A Feasibility Study of Implementing IEEE 1547 and IEEE 2030 Standards for Microgrid in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA) microgrids must make significant progress during the next five years, since the Saudi government published the Saudi Vision 2030 and the National Transformation Program 2020. In order to implement renewable energy and microgrid technologies in the Saudi Electric Power System(EPS), King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (K.A.CARE) started developing an energy mix program in 2016. To achieve the intended goals, this program will unquestionably need to adhere to practical and technical criteria. In the past five years, the Saudi government has made significant investments in renewable energy technology. In order to keep up with the growth of microgrid systems globally, the Saudi Water and Electricity Regulatory Authority (WERA) is now working to update and define a standard for microgrids. The IEEE 2030 standard, which includes guidelines for understanding smart grid interoperability the integration of communication architectures and power systems, and information technology architectures, is proposed to replace the IEEE 1547.4 standard currently in use by the WERA. In the past two decades, smart grid technology has advanced dramatically and attracted great technical attention. To guarantee that K.A.CARE and other research and technical institutes can effectively complete their deliverables, a standard for microgrids has to be established. Additionally, this paper offers some recommendations on how to use these standards to implement them in the Saudi EPS, as well as a feasibility analysis for adopting the IEEE 1547.4 standard in the KSA.

1. Introduction

In 2016, the Saudi government released the National Transformation Program 2020 and Saudi Vision 2030. The National Transformation Program 2020 was the first phase of the Saudi Vision 2030 that aimed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Saudi government’s spending and diversify the sources of income, rather than depend on oil as the single main source [1]. KSA’s government recognizes the global shift of reducing oil use; therefore, this initiative includes an energy transformation program. One strategic objective of this program is to enable renewable energy to contribute to the national energy mix. Another objective is to increase the local expertise in the technologies of renewable energy and invest in them [1]. By 2020, the Saudi government had a plan to reach a renewable energy target of 4% of total national energy use, which equals to 3450 MW [2]. Hence, in order to achieve this goal, the Saudi government has majorly invested in renewable energy technologies in the last five years [1].

King Abdullah City for Atomic & Renewable Energy (K.A.CARE) was established in 2010 to attain the main objective of creating a roadmap for a sustainable future for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. K.A.CARE was aimed to produce a balanced energy mix of alternative and conventional energy to lead the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia towards the best position in the global energy market [3]. K.A.CARE plans to build an energy mix program that can achieve a renewable energy usage rate of 4% of the total national energy use and develop the technical knowledge and expertise required for it [3]. Unfortunately, the Saudi Water & Electricity Regulatory Authority (WERA), responsible for establishing energy standards, still does not have standards for distributed generation (DG) or microgrids [4]. Therefore, there is a need to establish a standard for microgrids to ensure that K.A.CARE and other research and technical institutes are able to successfully achieve their deliverables [3]. Several standards around the world, such as the IEEE 1547 standard, are already present, which the WERA can adopt or use to build their own standard.

Older standards were created with the assumption that the network’s DER percentage was relatively small. Nevertheless, new standards are being created, including sophisticated DER connectivity and operation criteria, with the objective of enhancing stability as the number of DER facilities rises. The inclusion of these requirements may thus be a sign that particular microgrid standards are being developed with the intention of addressing the issue of the possible effects of DER integration. The criteria of cumulative installed power for both renewable and solar-generated energy led to the selection of the 23 worldwide standards as well as the national standards of 10 nations. The chosen nations represent 80% of the most significant nations in both scenarios, with four out of five countries on a worldwide scale accommodating increased renewable capacity (excluding hydro) and eight out of ten countries tolerating larger photovoltaic capacity [5].

1.1. Background

Due to increasing electricity demands and the likely depletion of conventional energy sources, meeting future demands for electricity may require the construction of new renewable power stations to either replace or supplement conventional power sources to supply power continuously to all customers [6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13]. Smart grid (SG) technologies have been proposed as alternative promising solutions to allow the main grid to satisfy the need for electricity by integrating renewable energy sources in the main grid. These SG technologies are equipped with communication networks and real-time measurement technologies to meet essential requirements: to monitor the renewable energy sources’ integration to the main grid; to manage uncertainties in power flow between the renewable energy sources and the main grid; to resolve any unpredictable events during operation [14,15,16].

As a result, these SG technologies enhance the resiliency, reliability, and efficiency of the system, increase the main grid capability, and reduce the emission of carbon dioxide, mitigating global climate change [12,15,17,18]. With the increased integration of distributed generator units (DG units) into the main power grid, renewable energy sources such as solar photovoltaics (PV), wind turbines, etc. have been extensively incorporated into the distributed power system [6,7]. These DG units can utilize the power to the main grid and can guarantee the continued supply of the power to their local loads in any case of a failure event in the main grid. The new transformation in the electric power industry encourages integrating DG units such as photovoltaics (PVs) and wind turbines to the main grid to meet the increasing power demand without damaging the environment [12]. For that, most developed countries have set specific targets for the proportion of renewable energy in their total energy portfolio. For example, Germany has a target share of 80% of renewable energy generation by 2050 [19]. As a consequence of these goals, the integration of renewable energy sources into the main grid has been increasing dramatically in recent years [20,21]. This increase strongly influences the electric power system’s structure and its operation [20,22,23].

1.2. Challenges

Traditionally, electricity is transported from the main power grid to utilize power to the customers. As shown in Figure 1, the infrastructure of the traditional power system consists of three different stages: (1) generation, (2) transmission, and (3) distribution. The electricity is generated in the power generation plants or units and then stepped up using step-up transformers in the transmission substation. The power is transmitted via transmission lines for long distances and then the voltage levels are reduced by step-down transformers to provide a nominal voltage level to the customers via the distribution subsections [24,25,26,27,28]. The distribution lines carry power and electricity to different customers in geological boundaries. Thus, this traditional system is centralized and highly relies on the power generation units. As a consequence, any failure in the power generation units, transmission, or distribution subsection can black out the system, causing the electricity to disconnect from a part of the system or perhaps the whole system, in turn causing power shortages for customers [27,28]. In short, traditional power systems struggle to manage any failure in the system and require a long time to fix the failure, which may leave customers without electricity for several days or weeks.

To overcome the challenge of managing failure in the traditional power system, the concept of the smart grid is introduced to ensure the continuity and security of supply power to the customers. SG technologies provide several improvements and advantages to the power systems [24,25,26]. The concept of the smart grid allows the DG units such as PV array, wind turbine, etc. to integrate into the main grid to achieve the power demand. Also, these DG units can operate autonomously in the case of power blackouts, which enable DG units within microgrid (MG) systems to shift to the standalone off-grid operational mode and work as an independent electric power grid. In critical situations such as the emergency or surgical rooms of hospitals, blackouts pose a real threat to the lives of dozens of people [10,29]. With the development of islanded smart grid applications, the DG system resources can shift to operate autonomously, thereby improving the efficiency of the system and eventually reducing the risk of blackouts [6,11,17]. These standalone systems ensure the security of the electricity supply and prevent the risk of supply interruption. Also, installing these in remote areas or places instead of building new electric generating units and connecting them to the main grid through transmission lines reduces the cost of the entire system. In areas where population centers are widely distributed, and particularly, in countries that lack a robust and effective grid, effective power sharing enables growth in consumption and improved supply security when isolated SG applications are interconnected with feeder lines to share loads [6,18,30,31,32,33].

2. Overview of the Technologies Required for the Smart Grid

According to the US Department of Energy, the definition of the smart grid is as follows:

“The smart grid is the electricity delivery system, from point of generation to point of consumption, integrated with communications and information technology for enhanced grid operations, customer services, and environmental benefits.” “A smart grid is self-healing, enables active participation of consumers, operates resiliently against attack and natural disasters, accommodates all generation and storage options, enables introduction of new products, services and markets, optimizes asset utilization and operates efficiently, and provides power quality for the digital economy” [16].

The smart grid has been defined in terms of seven characteristics and traits which describe its functions:

• Optimize asset utilization and operating efficiency.
• Accommodate all possible generation and storage options.
• Provide high-quality electricity service for a wide variety of uses in a new economy.
• Anticipate and respond to system disturbances in a self-healing manner.
• Operate resiliently against physical and cyber threats and attacks as well as natural disasters.
• Allow customers to participate actively.
• Enable new products, services, and markets.

To enable the smart grid applications to meet these traits, various technologies are required [16,18,19,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41].

To ensure that these characteristics are achieved in smart grid systems, standards defining the mechanisms and procedures of power, control, communication systems, and installation work should be developed. Internationally, there are a group of organizations that provide standards related to the smart grid, and one of the most famous of these is IEEE 1547. This standard is a foundational document for connecting distributed generation (DG) to the electric power system. The IEEE 1547 standard is unique since it is the only American National Standard that addresses systems-level DER that is connected to the distribution grid [42,43]. It has had a significant impact on how the energy industry operates and will continue to have an impact on how electric power systems operate in the future. The IEEE 1547 standard has aided in the modernization of the electric power infrastructure by laying the groundwork for the integration of clean renewable energy technologies as well as other distributed generation and energy storage technologies [42,43]. IEEE 1547 specifies mandatory functional and technical requirements and specifications as well as flexibility and options for complying equipment and operating details [42].

Microgrid Structure and Operation

The microgrid structures differ depending on the distribution generators. The five main components that make up a microgrid are:

(a)

Micro sources, also known as distributed generators;

(b)

Flexible loads;

(c)

Distributed energy storage devices;

(d)

Control systems;

(e)

The point of common coupling.

These components are all connected to a low-voltage distribution network and are able to operate in a controlled, coordinated manner when connected to the utility grid and in landed states. There are several strategies for running microgrids. A microgrid’s power generators are made up of many sorts of renewable energy sources. Microgrids are made up of a wide array of parts. Figure 1 depicts the microgrid’s components. Figure 2 depicts a basic microgrid system with:

(a)

controllable generation, such as diesel generators and load banks,

(b)

limited non-controllable generation, such as solar cells and wind turbines, and

(c)

distributed energy storage, such as batteries and super-capacitors (Figure 3).

IEEE 1547 Series of Standards for Distributed Generation (DG) Interconnection and Interoperability with the Grid:

The connectivity of distributed generation (DG) with the grid or the electric power system was pioneered by Institute of microgrids and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Standard 1547. As the sole American National Standard addressing systems-level DER linked to the distribution grid, 1547 is distinctive. It has had a large impact on the energy sector’s operations, and it will likely continue to have an impact on how electric power networks function for a very long time. By giving a framework for the incorporation of clean renewable energy technologies as well as for other DGs and energy storage technologies, IEEE 1547 has assisted in modernizing our electric power systems’ infrastructure. Mandatory functional and technical requirements and standards are provided by IEEE 1547, along with flexibility, options for equipment, and operational details that are compliant with the standard. The grid is technically and operationally complicated, and this complexity extends to the regulatory compliance and requirements set out by the several agencies with jurisdiction (AHJ) over the grid. The central station power plants that make up the bulk of US electrical infrastructure often produce hundreds of megawatts or gigawatts of power apiece. After then, clients or consumers of that microgrid are supplied through distribution grids that are connected to high-voltage transmission power lines that transfer the bulk electricity, frequently over rather vast distances. From the central power plant and the distribution grid circuits out to the facilities of the customers, the power flow is typically one-way, as seen in Figure 4 [43].

In this paper, the IEEE 1547–2018 standard is reviewed to propose microgrid standards for the WERA, especially standards of stability in microgrids in different modes. It has a guide for the design, operation, and integration of the DR off-grid systems within electric power systems (EPSs), and also provides technical specifications, limitations, and requirements for intentional off-grid systems in the EPS that incorporate DR [44]. This standard describes the common issues with microgrids that exist in two modes: (1) when the microgrid is in parallel or in interconnected mode with the EPS, or (2) when the microgrid is disconnected from the EPS in the off-grid operational mode. In addition, the IEEE 1547.4 standard provides guidance on how to plan for the integration of microgrids and includes engineering recommendations to protect them [44].

3. The Need for Smart Grid Standardization

Smart grids have been a significant technical interest and have developed significantly in the last two decades. Globally, the need for standards has increased with the development and spread of renewable energy resources, smart grids, and microgrids in different regions and applications [37,42,43,45,46,47,48]. Locally, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is still in the first phase of building an energy mix program designed to increase the integration of the DG in the Saudi EPS [1,2,3,4,49,50]. KSA does not currently have its own smart grid standards, which presents technical barriers to the development of smart grid projects [8]. In addition, the lack of smart grid standards may cause confusion for smart grid engineers as they may struggle to plan and construct the smart grid systems.

The three main benefits of the standardization of smart grids are: (1) to establish and define the minimum requirements of operating systems in the off-grid operational mode, the interconnection mode, etc., (2) to allow the DR to integrate with the EPS, and (3) to establish smart grid system limits and functionality [11,37,45,46,47,48,51]. It is important that a standard defines the requirements and functions that are applicable to a large range of smart grid applications and their control systems [10].

4. Standardization of Microgrid Operation Modes

One of the best features of the smart grid is that it supports the production of distributed generation (DG), which reduces losses during the electrical transmission and distribution stages and increases the system’s efficiency and effectiveness. DG plants are frequently integrated with renewable energy technologies such as photovoltaic systems, wind turbines, small hydro turbines, tidal, biogas, and so on. Individual DGs can cause as many difficulties as they can solve. A system approach that views generation and associated loads as part of a subsystem that is called a microgrid is a better way to realize the emerging potential of the DG. Microgrids can be defined as small, local distribution generation (DG) systems that include microturbines, fuel cells, photovoltaic (PV) arrays, wind turbines, and storage systems such as flywheels, energy capacitors, batteries, and controllable and uncontrollable loads [17,18,52]. It can be connected to the utility grid (grid mode) or operated independently when disconnected from it (island mode) during faults or other external disturbances, thereby improving supply quality and allowing customers to obtain more efficient, cheaper, and cleaner energy [17,18,52]. Furthermore, microgrids may improve local reliability, lower investment costs, reduce emissions, improve power quality, and reduce distribution generations (DGs) power losses [13,14,53,54,55,56].

Microgrids can operate and control either normally, connected to the main grid network, permanently, or temporarily in standalone or off-grid operational mode. In addition, they have the ability to shift automatically from the on-grid to the off-grid operational mode. In this study, the IEEE 1547 standard has been taken into consideration for its implementation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia EPS. Based on the IEEE 1547.4 standard, the functionality of microgrids and operation modes are shown in Figure 5 [10,44].

4.1. On-Grid Operational Mode

In the on-grid operational mode, all DRs should operate according to the IEEE 1547.1 standard (2003). In response to certain scheduled or unscheduled events, the operation mode should transition to the off-grid operational mode. During this transition, islanded interconnected devices and protective relays are needed to protect the microgrid from any faults or transients [7,18,57,58].

4.2. Off-Grid Operational Mode

In the off-grid operational mode, microgrid designs should take into account the real and reactive power requirements of the loads to be able to regulate the voltage and frequency within specified ranges. In this mode, the microgrids may be subject to voltage instability, and voltage and frequency controls are needed to stabilize the islanded microgrids [7,18,57,58,59]. In addition, the distribution of the loads shall be balanced within the off-grid microgrids. All faults must be detected and handled as soon as possible; implementing adaptive relays is a good option to protect against a variety of operating conditions [7,18,57,58]. Sufficient monitoring is recommended for understanding the status of the off-grid microgrids [7,18,57,58].

Transitioning back to the on-grid operational mode is called the reconnecting transition function. In this transition function, the challenge is to synchronize the off-grid microgrid with the EPS. Monitoring is important here to indicate the condition of synchronization [7,18,57,58]. Before reconnection, the EPS voltage should be within range B of ANSI/NEMA C84.1-2006, the frequency should be within the range of 59.3 Hz to 60.0 Hz, and the phase rotation must be correct [7,18,57,58]. This mode may be delayed by five minutes after restoring the EPS’s steady state voltage and frequency to the ranges above. In this transition function, unscheduled events may suddenly disconnect; in this case, the same process should be repeated to reconnect the microgrid with the EPS again after the unscheduled event [7,18,57,58].

A field of computer science that has gained popularity recently is artificial intelligence (AI). Artificial intelligence (AI) has important applications in the context of microgrids that may effectively utilize the data that is available and aid in decision-making in difficult practical situations for the safer and more dependable control and operation of microgrids. The development of AI-based algorithms, together with their increased computer power and data processing capabilities, has made it possible to take advantage of the single- to multi-microgrid network-regulating environment. Especially, ML algorithms’ Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL), which focuses on physical model learning from the environment and translates inputs to actions, is seen to be a potential method for creating a model-free design [40]. In order to train the algorithms to categories or forecast the continuous value target feature, supervised learning is employed using labelled datasets. Semi supervised learning is the process of training a model using both labelled and unlabeled datasets to make predictions for all future data points [40]. The term “generative adversarial networks” (GAN) refers to one of the most frequently used algorithms for this approach. Most of the time, all three hierarchical control levels use NN-based algorithms. In addition to that, the CNN and K-NN approaches have also been researched for classification and clustering purposes in various papers. A viable method of power-sharing and energy market regulation in microgrid applications is the use of RL [40]. The active involvement of DERs in the energy market is crucial for the decarburization of the power system network. To do this, a methodical strategy must be used while taking into account the many microgrid units’ layers of complexity. In order to facilitate automated energy transactions with the main grid, researchers have suggested two energy management algorithms for a microgrid. The first algorithm effectively predicts energy production, demand, and pricing by combining MPC with linear programming [40] (

Table 1. Related control algorithms level [40].

Networked Microgrid Functionality	AI Technique	Validation Level
Frequency support services	Multilayer perceptron (MLP)-driven RL	Simulation
Voltage and frequency regulation	Multi agent and RL	Simulation
Generation capacity optimization	ANN	Simulation
Generation capacity optimization	ANN	Simulation
Energy management system	Distributed ANN	Real-time experiment
Cost-effective energy transaction	Gaussian process-based regression model	Simulation
Transactive energy trading	Multi agent and RL	Simulation

).

5. Standardization of Microgrid Planning

In order to shift smoothly between these two operational modes suddenly or intentionally, the impacts of load requirements, real and reactive power requirements, power electronic devices, voltage and frequency regulation, and the stability of the microgrid systems should be considered in the planning stage.

5.1. Load Requirements

Microgrids must continuously match the load requirements to maintain and stabilize the voltage and frequency. A variety of issues can occur because of load mismatch, such as active and reactive power profiles, problems in motor starting, and current and voltage imbalance. Load analysis is critical when planning a microgrid [53]. Load configurations must be analyzed across all three phases in detail: phase to neutral, phase to phase, and single phase [7,18,57,58]. Some single-phase protective devices such as a fuse may cause a loss of load that may lead to an imbalance in the microgrid. A three-phase inverter can add a ripple to the DC bus that causes an imbalance in the microgrid too. Microgrid designers must take these devices into account in the planning stage. Generally, rotational equipment must operate within the specified current limits that are mentioned in detail in ANSI/NEMA MG 1-2006 [7,18,57,58]. Therefore, microgrid system designers should take into account the issues with imbalances in DR systems and loads to protect the devices in the microgrids.

5.2. Real and Reactive Power Configurations

Real and reactive power configurations, transformers, and motors must be considered in the planning stage. Microgrids must meet the acceptable level of real and reactive power requirements when they are in the off-grid operational mode [7,18,57,58]. Power resources need to be sufficient to meet the steady-state and dynamic power demands. Two issues require attention. When designing a microgrid, the selection and use of transformers must be considered since they may cause magnetizing flow currents and overcurrent while the transformers reenergize [7,18,57,58]. Motor starting issues are also important. Starting a motor may cause a voltage drop due to the flow current that may prevent a motor from starting. In addition, extended acceleration of the motor may reduce the motor’s life or generate heat; all these problems may unbalance the microgrids [7,18,57,58].

5.3. Power Electronic Devices

Microgrids need to include electronic devices such as power switches and converters to enable effective control and to manage standby and emergency conditions [7,18,57,58]. Electronic devices may cause several issues in the microgrid, especially when transferring between the on-grid to off-grid modes. Transferring the microgrid to the off-grid operational mode causes a high impedance in the microgrid, resulting in voltage distortion that may affect the power quality [7,18,57,58].

5.4. Voltage and Frequency Regulation

In the planning stage, all capacitors should be identified in the microgrid since the capacitors contribute to increasing the reactive power and to causing an imbalanced status in the microgrid. Voltage regulators can help the microgrid to eliminate the effect of reactive power and maintain the desired voltage profile [7,18,57,58]. Voltage regulators must correctly and rapidly manage any unwanted conditions, such as reverse power flow, that may damage the devices in the microgrid. The voltage level can impact the direction of the flow, the short circuit, and the loss of loads [7,18,57,58]. In addition, the location of the microgrid impacts the exchange process of reactive power between the microgrid and the DR. To control the voltage regulation issues, voltage droop and reactive power sharing techniques are proposed [7,18,57,58]. Voltage droop is a control technique that reduces the desired voltage when the reactive load increases. In addition, each generator needs to achieve the reactive load level that matches the system’s average reactive load, which can be maintained by a closed loop control system with a simple PID algorithm [7,18,57,58].

Methods of frequency regulation and the frequency sensitivities of the loads are also important. The microgrid may face challenges in regulating and maintaining the frequency range. Power quality and control strategies impact frequency regulation and cause under-frequency load shedding [7,18,57,58]. Frequency regulators and control strategies must be carefully chosen to avoid frequency issues. Also, the microgrid must operate in the volt-to-hertz ratios specified by equipment manufacturers to enable the microgrid to regulate the frequency [7,18,57,58]. Speed droop is a control technique that reduces the desired generator speed when the load on a generator has increased. Each generator must achieve the desired real output level to match the system real load, which can be maintained by effective closed loop control employing a PID algorithm [7,18,57,58].

5.5. Stability of Microgrid

Unlike traditional EPS stability analysis that considers the mechanical and electrical characteristics of the synchronous machines or generators, the stability of microgrids needs to be accompanied by in-detail study of the DR equipment and loads, the control system, and electronic self-protection devices [7,18,57,58]. A transient or dynamic model of inverter-based DRs and their dynamic load needs to be studied in detail when designing a microgrid. The transient stability studies are critical, especially in the off-grid operational mode, to investigate the effects of the three electrical characteristics of the power system: (1) the terminal voltage of the generators, (2) the reactance of the machines, and (3) the terminal voltage of the motors [8]. These studies clarify the effects of disturbances on the microgrid and determine if the response is bounded or unbounded in these conditions. In addition, small-signal stability analysis studies must be included in the planning stage to determine the impact of voltage regulators on the system responses [7,18,57,58].

5.6. Problems Associated with Microgrid

More difficult issues that can be discretized and sequenced are tackled using dynamic programming approaches. The analyzed problems are frequently subdivided into easier-to-manage sub problems, and the learned answers are subsequently applied. To find the most effective solution to the initial problem, the grid-connected and islanded modes of the MG are solved using a rule-based solution approach. Because they are more suited for real-time applications and do not rely on future data profiles to make judgements, rule-based approaches are typically used to build EM systems. For example, Bukar et al. implemented the RER utilization priority and controlled the power flow of the above MG components using a rule-based approach. A method of optimization inspired by nature was employed to optimize the MG system’s operations in relation to long-term capacity planning. Reduced power supply failure risk and energy cost in MG systems were the key objectives of the proposed objective function. In other papers, rule-based techniques for controlling and enhancing energy flow in MG systems have been established. Merabet et al. created a control approach to ensure power compliance with the EMS for different resources in the MG [59].

6. A Feasibility Study

After reviewing the Saudi Codes SBC 201, SBC 401, SBC 601, SBC 602, and SBC 1001, a clear gap exists in the technical specification for testing interconnection and interoperability between the electrical power systems (EPSs) and the distributed generation (DG) or renewable resources [60]. There is a need to clarify the requirements of both system operations and of maintenance, testing, safety, and performance. The specifications and requirements for design, production, installation evaluation, commissioning, and periodic tests should be clarified, along with general requirements, the response to abnormal conditions, power quality, islanding, and test requirements [60,61]. In addition, technical specifications and requirements have not been mentioned in the previous Saudi Codes, such as the requirements of interconnecting the EPS with typical primary and/or secondary distributed voltages [7,11,17,33,41,57,57].

To implement the IEEE 1547.4 and IEEE 2030 standards in the KSA, a feasibility study should be done on the actual conditions of the Saudi EPS and microgrids in order to adopt universal standards that will enable the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to keep pace with the accelerating interconnection and interoperability of the DG with associated electrical power systems’ interfaces. Since the IEEE 1547.4 and IEEE 2030 standards have been approved by the American National Standards Institute as one of the approved standards in the US, it is recommended to compare and discuss the Saudi and US characteristics of microgrids [62,63]. In this study, four aspects are discussed: (1) microgrid elements, (2) topology, (3) operation, and (4) environment. In addition, this paper discusses how to use the IEEE 1547.4 and IEEE 2030 standards in the KSA.

6.1. Elements

The microgrid elements include the type of loads and the DR, including distributed generation (DG) and energy storage systems (ESS). Frequency and voltage have the main impacts on these elements.

(a)

Frequency: the nominal frequency of the EPS in the KSA is the same as that in the US, which is 60 Hz. This helps to ensure similar parameters in rotation devices and loads, such as wind generation [17,62]. On the other hand, the acceptance frequency in the KSA is slightly different than that in the US In the KSA, the frequency range should be within 58.8~60.5 Hz, whereas the US’s accepted frequency range is 59.3~60.5 Hz [17,62]. This slight difference may cause minor issues that can be addressed by including a change in the frequency regulation requirement in the IEEE 1547.4 standard.

(b)

Voltage: currently, the KSA utilizes a 220-voltage power distribution system for residential buildings, lights, and large commercial applications [17,62]. In 2010, the Saudi government approved the operating voltage of the EPS being changed to a three-phase star connection of 230/400 V to align with the majority of operating voltages used in the world. However, the operating voltages of the US EPSs are three-phase voltages of 120/208 V, 277/480 V, 120/240 V, and 240/480 V. Both the KSA and the US have ±5% tolerance limits of nominal voltage [17,62].

6.2. Topology

Currently, the WERA does not define a specific configuration of microgrids, unlike KSA. The WERA proposes the adoption of the microgrid configuration in the IEEE 1547.4 and IEEE 2030 standards that are provided in Section 4. These standards include a variety of operating configurations for the microgrid in the off-grid operational mode, which is mentioned in detail in Section 4.1 and Section 4.2. In addition, they include seven intentional island configurations for the EPS: (1) a local EPS island, (2) a secondary island, (3) a lateral island, (4) a circuit island, (5) a substation bus island, (6) a substation island, and (7) an adjacent circuit island. These configurations cover the majority of microgrid systems [7,18,57,58].

6.3. Operation

(a)

Modes: as discussed in Section 4, the microgrid must be able to shift from the interconnected mode to the off-grid operational mode and be able to reconnect during scheduled and unscheduled events [7,14,18,57,58,64]. The IEEE 1547.4 standard is proposed for adoption by the WERA since it defines the operating requirements and functionality for each mode in detail.

(b)

Control Technologies: in the KSA, control technologies are either still in the early stage of development, under testing in the laboratory, or are using traditional control techniques [65]. The IEEE 1547.4 standard includes more advanced control techniques; however, the IEEE 1547.4 and IEEE 2030 standards were approved and published in 2018 and 2020, respectively. Since then, several new control technologies have appeared in the microgrid systems area [55,66]. The WERA suggested the use of the IEEE 1547.4 standard in addition to looking for more updated standards for control technologies in the near future such as the IEEE P2030 standard [42,43,63].

6.4. Environment

One of the differences that cannot be ignored between the KSA and the US is the difference in climate and environment. The KSA has hot weather, reaching 50 °C in July and August, that definitely will impact the operation and performance of the microgrid. Also, the majority of the KSA’s land has dry weather during most months of the year [67]. In recent years, there has been a significant decrease in rainfall over all regions of the KSA. Additionally, the majority of Saudi land is desert and has sandy winds that carry a lot of dust [67]. All these environmental differences should be taken into consideration while implementing the IEEE 1547.4 and IEEE 2030 standards in the Saudi power system.

7. Conclusions

In our study, we found that in order for the microgrid to control frequency, it must operate in accordance with the volt-to-hertz ratios set forth by the equipment manufacturers. Studies are being conducted to better understand the effects of disturbances on the microgrid and to determine whether the response is bounded or unbounded under these circumstances. Additionally, the requirements for system operations, maintenance, testing, safety, and performance need to be clarified. With the fast development of smart grids and microgrids around the world, the WERA is recommended to provide a standard for the Saudi market to avoid technical issues that may appear in current microgrid projects and research. Since the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has only paid attention to microgrid systems for the last five years, it is a smart idea to begin where others have ended. Currently, the IEEE 1547.4 and IEEE 2030 standards are two of the best options for the WERA to adopt to be able to achieve the energy mix program objectives of the Saudi Vision 2030. The IEEE 1547–2018 standard was examined in this research paper in order to suggest microgrid standards for the WERA, particularly a standard for the stability of microgrids in various modes. This standard is a basic document for linking the DG to the electric power grid. The IEEE 1547 standard is distinctive because it is the only American National Standard that addresses DERs connected to the distribution grid at the system level. The IEEE 1547.4 and IEEE 2030 standards clarify technical specifications, limitations, and requirements for intentional off-grid systems and interconnects in the EPS. The standards provide guidelines on how to plan for microgrid systems and engineering recommendations on how to protect these systems for K.A.CARE and other Saudi organizations and universities. The WERA is recommended to adopt the IEEE 1547.4 and IEEE 2030 standards for the development of microgrids.

In addition, the WERA is recommended to take into account the updated version of the IEEE P2030 standard when it is available in the future. This standard draws a roadmap for national and international core standards based on technical disciplines in energy applications, control, communication, and information exchange [68]. The IEEE P2030 standard provides a smart grid interoperability reference model (SGIRM), as illustrated in Figure 6. The IEEE P2030 standard has guides to understand smart grid interoperability, the integration of communication architectures and power systems, and information technology architectures [68]. In addition, the IEEE P2030 standard provides additional smart grid applications that can integrate with all these architectures [68].