Cascaded Active Disturbance Rejection Control of Islanded Microgrid with Plug and Play Capability

Abstract

Active Disturbance Rejection Control (ADRC) has gained significant popularity in power electronics control due to its strong disturbance rejection capability. For microgrid applications, ADRC can achieve highly decoupled voltage control in d-q reference frame. Available literature shows that d-q voltage control combined with droop equations is commonly used to operate multi-converter systems in islanded microgrids. This paper presents a cascaded voltage and current control strategy using ADRC for power electronic conversion in Distributed Generation (DG). The proposed control framework enhances system functionality by providing improved dynamic performance, robustness, and plug-and-play capability. A modified control is introduced in virtual synchronous generator (VSG) to eliminate repetitive voltage comparisons offering flexibility in control. The proposed method is modeled and simulated in Real Time Digital Simulator (RTDS) and MATLAB. Simulation results validate the effectiveness of the proposed control approach in ensuring stable and resilient microgrid operation. Additionally, a full-order small signal stability analysis is conducted to evaluate the microgrid's stability with constant impedance loads. © 2025 IEEE.