Revolutionizing protection dynamics in microgrids: Local validation environment and a novel global management control through multi-agent systems

Amid rapid renewable sources expansion in distribution systems, novel operational and protection challenges emerge due to dynamic variations. To address these issues, an innovative hierarchical protection strategy based on an agent-based structure has been developed. This approach integrates a dual-tier system managing digital structure comparisons and modular agent fusion. At the upper tier, critical operational decisions are made while preserving protection coordination, while lower tiers oversee event analysis and relay updates. A key advantage of this system is its autonomous ability to sustain protection coordination during adjustments of topology and control operation scenarios. Integration of controlled harmonic insertion post-fault and control adaptations ensures stability. A validation agent divides the network through IDs, enabling precise communication and ensuring the effective functioning of supplementary protection across various zones, independent of performance failures in the master agent. Efficacy of this strategy has been validated through simulation studies within the University of Valle’s microgrid.