Distribution interface for microgrid operation and expansion with local energy management

This paper proposes a power electronic interface that enables localized energy management. The proposed interface, named as Active Power Distribution Nodes (APDNs), not only controls power flow and power the load during complete power loss, but also performs as a power buffer to handle instantaneous power imbalance between sources and loads. Power flow control is performed by power electronic interface, and the power buffer function is implemented by integrating energy storage within the interface. As a power buffer, the APDN can be used to enable local energy management of zones decoupled from the rest of the network. Furthermore, such decoupling simplifies expansion planning of microgrids by enabling a modular approach based on a sectionalized power distribution architecture. Performance of the APDN is verified by both simulation and experiments.