Microgrids Frequency Control Considerations within the Framework of the Optimal Generation Scheduling Problem

Microgrids are perceived to play an important role in the future of smart grids. Cost reduction and frequency regulation are among the major concerns in this context. This paper aims to study the mutual impacts of these issues and to propose an integrated mathematical framework in order to achieve minimum costs while maintaining frequency-regulation requirements. Inspired by the operational practices and requisites of the real-world microgrid applications, different methods of frequency control are reviewed and discussed. This is followed by developing adequate models for the different types of frequency-regulation mechanisms in the framework of the microgrid generation scheduling problem. The application of the proposed methodology to the Bella Coola microgrid in British Columbia, Canada, is explained, and several numerical results are presented and discussed.