A New Population-Based Optimization Method for Online Minimization of Voltage Harmonics in Islanded Microgrids

This brief proposes a new scheme for the online minimization of harmonic distortion of an islanded microgrid based on a population-based optimization method. In this scheme, a new central controller is presented, which can optimize network voltage harmonics according to particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm, while active power is shared between distributed generation units. In the suggested intelligent controller, the optimal amplitude, and angle of harmonic components are generated by the PSO algorithm and added to the voltage reference generated by the droop controller. The objective functions of the problem are minimizing the harmonic distortion of the critical bus and the total harmonic distortion of the microgrid. Simulation and experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed method for minimizing harmonic distortion in microgrid networks.