Status of Microgrid Protection and Related Standards and Codes: Protection Supports Integration

Microgrids are becoming a significant aggregation of distributed energy resources (DERs) that improves the reliability and resilience of the power delivery system. Most of the early microgrid experience occurred in behind-the-meter applications for installations with critical loads and significant backup power and load prioritization requirements. Very successful systems that include campus and utility applications have been operational for up to and exceeding a decade. For these early systems, available codes and standards consisted mostly of adapted device-level legacy emergency and standby power requirements. Grid interconnection and efficient, safe operating requirements were improvised via programmed computers, and the protection focus was the microgrids themselves. The larger microgrid installations often required qualified staff trained to monitor and operate the systems.