Proposal of a Communication Layer for a Renewable Energy Microgrid Testbed

Abstract

Microgrids (MG) are becoming a definitive solution for the integration of renewable energies sources in the energy matrix. As it becomes an independent cluster of energy apart from the main grid, it needs a specialized control called Microgrid Central Controller (MGCC) and consequently a robust communication layer with the primary controllers in order to prevent failure and disturbances to the grid. In Brazil, an effort has been made to build a laboratory structure to simulate a microgrid environment, but with a field approach. This paper proposes a solution to the communication layer, physical and logical, that meet the requirements of a real field application allowing interconnection of real physical equipment to the testbed. The results indicate that the communication should use a physical interconnection with an Ethernet Based Protocol, considering time synchronization and redundancy.