Broadcast gossip algorithms for distributed peer-to-peer control in AC microgrids

This paper focuses on a fully distributed peer-to-peer control scheme for voltage regulation and reactive power sharing of multiple inverter-based distributed energy resources (DERs) in ac microgrids. The proposed peer-to-peer control strategy is fully distributed enabled through broadcast gossip communication, where each DER unit only requires local voltage and current measurement from its own and some (but not all) nearby neighbors for the voltage and reactive power sharing control. Employing the broadcast gossip communication protocol with attractive scalability and reliability properties, the control inputs can be updated to restore the voltage magnitudes at the point of common coupling to a desired value ensuring an accurate reactive power sharing for each DER. Since the proposed distributed controllers are implemented on local DERs, the central controller and hierarchy are no longer required. Accordingly, the microgrid system stability is preserved in the peer-to-peer requirements of line switches, which in turn, enables a plug-and-play operation of DERs and their robustness against microgrid topology change scenarios. Simulation studies in a modified IEEE 34-bus test network demonstrate the effectiveness and applicability of the proposed control strategy.