Microgrid for fast service restoration to critical load

Kefei Mo

Due to the intensity of catastrophic power outages caused by severe weather conditions, there is a critical need for new concepts and technologies to enhance the distribution systems in their "resilience" with respect to these extreme events. Resilience, the ability to withstand and recover from extreme events, such as hurricanes, is an important attribute for the future power grid. The deployment of microgrids provides a promising solution for service restoration after a major outage. The increasing installation of distributed generation resources (DERs) is an important step toward a resilient distribution system. Nevertheless, several technical issues need to be addressed, including the steady-state and dynamic performance of a microgrid following a disturbance due to the limited control capability. A pilot microgrid field test using real world electrical facilities is important for evaluation of the feasibility to use DERs in microgrids to serve critical load after a major outage. The test results are used to determine the technical problems and solutions during the system restoration procedure. Extensive computer simulations have been performed to evaluate the impact of restoration operations and determine the risks involved before the field test was conducted. With the data captured in the test, it is possible to validate simulations and develop computational models with a better representation of the system behavior. In this thesis, the concept of distribution system resilience is introduced. Approaches to improving resilience in distribution systems using microgrids are discussed. The results of a field test performed at the power plant of Washington State University Pullman campus are described. The purpose of the field test is to demonstrate the concept of using the WSU generators to energize the grid on the utility side, which is the first step toward serving the critical load on the utility side under extreme conditions when the utility system becomes unavailable. Events of interest during the restoration process are analyzed. A particular concern is the dynamic performance after certain restoration operations. Furthermore, load data from the WSU distribution system are also acquired for load modeling to improve the simulation capability.

Microgrid for fast service restoration to critical load

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