Renewable Energy Intermittency Mitigation in Microgrids: State-of-the-Art and Future Prospects

The use of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) in Microgrids (MG) for power generation is a much-proposed countermeasure against the environmental degradation caused by burning of fossil fuels. However, RES are intermittent in nature and the power generated by them fluctuates randomly, due to which, appropriate measures are needed to ensure an efficient and reliable power supply. This paper reviews the state-of-the-art techniques used to mitigate the intermittency of RES in MG. A new classification of intermittency mitigation techniques is presented and a comparison of these techniques is drawn. Based on the reviewed literature, some important research directions to improve the existing intermittency mitigation techniques are proposed. Among these directions, the need to investigate RES complementarity further by characterizing RES, minimization of the cost of energy storage systems (ESS) and development of algorithms for better integration, management and control of ESS and dispatchable generators have been identified as crucial challenges in mitigating the intermittency of RES in MG. In addition, the standardization of communication protocols to ensure interoperability of communicating elements of MG and the use of fast, reliable communication links have been realized as fundamental requirements for a MG to be able to mitigate intermittency through appropriate techniques, such as, energy cooperation between MG and demand response management.