Microgrid (MG) systems effectively integrate a generation mix of solar, wind, and other renewable energy resources. The intermittent nature of renewable resources and the unpredictable weather conditions contribute largely to the unreliability of microgrid real-time operation. This paper investigates the behavior of microgrid for different intermittent scenarios of photovoltaic generation in real-time. Reactive power coordination control and load shedding mechanisms are used for reliable operation and are implemented using OPAL-RT simulator integrated with Matlab. In an islanded MG, load shedding can be an effective mechanism to maintain generation-load balance. The microgrid of the German Jordanian University (GJU) is used for illustration. The results show that reactive power coordination control not only stabilizes the MG operation in real-time but also reduces power losses on transmission lines. The results also show that the power losses at some substations are reduced by a range of 6%-9.8%.

Microgrid systems are built to integrate a generation mix of solar and wind renewable energy resources that are generally intermittent in nature. This paper presents a novel decentralized multi-agent system to securely operate microgrids in real-time while maintaining generation, load balance. Agents provide a normal operation in a grid-connected mode and a contingency operation in an islanded mode for fault handling. Fault handling is especially critical in microgrid operation to simulate possible contingencies and microgrid outages in a real-world scenario. A robust agent design has been implemented using MATLAB-Simulink and Java Agent Development Framework technologies to simulate microgrids with load management and distributed generators control. The microgrid of the German Jordanian University has been used for simulation for Summer and Winter photovoltaic generation and load profiles. The results show agent capabilities to operate microgrid in real-time and its ability to coordinate and adjust generation and load. In a simulated fault incident, agents coordinate and adjust to a normal operation in 0.012 seconds, a negligible time for microgrid restoration. This clearly shows that the multi-agent system is a viable solution to operate MG in real-time.

This paper presents the optimal scheduling of renewable resources using interior point optimization for grid-connected and islanded microgrids (MG) that operate with no energy storage systems. The German Jordanian University (GJU) microgrid system is used for illustration. We present analyses for islanded and grid-connected MG with no storage. The results show a feasible islanded MG with a substantial operational cost reduction. We obtain an average of $1 k daily cost savings when operating an islanded compared to a grid-connected MG with capped grid energy prices. This cost saving is 10 times higher when considering varying grid energy prices during the day. Although the PV power is intermittent during the day, the MG continues to operate with a voltage variation that does not 10%. The results imply that MGs of GJU similar topology can optimally and safely operate with no energy storage requirements but considerable renewable generation capacity.