowerManagementStrategyB(PMSB)
The PMSB allows the DGS for charging the BESS.
Fig.4 illustrates a flowchart for the PMSB. First the
aggregaterenewablepoweriscomparedwithloadreal
power. The real powers from the converter of BESS
andtheDGSarethencalculateduponsupplyingload
reactive power (described earlier). If the surplus
generation,i.e.Psur>0ishigherthanPb,thentheBESS
enter the charging modeat its maximum rateand the
rest is burnt to the dump load; otherwise at Psur < Pb,
the DGS runs for a while to charge the BESS at a
b
maximum rate. At E b (t ) Emin
of the BESS and/or at

on status (k = 1) of DGS, if aggregate surplus

generationfromtherenewableresourcesislowerthan
Pb, then the DGS starts/continues operation for
charging the BESS. The DGS is commended to stop
b
when SOE in the BESS reaches at Esoc
. If Pdef > 0, and

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realload(Pdef)issuppliedbytheBESS;iffails,theDGS
starts to compensate the remaining net load. When
DGS is already in on status (k = 1) and SOE of the
b
BESS stays above minimum ( E b (t ) Emin
) and below
b
Esoc
, the DGS continues its operation for charging

BESSatitsmaximumrate.TheenergyatBESSmayfall
b
at/below minimum level ( E b (t ) Emin
) with DGS off

status.Insuchasituation,theDGSgoesintooperation
mode for charging BESS. As soon as the SOE of the
b
BESS reaches at Esoc
, the DGS stops for charging the
b
BESS.The Esoc
isconsideredalavelwhichislowerthan
b
Emax
.TheFig.4representsallpossiblescenariosunder

unknownsizes.ThepowershortageofFig.4istrue
ifthereserveandrenewableresourcescannotmeetthe
primary load demand. The PMSB is a modified form
ofSOCsetpointdispatchstrategy.

b
E b (t ) Esoc
inBESS,andtheDGSisoff(k=0),thenet

FIG.4FLOWCHARTOFPMSBANDPMSC

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www.ijesci.org InternationalJournalofEnergyScience(IJES)Volume3Issue6,December2013

FIG.5FLOWCHARTOFPMSD

PowerManagementStrategyC(PMSC)

PowerManagementStrategyD(PMSD)

etal.1996),thecalculationstepsofcriticalloadPdand
cycle charge load Pc are shown in the end of this
subsection. The Pd is the intersecting point of direct
diesel cost and BESS deterioration cost. It is more
economical to use the batteries when net load stays
below Pd; otherwise the operation of DGS is more
economical.Fig.5illustratesthePMSDwhichutilizes
thecriticalload,Pd,uponfulfillingloadreactivepower
demand.ThePMSDisthemodifiedformofthefrugal
discharge strategy. Fig. 5 illustrates that when the net
load Pdef is above Pd, the DGS provides power to the
loadatitsfullestcapacity;otherwise,theBESSdelivers
the remaining load power. Alternatively, if the net
load,Pdef,fallsbelowPd,theBESSdischargespowerat
its extent. Power failure may occurs if both the DGS
andtheBESScannotmeetthenetloaddemand,which
may occur due to inappropriate component sizes.
Subsection1showstheprocedureforderivingPdand
Pc.

UtilizingtheperunitenergycostcurveofDGS(Barley

1) Determination of Critical and Cycle Charge Load: The

When the DGS is utilized for charging the BESS at

b
b
insteadof Esoc
,thenthePMSBbecomesPMSC.It
Emax
is a modified form of the cycle charge strategy. The
strategymayneedtheDGStocontinueatitsoperation
mode for a longer period than that of PMSB.
According to PMSB and PMSC, the DGS runs either
atfullpowerorataratenotexceedingtheaggregateof
BESS charging power and net load demand. The
flowchartforthePMSCisgiveninFig.4whereboth
real and reactive power balances are depicted. The
PMSC also indicates that the dumping of power,
generated from the DGS, is required. Fig. 4 illustrates
that power shortage may occur under various
conditions, especially with improper sizes of
componentsinIMG.Fig.4illustratestheDGSon/off
statusbyaflagvariablek.

388

InternationalJournalofEnergyScience(IJES)Volume3Issue6,December2013

per unit costs of energy for the DGS includes capital,

operation, maintenance, and replenishment. Capital
costs depend on the rating of the DGS. The running
costsdependonoperationandmaintenancecosts.The
operationcostismainlythefuelcosts,whichincluding
fuel, transportation, and inventory holding cost. The
fuel consumption of the DGS is not linear. The fuel
consumption can be assumed as a quadratic function
with a cost at noload operation. Thus, the fuel
consumption(L/h)ofDGSforPdi,canbeexpressedas
(Zhu2009).
di
Fcdi g1 ( P di )2 g 2 P di g3 Prat
(11)

Where g1 , g 2 , and g3 are fuel consumption

coefficientsinL/kW2h,L/kWh,andL/kWh,respectively.
di
di
Here S rat
is the same as Prat
taken at unity power
factor.Thefuelconsumptioncostin$/kWhforDGScan
thusbeexpressedas

C dif ( g1P di g 2 g3

di
Prat
)C f (12)
P di

whereCfisin$/Landincludesfuel,transportationand
inventoryholdingcost.
Maintenance cost of the DGS varies at the level of
produced power and number of startstop. The per
di
,isgivenas
kWhhourlymaintenancecost, Cmh
di
Cmh

Cmdi
(13)
di
Prat

Where

Cmdi

is the maintenance cost

di
for Prat

capacity of

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respectively. Number of cycle to failure (Ncf) for the

BESScanbeexpressedas(Drouilhetetal.1997).
N cf

N ce e

u1 ( DOD 1)

DOD

(16)

u0

where Nce, u1, and u0 are parameters for the equation.

TheDODisthedepthofdischargefortheBESS.Based
onbatterymanufacturerlifecycledata,(16)canbebest
fitted for a specific BESS. As an example,
manufacturers life cycle data for NiCd cell is best
fitted, which provides the parameter values u0=1.67,
u1=0.52,andNce=2055.Oncethebestfittedvaluesare
fixed, then the equivalent depth of discharge can be
calculatedas

DODeqc

1
M

( N cf ) n ( DOD) n (17)

n1

where M is the total number of observation point to

figureoutthevaluesofNcffordifferentDODutilizing
(16).ThisDODeqcisrequiredfor(15).Forchargingthe
BESS,DGScanbeusedtoruninexcesstothenetload
and thus requires extra generating costs. If the round
trip efficiency of the BESS and the charger is R , then
thecostofcyclechargecanbewrittenas
Ccdi

Fi di c f

(18)

Thesumofbatterywearcostsandcyclechargecosts
canbewrittenas
Cce Ccdi Cwb Cwb

DGS.
ThehourlyrunningcostoftheDGSforperkWhdiesel
generated energy is the sum of the fuel consumption
cost (operation cost) and the hourly maintenance cost
expressedas
di
Com
( g1 P di g 2 g 3

where

di
Com

is

di
Prat
di
)C Cmh
(14)
Pdi f

the

hourly

operation

and

maintenance/runningcost.ThecapitalcostoftheBESS
depends on size. The BESS wear cost is treated as the
cost of delivered energy from BESS and the
maintenancecost.TheBESSwearcostisexpressedas
Cwb

Ccb
b
(15)
Cmh
b
DODeqc Erat
b
w

b
c

where C , C ,DODeqc, E

b
rat

,and C

b
mh

arewearcost,

capitalcost,equivalentdepthofdischarge,kWhrating
of BESS, and hourly maintenance cost of BESS

Fi di c f

(19)

where Fi di istheextrafuelrequiredtochargetheBESS.
TheDGSoptimumstoppingsetpointoccurswhenthe
BESSwearcostsandDGSrunningcostsbecomesequal.
Thus, the equation (14) and (15) can be equalized to
calculatetherootsofPdi,whichisexpressedas
Pd

di
Cwb g 2c f Cmh

2 g1c f

di
di
( g2c f Cmh
Cwb )2 4 g1 g3c 2f Prat

2 g1c f

(20)

From (14) and (19) the cycle charge load is expressed as Pc

and can be calculated by (21)
Pc

di
Cce g 2c f Cmh

2 g1c f

di
di
( g 2c f Cmh
Cce )2 4 g1 g3c 2f Prat

2 g1c f

(21)

Simulation Results
TodemonstratetheperformancesofthePMSs,several
case studies are conducted in the MATLAB/Simulink
environment by utilizing the values of Table I. The

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values of Table II are used on (20) to determine the

criticalload,Pd,andthustosimulatePMSD.The Cwb of
(20) is determined using (15) and (17). The hourly
average time series wind speed data, for a Canadian
site, is obtained from Weather Canada; and hourly
average time series solar irradiation data, based on
latitudeandlongitude,isproducedbyusingHOMER
package.ThewindpowerandPVpowerareproduced
byemploying(Bhuiyanetal.2010)and(Leeetal.2008),
respectively.TogenerateFig.6,probabilistictreatment
is included on the time series data at 15 minutes
interval.Forotherfigures,yeararoundhourlyaverage
timeseriesdataisused.InFig.1,thePbispositivefor
delivered power of the BESS; however, in all figures
except Fig. 6, the BESS power is represented by Pb.
The real and reactive load power components are
calculated utilizing IEEE RTS load model (IEEE RTS
1979)andatimeseriesofloadpowerfactor(Sahaetal.
2010).
TABLEISIMULATIONPARAMETERS

390

SimulationParameters

Values

WPSrating

600kW

PVpowerrating

150kW

Dieselgeneratorrating

320kVA

Inverterrating

640kVA

BESScapacityrating

7.2MWh

BESSpowerrating

450kW

Basepower

300kW

Basepowerfactor

0.9

BaseBESSdischargetime

1hr

BaseBESScapacity

300kWh

EfficiencyofPVsystem( pv )

15%

Cutinwindspeed

3.5m/s

Ratedwindspeed

12m/s

Cutoutwindspeed

23m/s

Periodunderobservation

8760hrs

BESSminimumlevelEmin

40%

BESSSOClevelEsoc

60%

InitialBESSSOC

80%ofrated

Selfdischargeofbattery

0.2%perhour

Efficiencyofinverter(discharging)

95%

Efficiencyofrectifier(charging)

95%

TABLEIICRITICALLOAD,Pd,DETERMINATIONPARAMETERS
FORPMSD
Parameter

Value

Comments

g1

0.00012L/kW2h

equation(11)

g2

0.011L/kWh

equation(11)

g3

0.16L/kWh

equation(11)

300kW

equation(11)

1$/L

equation(12)

0.11$/hfor1kWh

equation(13)

400$/kWh

equation(15)

0.05$/hfor1kWh

equation(15)

1100cycles

equation(17)

di
Prat

Fuelprice, c f
di

Cmh
b
cc

b
Erat

b
Cmh

DODeqc

Impact of Converter Reactive Power on BESS

Charging
This case demonstrates the impact of converter
reactivepowerontheBESSchargingforthePMSAof
the IMG which is considered composed of without
PVS.TheratingoftheBESSconverteristaken0.5p.u..
As Fig.6 (a) shows, Pw remains above 1 p.u., which is
more than the primary load demand. Therefore, DGS
doesnotrequiretorun,andthusPdiandQdiinFig.6(a)
are zero from 1520th hour to 1525th hour. Fig. 6 (b)
indicates that the SOE of BESS has not reached to the
maximum level until 1525th hour. Thus, the excess
wind power is stored in the BESS. At 1520.25th hour,
the reactive power demand is 0.5 p.u., which is
suppliedbytheBESSconverter,asshowninFig.6(a).
Although there is excess wind power, and BESS has
the capacity remaining for charging, the actual BESS
charging power (Pb) is zero due to the lower size
converter.

FIG.6IMPACTOFCONVERTERREACTIVEPOWERONBESSCHARGING

SimulationResultsforPMSA
Fig.7illustratestheeffectivenessofthePMSAbythe
realpower,reactivepowerandSOEoftheBESS.From
2171th hour to 2192th hour, the aggregate renewable

InternationalJournalofEnergyScience(IJES)Volume3Issue6,December2013

power is sufficient for primary load as shown in Fig.

7(a); thus, the BESS is in charging mode. As Fig. 7(a)
shows, the aggregate renewable power is low for
primary load from 2238th hour to 2285th hour. Thus,
the shortage is compensated by the BESS; if fails, the
DGS runs e.g. 2286th hour to 2378th hour. The
operationfrom2114thhourto2170thhourinFig.7(b)
indicatesthattheSOEofBESSstaysatminimum.Fig.
7(a) further demonstrates that shortterm start/stop of
DGS(e.g.2325thhour)mayoccurdependingonwind
and PV resource output. The Pdl of Fig. 7(a) indicates
that the excess renewable power is dumped when
BESSandconvertercannotaccommodate.AsFig.7(c)
shows,theloadreactivepowerismostlydeliveredby
thePVSconverterandthentherestissuppliedbythe
BESSconverterand/orDGS.

www.ijesci.org

BESSdeliverstheremainingreactivepowerandatthe
endtheDGShelps.

FIG.8POWERANDENERGYOFIMGCOMPONENTSFORPMSB

SimulationResultsforPMSC

FIG.7POWERANDENERGYOFIMGCOMPONENTSFORPMSA

Fig. 9 illustrates the productiveness of the PMSC by

the real power, reactive power and SOE of the BESS.
From3395thhourto3410thhourinFig.9(b)indicates
thattheDGSoperatesforchargingtheBESSuptothe
maximumlevel.AsFig.9(a)shows,theDGSoperates
almost at full load for charging the BESS and for
fulfilling the net load demand. By observing Figs. 8
and 9, it can be stated that the operating periods of
DGS in this strategy are longer than those of PMSB.
As the SOE of BESS goes at maximum level by the
DGS operation, Fig. 9(a) illustrates that the dumping
power has increased (e.g. from 3350 th hour to 3367th
hour). Thus,the renewable energy penetrationfor the
primaryloadisexpectedtodecrease.

SimulationResultsforPMSB
Fig.8demonstratesthecapabilityofPMSBbytheSOE
of the BESS, the real and reactive powers of the IMG
components, presented from 3300th hour to 3475th
hour.Fig.8(a)showsthatthedeliveredwindpoweris
low for many hours, between 3300th hour and 3475th
hour. The BESS does not have enough SOE for
dischargingasshowninFig.8(b).Therefore,theDGS
operatesforloadrealpowerandforchargingtheBESS
(e.g. 3305th hour to 3316th hour). Once the SOE of
b
BESSreachesat Esoc
,thentheDGSstops.TheBESScan
deliverthepartofnetloaduntiltheSOEofBESSstays
b
above Emin
, and thus Fig. 8(b) illustrates that the DGS
b
starts again when the SOE of BESS touches at Emin
.

Thus, the DGS mostly runs with heavy load,

subsequentlyitsshortperiodstart/stopdecreases.Fig.
8(c) demonstrates further that the reactive power is
supplied mostly by the PVS converter; after that the

FIG.9POWERANDENERGYOFIMGCOMPONENTSFORPMSC

SimulationResultsforPMSD
Fig.10demonstratestheperformanceofPMSDbythe
simulation results, presented from 2105th hour to
2110th hour. As Fig. 10(a) shows, the DGS operates

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www.ijesci.org InternationalJournalofEnergyScience(IJES)Volume3Issue6,December2013

whennetloadexceedsPd;otherwisetheBESSdelivers
thenetload,e.g.2111thhourto2117thhour.Thus,the
operation ofthe DGS and the BESSiscomplementary
for the net load demand unless any constraints work.
Therefore, the DGS operation contains frequent
start/stop,anditcanbeinferredthatthiscauseshigher
maintenance costs for DGS. Fig. 10(b) demonstrates
thattheSOEdecreaserateinBESSislowercompared
tothatinotherstrategies.Theslowdecreasingrateof
SOE in the BESS may enhance the life cycles of the
batteries.Fig.10indicatesthatthechargingrateofthe
BESSismuchhigherthanthatofthedischargingrate.

(a) and (c) show that the SOEs and self discharges of
BESSaresimilarbothinPMSAandinPMSD.

FIG. 11 SOE OF BESS FOR (a) PMS-A, (b) PMS-C, AND (c) PMS-D

ReactivePowerManagementinIMGwithoutPVS

FIG.10POWERANDENERGYOFIMGCOMPONENTSFORPMSD

SOEsofBESSforthePMSs
Figs.11(a),(b)and(c)respectivelyillustratetheSOEs
oftheBESSforthePMSA,PMSC,andPMSD.AsFig.
11(a)shows,theSOEofBESSforPMSAremainslow
from 2900th hour to 5500th hour due to seasonal
variations of wind speed. The magnified plot in Fig.
11(a)demonstratesthattheSOEofBESShasdecreased
significantly below minimum level due to
selfdischarge of the BESS. The situation becomes
worsewhentheBESSreachesatminimumlevelalong
withlowrenewablepowergeneration(e.g.1376thhour
to 1475th hour). Thus, the PMSB and PMSC utilize
the DGS for charging BESS; Fig. 11(b) shows that the
SOEofBESSdoesnotreachbelowminimumlevel.Fig.
11(b) further shows the SOE of BESS reaches
frequentlyatmaximumlevel.TheSOEoftheBESSfor
PMSBisexcludedasitisverysimilartoPMSC.Itcan
beinferredthattheSOEofBESSinPMSBwouldnot
frequently reach the maximum level like PMSC. The
SOE of BESS for PMSD, (shown in Fig. 11(c)),
illustratesthattherateofdischargefromBESSislower,
as the BESS only discharges for low net load. Figs. 11

392

The reactive powers of the IMG, which is constituted

without PVS for the PMSA, PMSB, PMSC and
PMSD are shown in Figs. 12 (a), (b), (c) and (d),
respectively.AllofthesubfiguresofFig.12illustrate
that the Qpv is zero. Thus, the BESS converter mostly
deliversthereactivepower(Qcon),whentheDGSdoes
not require to share. Fig. 12 (a) demonstrates that the
reactive power demand at around 2121th hour is 0.45
p.u., which is shared by both the BESS converter and
theDGS;wheretheFig.12(b)(c)and(d)indicatethat
thereactivepowersaredeliveredonlyfromtheBESSs.

FIG. 12 REACTIVE POWER MANAGEMENT IN IMG OF NO PVS

ComparisonofPMSs
All of the aforementioned studies are represented for
fewhoursoftotalsimulationwhichisfortheclarityof
thefigures.TableIIIcomparestheperformancesofthe
strategiesbasedonayeararound(8760hrs)simulation.
AsTableIIIshows,theSOEofBESSstaysatminimum
level for 3898 hours, 156 hours, 72 hours, and 1143
hours, respectively, for PMSA, PMSB, PMSC, and

InternationalJournalofEnergyScience(IJES)Volume3Issue6,December2013

PMSD. Thenumber of hours, the SOE of the BESSat

minimum level, is significantly lower for PMSB and
PMSC compare to others. The number of hours, the
SOEstaysabovethe97%ofitsmaximumlevel,isthe
highest for the PMSC compare to the others.
Consequently,therenewableenergypenetrationisthe
lowestandthusthedumpingpoweristhehighestfor
thePMSC.AlthoughtheDGSisusedforchargingthe
BESS in PMSB and PMSC, the number of DGS
operatinghoursarelowerinthestrategiesduetonear
full load operation. Alternately, the DGS operates
longerhourswithvariableloadinPMSAandPMSD.
Moreover, the self discharges in PMSA and PMSD
arehigher(presentedearlier).Thelowoperatinghours
of the DGS indicate low maintenance and operating
costsneededfortheDGS.
TABLEIIIPERFORMANCESCOMPARISONOFPMSs

www.ijesci.org

flowchartsofthePMSs.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The first author would like to thank Ministry of
Training, Colleges, and Universities, Ontario, and
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council
(NSERC), Canada, for awarding Ontario Graduate
Scholarship (OGS) and Canada Graduate Scholarship
(Doctoral),respectively.
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