A Novel Passive Method for Islanding Detection in Microgrids

Abstract Integration of distributed generations (DGs) in power grids is expected to play an essential role in the infrastructure and market of electrical power systems. Microgrids are small energy systems, capable of balancing captive supply and requesting resources to retain stable service within a specific boundary. Microgrids can operate in grid-connected or islanding modes. Effective islanding detection methods are essential for realizing the optimal operation of microgrids. In this paper, a new passive islanding detection method is presented according to the change rate of DG’s voltage over active power index. This technique has been applied on inverter-based and synchronous-based microgrids. The efficiency of the proposed method is verified through a comprehensive set of simulation studies carried out in Matlab/Simulink.