PERFORMANCE CHARACTERIZATION OF A MOBILE MICROGRID

Abstract

With a rising global emphasis on the use of renewable energy and the reduction of fossil fuels, the Department of Defense is incorporating microgrid technology into energy management systems at forward-deployed and domestic installations. Understanding the nature of the connection between a microgrid and the local utility grid is critical in determining if sensitive loads will be adequately supported. IEEE Standard 1547-2018 applies to this interconnection and specifies the technical requirements and limitations for normal and abnormal operation and expectations for interrupting events. A commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) microgrid is tested for its compliance to this standard and also for characteristics, such as efficiency, that help define its operational capability. The microgrid can operate in a grid-connected state or an islanded state, disconnected from the utility grid, if the grid is unavailable or if the power quality is unable to support military operations. A microgrid testbed was set up that included the individual COTS components, a centralized control system and several measurement instruments connected that read voltages and currents continuously throughout the experiments. By observing the microgrid functionality, this thesis created an objective characterization template that can be used to assess the capabilities of other COTS microgrids to determine whether they are capable of supporting sensitive loads on forward-deployed or domestic military installations.