Design and Simulation of Low-Cost Microgrid Controller in Off-Grid Remote Areas

This study presents the microgrid controller with an energy management strategy for an off-grid microgrid, consisting of an energy storage system (ESS), photovoltaic system (PV), micro-hydro, and diesel generator. The aim is to investigate the improved electrical distribution and off-grid operation in remote areas. The off-grid microgrid model and the control algorithms developed using MATLAB Simulink and State flow. The energy management system is focusing on the state of charge of the energy storage system. The microgrid controller controls the operation mode and power generation from the distributed generations’ local controller, i.e., PV, micro-hydro, and diesel. It also controls the smart meters of the loads to be connected or disconnected to the microgrid. The simulation results show that the proposed microgrid control can control the target off-grid microgrid in given possible scenarios. The off-grid microgrid managed to meet the energy demand with the lowest power outage and the diesel generator operation’s lowest cost.