A review of Integration, Control, Communication and Metering (ICCM) of renewable energy based smart grid K.S. Reddy a,n , Madhusudan Kumar a , T.K. Mallick b , H. Sharon a , S. Lokeswaran a a Heat Transfer and Thermal Power Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai 600036, India b Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall EH10 9EZ, United Kingdom article info Article history: Received 18 June 2013 Received in revised form 22 April 2014 Accepted 17 May 2014 Keywords: Distributed Renewable Energy Sources Smart grids Demand management abstract Smart grid is a technology for reliable integration and intelligent control of multiple generation units where the loads spread across a non-uniform or a uniform distribution network. The basic frame work of a smart grid is made to ease the complexity of integration of Distributed Renewable Energy Sources (DRES) with greater grid penetration, reduction of transmission losses, optimized energy capacity expansion with better demand side management and hierarchical control for grid security. Smart grids consists of four unique features which can be given as Integration, Control, Communication and Metering (ICCM). Integration refers to connection of heterogeneous type of energy sources with AC or DC grid using appropriate converters. Power output of the DRES is dependent on climatic conditions like wind speed and solar irradiance. Controls in smart grids are made intelligent to extract the maximum power from the sources, operational scheduling of energy sources and overloads, control of transients, real and reactive power. For effective operation of the diverse smart grid, communication between various control nodes is necessary. Communication standards for smart grids usually are set by protocols, and most of them involve the interconnection of Secure Communication Line (SCL) to the main control unit by LAN (Local Area Network), HAN (Home Area Network), and WAN (Wide Area Network). The interconnection should be accompanied with a firewall at various levels for the cyber security of the smart grid. Smart metering employed in smart grids provides additional information of the electrical energy consumed compared to conventional energy meters. Smart metering can measure the energy parameters of the load remotely and transfer the data through the communication network. This paper presents different methods of ICCM in smart grid. & 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Contents 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................ 181 1.1. Conventional grid and the need for smart grid ...................................................................... 181 1.2. Smart grid ................................................................................................... 181 1.3. Compatibility of smart grid for renewable energy power distribution .................................................... 181 2. Integration of renewable energy sources to smart grids ..................................................................... 182 2.1. Photovoltaic (PV) and concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) system integration to the grid ...................................... 182 2.2. Integration of distributed AC generators to grid ..................................................................... 183 2.3. Integration of Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) to grid ........................................................... 184 3. Control systems in smart grids ......................................................................................... 185 3.1. Operation scheduling of energy sources and loads ................................................................... 185 3.2. Control of overloads in smart grid ................................................................................ 186 3.3. Control of transients load in smart grids by Hybrid Energy Storage Systems (HESS) ........................................ 187 3.4. Active power versus frequency (P–f) and reactive power versus voltage (Q–V) control on grid due to AC generators in smart grids . . 187 3.5. Active and reactive power management in smart grids ............................................................... 187 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rser Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2014.05.049 1364-0321/& 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. n Corresponding author. Tel.: þ91 44 2257 4702; fax: þ91 44 2257 4652. E-mail addresses: ksreddy@iitm.ac.in (K.S. Reddy), t.k.mallick@exeter.ac.uk (T.K. Mallick). Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 38 (2014) 180–192