Microgrid supervisory controllers and energy management systems: A literature review

Microgrids (MGs), featured by distributed energy resources, consumption and storage, are designed to significantly enhance the self-sustainability of future electric distribution grids. In order to adapt to this new and revolutionary paradigm, it is necessary to control MGs in intelligent and coordinated fashion. To this aim, a new generation of advanced Microgrid Supervisory Controllers (MGSC) and Energy Management Systems (EMS) has emerged. The aim of this paper is to summarize the control objectives and development methodologies in the recently proposed MGSC/EMS. At first, a classification of control objectives is made according to the definition of hierarchical control layers in MGs. Then, focusing on MGSC/EMS related studies, a detailed methodology review is given with emphasis on representative applications and research works. Finally, the conclusions are summarized and the proposals of future research directions in this area are given.