A review of islanding detection methods for microgrid

Renewable energy generation is considered as an important approach to solve energy and environment problems in the future. Distributed generation technique is a primary way to utilize renewable energy. Microgrid integrated with different kinds of distributed resources can improve energy efficiency and reduce the negative impact on power grid. Microgrid may operate in grid-connected or islanding mode, running on quite different strategies. Effective islanding detection methods are indispensable to realize optimal operation of microgrid. In this paper, performance indices and critical technique problems are discussed. Islanding detection methods are also classified. The paper aims to discuss the improvement of several performance indices, including non-detection zone (NDZ), detection time, error detection ratio and power quality, to evaluate different detection methods. Effectiveness in multiple-inverter cases is also analyzed. According to the comparison upon the advantages and disadvantages of each method, the applicability is discussed, which may provide a reference for researchers to select islanding detection methods.