Review

A Systematic Literature Review on AC Microgrids

Marcos Gomez-Redondo 1,2,3 , Marco Rivera 2,4, * , Javier Muñoz 5 and Patrick Wheeler 4

1 Doctorado en Sistemas de Ingeniería, Faculty of Engineering, University of Talca, Campus Curicó,

Curicó 3344158, Chile; [email protected] or [email protected]
2 Laboratory of Energy Conversion and Power Electronics, Direction of Research, Universidad de Talca,
Curicó 3341717, Chile
3 Laboratory of Power and Control Systems, Faculty of Engineering, Universidad Nacional de Asunción,
Luque 2060, Paraguay
4 Power Electronics, Machines and Control (PEMC) Group, 15 Triumph Rd, Lenton, Nottingham NG7 2GT, UK;
[email protected]
5 Department of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Talca, Campus Curicó,
Curicó 3344158, Chile; [email protected]
* Correspondence: [email protected] or [email protected]; Tel.: +44-7871-099302

Abstract: The objective of this work is to analyze and compare AC microgrid (ACMG) solutions to
introduce the topic to new researchers. The methodology used to achieve this goal is a systematic
literature review using five questions: (1) How have ACMGs evolved in five years? (2) What are the
standards for ACMGs? (3) What are the different schemes for connecting MGs to the utility grid?
(4) What are the different control schemes in ACMGs? (5) What is an appropriate way to compare
results when working with ACMGs? The articles were published in Q1/Q2 journals as based on either
the Scimago Journal Rank (SJR) and/or the Journal Citation Report (JCR) between 2018 and 2022 and
were from three databases: (1) Web of Science (WoS), (2) Scopus, and (3) IEEE Xplore. Publications
not describing pure ACMGs, review papers, publications not related to the questions, and papers
describing work that did not meet a quality assessment were excluded, resulting in 34 articles being
included in this review. Results show: (1) the energy sources and AC bus nature of microgrids
over five years, (2) the identification and quantification of cited standards for microgrids, (3) the
pros and cons of different schemes for connecting an AC microgrid to the main grid, (4) the control
schemes, classified in a hierarchical control structure, and (5) the simulation tools and experimental
Citation: Gomez-Redondo, M.;
benches used in microgrids. Most studies considered a generic energy source and a low-voltage
Rivera, M.; Muñoz, J.; Wheeler, P. A
three-phase AC bus, 16 standards were found, and the most cited standard was IEEE Standard 1547.
Systematic Literature Review on AC
Microgrids. Designs 2024, 8, 77.
The most common connection scheme to the utility grid was a direct connection, most of the works
https://doi.org/10.3390/ proposed a modification to a hierarchical control system scheme, and the most common simulation
designs8040077 tool was MATLAB. The preferred experimental setup consisted of parallel inverters for testing a
control scheme, a prototype when proposing a power electronic system, and a laboratory microgrid
Academic Editor: Mohammad Hassan
for testing fault detection methods.
Khooban

Received: 17 April 2024 Keywords: AC microgrid; experimental microgrid; grid-tied microgrid; microgrid control systems;
Revised: 28 July 2024 microgrid standards; simulation tools; systematic literature review
Accepted: 30 July 2024
Published: 5 August 2024

1. Introduction
Copyright: © 2024 by the authors.
With the advent of renewable energy, the paradigm in electrical systems has shifted
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. from centralized to distributed generation. This has given birth to the concept of microgrids.
This article is an open access article Although the concept of a microgrid varies between different authors and has been chang-
distributed under the terms and ing over the years, a good definition of a microgrid is “a group of interconnected loads
conditions of the Creative Commons and distributed energy resources within clearly defined electrical boundaries that acts as a
Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// single controllable entity with respect to the grid. A microgrid can connect and disconnect
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ from the grid to enable it to operate in both grid-connected or island mode”. Microgrids
4.0/). can enable grid modernization, allow the integration of renewable energies, reduce peak

Designs 2024, 8, 77. https://doi.org/10.3390/designs8040077 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/designs

Designs 2024, 8, 77 2 of 25

loads and losses by locating generation near demand, ensure power availability for critical
loads, and may support the main grid [1].
Microgrids are often classified according to the nature of the common bus to which
the generators, loads, and storage elements are connected. If the bus works in alternating
current (AC), the microgrid can be called an AC microgrid, if the bus is direct current
(DC), the microgrid is known as DC microgrid, and if it has both AC and DC buses, it is
known as a hybrid microgrid. Microgrids can be connected to the main electrical system
(so-called grid-connected MGs) or they can be independent of the grid, so-called off-grid
MGs. Nevertheless, the imcrogrid must be able to operate independently of the grid, which
it is known as island mode [2]. This last requirement makes it necessary to include systems
that allow continuous and controlled generation of power. Controlled generation sources
are generally based on non-renewable and polluting energy, so they should be avoided
if possible. However, the variability of renewable energy production usually requires
operation with the addition of an appropriate storage system. Currently, bidirectional
converter technologies are crucial for efficient energy management in microgrids, as they
allow users to store renewable energy and release it when necessary [3,4].
Matrix converters are bidirectional AC/AC converters that have been studied for over
50 years, during which time researchers have acquired mature knowledge for applications
in grid operations, sustainable transportation, and electrical drives [5]. Papers have pro-
posed the inclusion of matrix converters in microgrids, but they are usually focused on the
modulation or control scheme and do not consider distributed generation [6,7]. The motiva-
tion of the work described in this paper is to consider the state of development of microgrids
to evaluate the inclusion of matrix converters, taking into account the current problems of
microgrids and their required functionalities. Given the nature of matrix converters, which
are bidirectional AC/AC converters, only AC microgrids (ACMGs) are considered. Matrix
converters have applications in grid-tied microgrids as the interface between the microgrid
(MG) and the main grid [5,8] for bidirectional power flow, so grid-connected microgrids
receive more points than islanded microgrids in the evaluation process.
There are related reviews on ACMGs, but they tend to be very specialized, whereas
more general approaches are presented in this paper. Some review articles discuss pro-
tection schemes for ACMGs [9–13]; other works center on control and management sys-
tems [14,15]. In addition, none of the related papers developed a systematic literature
review (SLR). The main objective of this work is to summarize the current information on
ACMGs in order to introduce the topic to new researchers in a simple way.
This paper is organized into five sections. This section introduced the paper. Section 2
shows the material and methods employed for developing the review. Section 3 shows the
findings of this review. Section 4 discusses the results, and Section 5 presents conclusions.

2. Materials and Methods

This systematic literature review (SLR) follows the structure suggested by the PRISMA
2020 statement [16] as much as possible, considering this journal’s requirements. The
workflow starts by formulating the following five research questions (RQs):
1. Research question 1 (RQ1): How have AC microgrids (ACMGs) evolved over five
years? This question aims to find the most common structures of microgrids (MGs)
and the tendency for the next years. It is too wide, so just two characteristics were
considered: the nature of every distribution generation unit (DGU) employed and the
nature of the AC bus.
2. Research question 2 (RQ2): What are the standards for ACMGs? This question is
intended to compile the current requirements of ACMGs.
3. Research question 3 (RQ3): What are the different schemes for connecting MGs to the
utility grid? This focuses on the method for grid connection. It may be direct with
possible connecting relays or through different power converters.
Designs 2024, 8, 77 3 of 25

4. Research question 4 (RQ4): What are the different control schemes in ACMGs?
The control system design depends on the source of energy, filters, and power con-
verter employed.
5. Research question 5 (RQ5): What is an appropriate way to show results when working
with ACMGs? This question will be helpful in investigating ACMGs, so it can
introduce the equipment required to lead an investigation.
These questions are the basis of the work, and every decision made during the de-
velopment of the work has been taken to answer these questions successfully. A general
scheme of the paper selection procedure is shown in Figure 1. The different steps in the
process are detailed in the following subsections.

(“AC micro-grid" OR
“AC micro*grid")
AND
(grid AND
(connect* OR tie*))

WoS Scopus

#85 IEEE Xplore #125

#32

+
#242

Removing duplicates

#147

Q1/Q2

#122

Excluding no pure ACMG

#108

Excluding reviews

#113

EC4 or no access

#67

Data Quality > 80

#34

Figure 1. Selection process.

Tools employed to organize and evaluate the papers were:

• Mendeley reference manager: for reading, taking notes, and organizing papers along
the process;
• Microsoft (MS) Excel: for arranging, evaluating, and extracting data.
Designs 2024, 8, 77 4 of 25

2.1. Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria

2.1.1. Inclusion Criterion (IC)
• IC1: articles from journals written in English and that included ACMGs, especially if
they are grid-tied, published between 2018 and 2022.

2.1.2. Exclusion Criteria (EC)

• EC1: not being in a Q1/Q2 journal—this is a guarantee of quality;
• EC2: abstract showing that it does not study a pure ACMG;
• EC3: the paper is a review—only primary sources were considered;
• EC4: lack of information to answer more than three research questions. The objective
of this criterion is to reduce the number of articles included and to keep those with
more information related to the study. It was included for three main reasons: (1) pub-
lications that include a real system or at least an experimental MG are considered
more important to answer RQ1 than those that only have theoretical formulations
(equations) or simulations of non-real systems; (2) RQ5 only makes sense when the
study answers RQ1 and RQ3 or RQ4; (3) most of the works are high-quality papers, so
they get a high score even when not answering any question.

2.2. Information Sources

The databases employed for the research were Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus due
to their reputation and reliability. IEEE Xplore was also consulted to recover newer papers
that might not yet be available in the aforementioned databases.

2.3. Search Strategy

The main query used for the research was: (“AC micro-grid” OR “AC micro*grid”)
AND (grid AND (connect* OR tie*)). The search query was obtained in an iterative
process, as we tried to obtain only works related to the research questions. This search
command is understandable in all three databases, simplifying the reproducibility of the
work. Other concepts such as “active distribution network”, “parallel converters”, and
“distributed generation” can also be intimately related to MGs, but the authors preferred a
short, simple query instead of trying to cover the whole universe. As initial search queries
such as “microgrid” resulted in thousands of works, it was not considered necessary to
capture more papers; instead, our purpose was to reduce the number of resulting papers
and to keep those that could help answer the research questions. As the term “microgrid”
involves not only the most popular DC MGs but also other topics such as heat systems,
policies, economic aspects, stability studies, and communication systems, the employed
term “AC microgrid” could filter the results more successfully. It was not an easy task to
establish a search query because the research questions were too general and the results
too numerous. Moreover, the following filters were considered:
• Only journal papers, which have passed through a more rigorous revision process
than other sources;
• Only articles published between 2018 and 2022 to ensure that the information used in
the study was up to date;
• Only papers in English because English is considered to be the more extended lan-
guage for scientific research;
• In Scopus, the query was applied to the title, abstract, or keywords to reduce the high
number of articles presented without this restriction (3768 articles).

2.4. Selection Process

2.4.1. Q1/Q2 filtering
The search process was performed by the first author, who also defined the eligibility
criteria, so the work might be biased based on his criteria. However, the rest of this section
tries to explain in great detail all the reasons for the different choices the author made
during the review process. To guarantee trusted sources, only articles in the first or second
Designs 2024, 8, 77 5 of 25

quartile (Q1/Q2) were included, reducing the number to 122 studies from 45 different
journals, which may be found in Appendix A. Two rankings were considered: SJR (Scientific
Journal Ranking) in the categories Energy or Engineering and JCR (Journal Citation Report)
in the category Engineering, Electrical and Electronic. These categories were chosen in order
for us to focus on research on the electrical and electronic aspects of MGs. Nevertheless,
in practice, the categories chosen in SJR were much more inclusive than the categories in
JCR. As SJR has more journals, most of the papers that appear in JCR also appear in SJR
with a better percentile. Only the journals: Electronics, IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid, and
IET Renewable Power Generation were included by the JCR side and not by SJR. The first
exclusion criterion (EC1) is: not belonging to a journal that has been Q1 or Q2 in at least
one of the aforementioned rankings in the included five years.

2.4.2. Title and Abstract Screening

Titles and abstracts were screened, and some articles were excluded:
• EC2: abstract shows that the study does not include a pure ACMG but instead studies
a DC MG, hybrid MG, or other type of MG [17–30].
• EC3: the article is a review—review articles are excluded as they are not primary
sources [31,32].
Thereafter, exclusion criterion 4 (EC4) (explained in the Section 2.4.3) was applied.

2.4.3. Excluding Criterion 4 (EC4)

To reduce the number of works studied while keeping the more relevant ones for
answering the research questions, it was decided to exclude works that do not satisfy at
least two of the three following requirements:
• Includes a grid-tied MG;
• Has real or experimental results (not just theoretical or simulation results);
• Answers three or more research questions.
This rule reduced the number of works to 67. In this step, one article could not be
verified because access was not possible, so it was also excluded [33]. Emulation platforms
were considered experimental setups. The electrolyzer found in one article is only used for
hydrogen generation, so it does not count as a distribution generation unit (DGU), and its
scheme is not considered an MG [34].

2.4.4. Quality Evaluation

Finally, these 67 works were evaluated with the criteria shown in Table 1, resulting in
34 articles included in this review. Articles with a score greater than or equal to 80 points
out of 100 were included. The evaluation was done in an MS Excel sheet.

Table 1. Quality evaluation criteria.

Paper Weight
Title <15 words 3
Keywords in the title 3
Abstract Presents a logic structure 3
Introduction Context 3
Implicit or explicit hypothesis 3
Problem 3
Explicit objective 3
State-of-the-art in a logical order 3
Theoretical framework Appropriate content 3
Detailed methodology 3
Designs 2024, 8, 77 6 of 25

Table 1. Cont.

Paper Weight
Results Available data 3
Results match objectives 3
Shows results with standardized metrics 3
Information in figures complements the text 3
Discussion Findings related to the objectives 3
Results are compared to those from the state-of-the-art 3
Conclusions Correspond to the objectives 3
Show future work 3
References References match 3
Complete references 3
Includes a grid-tied MG 14
EC4 Real or experimental application 13
Answer three or more research questions 13
Total 100

The first 60 points relate to the quality of the article, while the last 40 points relate to
the research questions. The threshold of 80 points was selected to reduce the sample size to
a manageable number.

2.5. Data Collection Process

The first author gathered data. Some data were tabulated in the same MS Excel
Version 2496 sheet used for evaluation, and some information was directly inserted into
this document.

2.6. Data Items

Included studies are summarized in Table 2, where excluded works and the exclusion
reasons are also shown. Many areas are included, such as the design of a power converter
for solving a specific problem, the simulation and emulation of control systems for ACMGs,
optimization of MG parameters, techniques for noise reduction, and fault detection and
protection systems.

Table 2. Included and excluded works.

Articles
Included [35–68]
Excluded—reviews [31,32]
Excluded—no pure AC [17–30]
Excluded—EC4 [33,69–106]
Excluded—<80 [34,107–138]

2.7. Study Risk of Bias Assessment

As for all search queries, evaluation and data extraction were performed by one author;
the authors recognize the possibility of introducing bias in the process. However, as this is
not a quantitative study, it is difficult to evaluate bias, and the best that can be done is to
show the work and explain the method as transparently as possible.

2.8. Synthesis Methods

2.8.1. RQ1a
For RQ1a, the number of articles using each type of DGU was counted. Only DGUs
used in the main work were counted. Energy storage systems were also counted, as they
can act as DGUs.
Designs 2024, 8, 77 7 of 25

2.8.2. RQ1b
The information was searched in the text and figures.

2.8.3. RQ2
The requirement was to explicitly include the name of the standard in the document.
On the first read of the articles, the standard was remarked on if found. Then, in a second
phase, the word standard was searched for with the text finder in Mendeley. In this way,
some standards included in the references were also found. A problem this last search
may have is the separation at the end of the line, as was found in some articles, so the first
compilation was kept, and the second procedure was only to complement and could not
replace the full reading of an article.

2.8.4. RQ3
The connection scheme of the ACMG to the main grid was first searched for in the
figures of the developed work. The text was then read if any information was missing.
When not all the necessary information was found, the work was excluded based on.

2.8.5. RQ4
The control scheme was first searched for in the figures, and then the text was read
again for missing information. As was found during the work, there are different ap-
proaches to controlling a microgrid. The first time, all control systems were extracted,
including their function and the level of hierarchy control (if this existed). In a second
round, after gaining more knowledge on the topic, it was decided to classify the different
control schemes to answer this question. The modulation stage is not considered a control
system. In HMGs, only the control system involved in AC bus control was considered, but
sometimes it was difficult to separate the control system, especially when the system had
interleaved converters that worked between the AC and DC buses.

2.8.6. RQ5
The simulation and experimental sections were read to find this information. The
results consisted of simulations or experimental results, so all the simulation tools and
experimental platforms or benches were compiled.

3. Results
3.1. Research Question 1 (RQ1): Evolution of AC Microgrids (ACMGs) over Five Years
This research question is very wide, so in this study, two aspects are considered:
the source of energy of the distributed generation units and the characteristics of the AC
bus—in other words, the level of voltage, number of phases, and frequency of the AC bus.

3.1.1. RQ1a: Evolution of Distributed Generation (DG) in ACMGs over Five Years
To answer this question, the number of articles that contained each DG source was
counted and tabulated. Data were drawn using MATLAB and are shown in Figure 2.
Most of the works used a hierarchical control scheme for microgrids. Defining the
type of energy source was mainly necessary for the control of the tertiary level for optimal
dispatch [62]. Modeling the different sources of energy is another case when the nature of
the DG unit is important [35]. Furthermore, designing a specific system based on one DG
unit is another case in which the energy source of the DG unit is mentioned [43,44,61].
In other cases, such as proposing solid state transformers or interlinking devices
for AC and DC buses [64], modifying the primary level [53,56,59,60,65,68], dealing with
the secondary level [58], seamless operation [39,46,48,55], grid feeding [38,41], grid sup-
port [45,50,54,57,63], detecting faults [36,47,49,67], dynamic response enhancement [51],
measurements [52], and communication improvements [66], energy sources were not important.
Designs 2024, 8, 77 8 of 25

12
PV
WT
10 ESS
biomass
8 hydrogene
diesel
Number of DGs

generic
6

0
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

Years
Figure 2. Evolution of the number of sources of DG included in the literature over five years (RQ1).
We can see a decline in research on the topic after the peak in 2019. Numbers show that photovoltaic
(PV) systems are the most popular DG source. The data also reflect that energy storage systems (ESSs)
are one of the most popular topics, given the problem of the variability of renewable energy sources
(RESs). Sometimes, this variability is compensated for with other sources of energy, such as diesel or
biomass, and, of course, the main grid supply. Nevertheless, most of the works do not care about the
energy source and use a generic DC voltage to feed the inverters, given that they work on another
issue such as a control scheme, a power converter, or solving an optimization problem.

DG units (DGUs) are assumed to use generic DG when DG is mentioned but not
used in the main work [57,58]. Superconducting magnetic energy storage is considered
an ESS [44]. PV emulators used in the experimental setup were also considered as PV
DGUs [37,40,61]. In [62], the DDGs mentioned were considered generic DGs, as they can
came from diesel, hydro, thermal, or other sources. The difference the author claims is that
DDG power is programmable, whereas renewable sources such as PV or WT are not always
available. In [64], the source was considered to be a PV system, because even though it
uses an ideal DC link, the power-decoupled current source inverter (PD-CSI) was designed
taking into account PV systems.

3.1.2. RQ1b: Evolution of AC buses in ACMGs over Five years

The results for the different AC buses found are summarized in Table 3. The nature
of the AC bus is classified as: low-voltage single-phase and high-frequency (LV 1-ϕ HF),
low-voltage single-phase (LV 1-ϕ), low-voltage three-phase (LV 3-ϕ), and medium-voltage
three-phase (MV 3-ϕ). The works are arranged by publication year. For the voltage level,
we considered:
• Low-voltage (LV): up to 1000 V;
• Medium-voltage (MV): between 1000 V and 45 kV.
Designs 2024, 8, 77 9 of 25

Table 3. AC bus scheme in the included works (RQ1).

2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Sum

LV 1-ϕ HF [37] 1
LV 1-ϕ [52] [35,57,63] [59] [64] 6
LV 3-ϕ [44–46,48] [40–43,50,54–56,61] [36,66] [38,47,53,65,67,68] [39,62] 23
MV 3-ϕ [60] [49,51] 3
Sum 5 13 5 7 3 33

Some remarks regarding the data extraction include: the voltage operation level is not
mentioned, but it was assumed to be low-voltage due to its experimental setup [45]. The
voltage level is not shown, but this is assumed to be MV because of the power levels [51].
An article included an unusual AC bus frequency of 400 Hz, so it was separated from the
others [37]. The article shows a low voltage, but it is not clear whether it is single-phase or
three-phase, so it was not included in answering this part of the question [58]. The voltage
level is not mentioned, but it is assumed to be low-voltage because the power levels are
within the range of generators with low voltages [62]. The MG does not have an AC bus
but is connected to a single-phase grid [63].

3.2. Research Question 2 (RQ2): Standards for ACMGs

Standards found in the included works are tabulated in Table 4. Many works do not
mention any standard [35–37,41,42,45,46,48,49,53,55,56,62,63,65–67]. Some of them refer to
IEEE Standards [48,53,54] or IEC Standards [54] but do not mention anything specific. It is
important to note that VDE 0126-1-1 is a German standard for which the current status
is “withdrawn”.

Table 4. Standards for microgrids (RQ2).

Standard Name Mentioned by

Standard for interconnection and interoper-
IEEE Standard 1547-2018 [139] ability of distributed energy resources with [17,44,51,58–60]
associated electric power system interfaces
IEEE recommended practices and require-
IEEE Standard 519-2014 [140] ments for harmonic control in electric [39,52,57,61]
power systems
Voltage characteristics of electricity supplied
EN-50160 [141] [38,50]
by public electricity networks
IEEE standard for synchrophasor measure-
IEEE Std C37.118.1 [142] [38]
ments for power systems
IEEE recommended practices for monitoring
IEEE 1159-1995 [143] [50]
electric power quality
IEEE standard for the specifications of mi-
IEEE 2030.7-2017 [144] [40]
crogrid controllers
IEEE standard definitions for the measure-
ment of electric power quantities under si-
IEEE 1459-2010 [145] [43]
nusoidal, nonsinusoidal, balanced, and un-
balanced conditions
Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC)–part
2-2: environment—compatibility levels for
EN 61000-2-2[146] low-frequency conducted disturbances and [50]
signaling in public low-voltage power sup-
ply systems
Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC)–part 3-
2: limits—limits for harmonic current emis-
EN IEC 61000-3-2 [147] [50]
sions (equipment input current <= 16 A
per phase)
Photovoltaic (PV) systems—characteristics
IEC 61727 [148] [51]
of the utility interface
Designs 2024, 8, 77 10 of 25

Table 4. Cont.

Standard Name Mentioned by

Shunt power capacitors of the self-healing type for AC
systems having a rated voltage up to and including 1 kV–
IEC 60831-1 [149] [52]
part 1: general—performance, testing, and rating safety
requirements guide for installation and operation
Shunt power capacitors of the self-healing type for AC
IEC 60831-2 [150] systems with a rated voltage up to and including 1kV– [52]
part 2: aging test, self-healing test, and destruction test
Measuring relays and protection equipment–part 1: com-
IEC 60255 [151] [47]
mon requirements
Communication protocols for intelligent electronic de-
IEC 61850 [152] [47]
vices at electrical substations
Uninterruptible power systems (UPSs)–part 2: electro-
IEC 62040-2 [153] [68]
magnetic compatibility (EMC) requirements
Automatic disconnection device between a generator and
VDE 0126-1-1 [154] [64]
the public low-voltage grid

3.3. Research Question 3 (RQ3): Schemes for Connecting MGs to the Utility Grid
The direct connection scheme can be through a filter, a circuit breaker, or a combination
of both. The schemes we found for connecting ACMGs to the main grid with their respective
pros and cons are tabulated in Table 5. The information extracted is only from the main
work the papers include and does not include information about grid connections that is
present in the introduction.
There were some considerations when collecting information. The article involving
the high-frequency AC bus is considered an islanded solution [37]. Another article included
two schemes, but the laboratory grid scheme uses an autotransformer [41]. Some MGs
are considered islanded because the work does not show a clear connection of the AC bus
to the main grid; also, the work focuses on distributed generation and does not consider
the grid connection [56]. A photovoltaic unified power quality conditioner (PV-UPQC)
connects to the grid at two points through an isolation transformer—on the primary and
the secondary—which is why it is put into another category [43]. One article does not have
only one AC bus: instead, three AC buses with their AC sources are interconnected through
inverters connected to the same DC bus [50]. A paper used TRIAC to connect the AC bus
to the grid, but this is considered to be a type of direct connection [55].

Table 5. Pros and cons of different schemes for grid connection (RQ3).

Connection Scheme Pros Cons Works

Direct Easy connection and low cost Little control [35,38,41,44–46,48,51–53,55,57–60,66,67]
Isolation transformer Galvanic isolation High cost [40,42,47,49,50,62]
Autotransformer Efficiency and cost No isolation [39,41]
Simple, quality of the AC bus
Grid-tied inverter High cost [54]
voltage
PV-UPQC system Power quality of the grid Depends on PV system [43]
Palliates the intermittence
Energy storage system Highest cost [63]
of RESs
H-bridge, active power decoupler Power quality Complex control and high cost [64]
Islanded [36,37,56,61,65,68]

3.4. Research Question 4 (RQ4): Control Schemes in ACMGs

Before answering this question, note that there are many control system schemes
for different purposes among the different subsystems inside a microgrid. Commonly
controlled variables can be power (active or reactive), voltage (magnitude and frequency),
and current. Some works pretend to improve the quality of the electrical variables with their
control system by controlling reactive power, reducing harmonics, and seeking seamless
Designs 2024, 8, 77 11 of 25

transitions between modes of operation. Other problems must also be resolved with control
systems, such as the capability of working in an islanded and grid-tied mode and delays in
the communication systems of centralized or distributed control.
Taking into account the results, hierarchical control is a promising approach to control-
ling a microgrid; it defines three levels for controlling different variables. Primary-level
control is responsible for controlling active and reactive power, and this level is usually de-
centralized. Secondary-level control is responsible for correcting the steady-state deviation
of the primary level and can be centralized, decentralized, or distributed. Finally, tertiary-
level control is in charge of energy dispatching, i.e., establishing the power references.
Again, control schemes can be found for a seamless transition from islanded to grid-tied
mode or vice versa. Decentralized droop-based control schemes are the most popular at
the primary level for power sharing. Secondary control may be centralized, decentralized,
or distributed. Some authors prefer to avoid communication and propose decentralized
secondary control, while others prefer to include a communication system to have more
information in a centralized or distributed secondary control system. Tertiary control is
centralized. Taking into account the results, the authors recommend using hierarchical
control for a matter of organization. The authors consider that the most organized way to
divide this multipurpose control system is hierarchical control, so the control schemes we
found were classified into the hierarchical scheme structure when possible, as shown in
Table 6. Some works did not explicitly show a control system [47,49,67], and some used
only pulse width modulation [52].
After this classification, it can be seen that most of the works accept the hierarchical
control scheme, as this scheme facilitates the design of a specific part of the control system.
This classification shows the (highest) level that each control system occupies (or might
occupy) in a hierarchical control scheme. For example, a control system occupying the
secondary level may replace the secondary control or both the secondary and primary
levels. The first 0-level is for control systems that could be employed in the inner loops of
the primary level for controlling the voltages and currents.

Table 6. Control schemes in ACMGs (RQ4).

PI-resonant for current control [36], PI-resonant for voltage control [36], PI-resonant for voltage
control [36], model predictive current control [41], active damping and LCL output current control [41],
0-Level PR for voltage control [37], negative-sequence voltage elimination [38], negative-sequence current
sharing [38], deadbeat current control [50], PI current control [51,55], PI voltage control [55], and
hysteresis current controller [61]
Classic droop [48,58], PI for reactive power control [41], bilinear PI controller based on passivity-based
formulations [44], bilevel functional-rotation-based active damping control [45], improved droop
controller [53], repetitive and state feedback control combined with droop control [56], optimal direct
Primary level control method (FCS-MPC current and voltage control for active power filter) [57], classic droop
modification [59], linear quadratic Gaussian control [60], efficiency-prioritized droop control
strategy [65], model-predictive-control-based virtual synchronous generator (VSG-MPC) [103], 3-phase
improved-magnitude phase-locked-loop control [61]
Microgrid central controller [40], distributed droop-based [46] distributed leader–follower control, fuzzy
Secondary level
multitask secondary controller [58], droop [62], decentralized passive dynamic PI controllers [42]
MPC for optimal dispatch [35], supervisory control [46], master–slave configuration [39], PI power
Tertiary level
control [51,58]
Current and voltage control of PV-unified power quality conditioner [43],
Hard to classify in quasi-proportional-resonant-integral (PRI) current controller (grid-tied inverter with MPPT for PV) [63],
hierarchical control quasi-proportional-resonant (PR) current controller (grid-tied inverter with MPPT for PV) [64],
schemes composite controller (internal model controller + quasi-PR controller with multiple resonance
compensation) for grid-tied inverter [66]
Designs 2024, 8, 77 12 of 25

3.5. Research Question 5 (RQ5): Tools and Experimental Setups for ACMGs
The answer to this question is classified into two categories: simulation and ex-
perimental results. The proposal of each article can be also arranged into five groups,
and the results shown depend on this proposal. Proposals found among the works are
(1) control schemes, (2) systems involving power converters, (3) fault detection methods,
(4) optimization methods, and (5) power quality monitoring indexes. Depending on these
classifications, the results and experiments, as well as the tools employed, were different.
The information on the simulation tools used is summarized in Table 7. Most of the works
involving MG control systems employ simulation tools to test their proposed schemes.
Some of the works go further, with real-time simulation of MGs. Works proposing power
converters for a specific application in MGs usually test their platform experimentally [36].
Some works do not specify the simulation tool [42,46,53]. In some of the articles, the plots
seem to be made in MATLAB, but it is not clear, so they are not included in the table.
MATLAB/Simulink was the most popular tool for simulations. PLECS can be used in a
MATLAB environment [65], which suggests that authors perform simulations in MATLAB
before PLECS implementation.
The experimental results were also classified with the same organization, but in this
case, instead of the simulation tools, the type of experimental bench is considered, as shown
in Table 8. The most common experimental method to test the control in MGs is through
parallel converters. Only five works employed full experimental MGs with emulated or
real generation units [39,49,61,67]. Another interesting approach is emulating an MG in
real-time [40,41,53].

Table 7. Results shown and simulation tools.

Proposal Results Simulation Tool Works

Works commonly show figures of MATLAB [39,41,44,48,50,54,59,66,68]
merit and figures of physical PLECS [65]
Control scheme
variables to show the tracking PSCAD [56]
capability and response time PSIM [55]
Power electronic Experimental prototype of MATLAB [21,43,62,124]
system their proposal PLECS [37]
Fault detection Works show tables of delay times MATLAB [47,49]
method for fault detection PSCAD [67]
Optimization method Figures of physical variables MATLAB [51]
Power quality monitoring index Comparison to other indexes MATLAB [52]

Table 8. Experimental results.

Proposal Experimental Setup Works

2-parallel VSI [39,54,58,60,61,65,68]
3-parallel VSI [38,45,66]
1-VSI [40,50,56]
Control scheme
OPAL-RT simulated MG [40]
Control in FPGA + dSPACE RT simulated scheme [41]
Typhoon HIL emulated MG [53]
Solid state transformer [43]
Power electronic system
Other converter [36,37,63,64]
Fault detection method Laboratory MG [49,67]
Designs 2024, 8, 77 13 of 25

4. Discussion
4.1. Limitation of Evidence
In general, the search query could have been more extensive given other synonyms
found in the current literature: nanogrid, picogrid, minigrid, smart grid, distributed
generation, and parallel inverter; however, the term microgrid (MG) is the most common.
Similarly, not including hybrid microgrids in the search query omits related information,
as AC microgrids are present in hybrid microgrids. Nonetheless, limiting the search query
to ACMGs is a price that must be paid to obtain a more selective sample, as the ultimate
goal was not to consult all the literature but to answer the research questions. Distributed
generation and parallel inverters are general terms that may or may not describe microgrids.
Distributed generation is the basis for the development of microgrids and typically is related
to renewable energy sources (RESs) in an MG; likewise, parallel inverters typically function
in MGs. The main difference between the other concepts is the levels of power they manage,
and only MGs are normally connected to the grid [155], so the employed term is considered
correct. However, choosing only grid-connected MGs was an important cut of information,
but it was one of the purposes of the work to review the different connection schemes.
More databases could have been included, but the choice of these databases does
not represent a significant risk of bias in the posterior quality assessment because it is
considered that the more qualified works and journals are present in these databases.
Taking into account the SLR technique, the research questions were too general, and
they were modified during the process. They could have been defined more precisely if
the knowledge of AC microgrids (ACMGs) was deeper. It is necessary to have closely
related research questions, maybe fewer, to define a unique search query; otherwise, it
could be better to define multiple search queries, but again, multiple queries can result in
multiple articles with fewer questions. Moreover, the systematic literature review (SLR)
technique was developed for resolving conflicts (different numerical results) between
different sources, so PRISMA 2020 recommendations are best suited for solving conflicts or
contradictory statements between different sources.

4.2. Interpretation
4.2.1. Research Question 1 (RQ1)
It can be seen that the distributed generation units (DGUs) are not of importance for
many authors, given that they use generic DGUs in their studies. In any case, the most
studied DGUs are photovoltaic (PV) systems along with a proper energy storage system,
which should be of no surprise for DC or hybrid microgrids (HMGs), but they also occur
in ACMGs.
PV systems as renewable energy sources have gained more interest than others given
their high scalability and easy installation. PV efficiency has also increased over the years.
Another reason PV systems are interesting is that solar irradiance is less unpredictable than
other energy sources. These factors have produced a fast decline in costs, which makes PV
systems less expensive than all of the other renewable energy sources. Evidence suggests
that PV systems will continue to be the fastest growing renewable energy source for the
coming years [156].
Concerning the AC bus, the most popular is the three-phase low-voltage. Works
including medium-voltage buses were rarely included because they are difficult to imple-
ment experimentally. The fact that low-power distributed generation units usually work at
low-voltage promotes the preference for low-voltage ACMGs. Another factor that drives
the preference for low-voltage microgrids is local consumption, which does not require the
voltage elevation that is necessary to reduce transmission losses. Three-phase systems are
preferred over single-phase systems because the power is constant: they can transmit three
times more power with just one more conductor, and they can supply three-phase loads as
well as single-phase loads. One article presented an unusually high-frequency AC bus [37],
and more works of this type are expected because this can help in high-frequency appli-
cations and allows reducing the number of components required for the filters; however,
Designs 2024, 8, 77 14 of 25

their usage is expected for specific islanded microgrids, like space applications, and not
for the main utility grid. In conclusion, current facts and evidence imply that low-voltage
three-phase AC buses will be preferred in the future.
In particular, the studied aspects were not the most interesting, but the work unveiled
others that could be considered for the evolution of ACMGs. It is considered that the most
relevant topics given the change of paradigm from centralized to distributed generation in
ACMGs will be: (1) Control systems need to be modified, given that distributed generation
has changed the usual control schemes and different standards and protocols have different
requirements. (2) Energy storage systems need to be developed due to the variability of
the energy sources. This will consist of enhancing the energy and power capacity of the
energy storage systems. It includes appropriate energy conversion systems for storing and
recovering electrical energy (fuel cells, flywheels, etc.) as well as the power electronics for
adequate electrical energy delivery [3,4]. (3) Interconnection systems can help to connect
DC and AC buses in microgrids and also interconnect different microgrids in the electrical
system. (4) Communication systems can reduce package loss and allow faster and more
reliable data transmission. (5) Measurement systems can provide appropriate power
management and control. (6) Protection systems need to be updated, as current devices are
not designed for distributed generation. (7) Optimization in terms of costs, losses, efficiency,
etc., needs to be performed, and self-adaptive tuning methods for control parameters need
to be formulated given the current developments in artificial intelligence and self-learning
and self-adapting systems.
It is also shown that the number of included publications decreased since 2019; how-
ever, the first set of 147 articles did not show this decrease. Other search queries like
“microgrid” show an increasing number of publications over time. This means that the
selection process is likely to be responsible for the observed decrease. This could imply
that the ACMG tied to the grid, which is the studied system, is less relevant for researchers
than other topics like energy storage systems or DC and hybrid microgrids. In the future,
one may expect a reduction in ACMGs and a dominance of DC microgrids since energy
storage systems (ESSs), PV systems, and most household devices work with DC voltage.
Today, HMGs lead this transition.

4.2.2. Research Question 2 (RQ2)

Standards from the IEEE Standard Association, which is an American institution, and
the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) from Europe are the most popular.
The standard to be adopted depends on the specific topic of study in the MG and regional
and national regulations. As MGs are diverse, many standards on different topics were
found. The reader should define the problem and select the standard according to their
region and purpose.
The most frequently mentioned standard was IEEE Standard 1547, which is a series
of standards for the connection of distributed energy resources with associated electric
power system interfaces, with IEEE Standard 1547-2018 being the basis of the series [139].
Other standards of the series complement the first in other aspects like details, schematics,
cybersecurity, island mode operation, secondary network systems, distribution impact
studies for distributed generation interconnection, and storage systems. This standard
has been fully adopted in 8 states and 25 utilities in the USA. It is also in the process of
being adopted by other USA states and utilities [157]. The IEEE 519-2014 standard is the
second-most cited standard and defines the voltage and current harmonic distortion criteria
for the design of electrical systems [140].
The IEC is an international standards organization that prepares and publishes in-
ternational standards for all electrical and electronic technologies; the IEC consists of
170 countries: 60 full members, 23 associate members, and 87 affiliates. IEC standards
cover a vast range of technologies from power generation, transmission, distribution to
home appliances and office equipment, semiconductors, fiber optics, batteries, solar energy,
nanotechnology, and marine energy, as well as many others. EN 50160 is a standard from
Designs 2024, 8, 77 15 of 25

the IEC that defines the voltage characteristics for the electricity supplied by public elec-
tricity networks. IEC 61000-4-30 is another standard of interest that defines measurement
procedures for applying the previous standard correctly.
Standards reference other standards, and nowadays, efforts are put into making them
all compatible. For example, IEEE 1547 refers to IEEE Standard 519 and IEC 61000.4.15 [158]
regarding flicker and fluctuation. Another example is IEEE Standard 519, which was purely
an IEEE standard with no references to the IEC standards in its version from 1992, but
its updated version from 2014 includes all of the measurement methods referenced to
IEC standards.
Information on potential gaps and areas for improvement of standards has not been
found in the included literature. However, standards will continue evolving, with every
revision searching for global compatibility (as far as possible) for electric specifications;
IEEE 1547 is a good option to adopt given its current state of development, its current
permeation in the utilities, and its periodic revisions and improvements every 10 years by
the IEEE Standard Association.

4.2.3. Research Question 3 (RQ3)

The most usual option is direct connection: letting the AC bus be directly connected to
the main grid, perhaps with a current filter and a circuit breaker for protection. Transformers
or auto-transformers are also based on passive elements and are also simple and more
secure, but they are more expensive. One implication of using these passive schemes is that
the AC bus voltage inside the microgrid is regulated by the main grid. Another implication
is that microgrids change their mode of operation from island mode to grid-connected
mode when the microgrid is connected to the main grid. This is how real-world microgrids
are normally connected to the main grid [159,160].
Other, more complex systems like solid-state transformers are attractive as they allow a
controlled interconnection of the MG and provide ancillary services. Practical implications
include a more complex and expensive interface. They are preferred in DC or hybrid
microgrids since they provide a DC stage, which serves as a DC bus [17]. However, a
real-world application of this configuration has not been found. In the future, we expect
more research on bidirectional grid/MG power interfaces, such as solid-state transformers,
and devices that can provide ancillary services to this interface, such as unified power
quality conditioners, active power filters, dynamic voltage restorers, and static synchronous
series compensators.
One thing to bear in mind is the concept of MGs that different authors may have.
Some works considered a grid-tied AC bus that only considered the grid-tied mode of
operation, which lacks the autonomy of MGs. In this context, the stability and inertia of the
MG are not taken into account, and some other problems, such as power quality or optimal
dispatch, are approached. Some authors may consider a grid-tied electrical system with
one generator alone as an MG, and some others define an MG as an autonomous electrical
system with distributed generation that may or not be connected to the grid. We prefer the
definition of IEEE Standard 1547 [139].

4.2.4. Research Question 4 (RQ4)

Control systems in microgrids are too wide, but in general, hierarchical control is
taking over and promises to be the first option in the coming years as it provides an
organized framework to establish a multipurpose control scheme. Central control is more
effective but is not scalable like decentralized control [42,60]. Centralized control also
requires good and fast communication, which represents more cost. However, central
control can be applied to critical systems that do not change over time. Distributed control
occupies a midpoint between centralized and decentralized control: being scalable but
requiring a communication system among all (or some) of the converters [46,161].
The most popular recent trend in ACMG control systems is to look for a more robust
control system and to improve the stability by appropriate voltage and frequency con-
Designs 2024, 8, 77 16 of 25

trol systems [162–167]. Taking this trend into account, potential future directions would
be to test and validate non-linear control as well as to include artificial intelligence in
the control system. Another innovative trend is handling cyberattacks in the control
system [168–170]. Other topics included in ACMG include the optimization of the energy
management system (EMS) [171] and the seamless transition between grid-connected and
island modes of operation [39,55]. Considering the need for energy storage systems, appro-
priate control systems for further developing energy storage technologies are also expected.

4.2.5. Research Question 5 (RQ5)

Many papers describing different proposals validated their work through simulations.
MATLAB/Simulink has proven to be the first choice for simulation and is complemented
by equipment like dSPACE for experimental applications. Other options are not very
common. Moreover, MATLAB allows for an easy way to plot results and is widely used to
show results.
The experimental microgrids found are mainly laboratory prototypes, and the results
show only one-time operation, which does not tell about continuous operation. Most of
the included works propose a control scheme for the MG, and the best choice for testing
a control scheme is to have parallel inverters connected to the same bus. However, these
experiments should include, if possible, the generation unit to test the controller response
to the variability of renewable energy sources. When proposing a converter or system, it is
almost a rule that an experimental prototype supports the proposal.

5. Conclusions
This work presents a systematic literature review on AC microgrids (ACMGs) based
on five research questions, all of which have been addressed and discussed. The article
serves as an introductory overview of ACMGs; it focuses on five key aspects and acts
as a hub for accessing related research papers. These points include: (1) the evolution
of ACMGs, (2) standards applicable to ACMGs, (3) grid connection schemes, (4) control
systems within ACMGs, and (5) findings from articles on ACMGs.
According to the literature reviewed, the typical ACMG configuration involves dis-
tributed generation units connected via power converters to an AC bus that supplies AC
loads. When connected to the grid, this AC bus is typically linked to the main grid through
breakers and passive components. ACMGs commonly employ hierarchical control systems,
facilitating operation in both grid-connected and island modes.
It is noteworthy that the development of microgrids is closely linked to the advance-
ment of standards, with IEEE Standard 1547-2018 being particularly prominent.
Considering the trend towards autonomy achieved through batteries and the rising
popularity of DC loads alongside the dominance of photovoltaic systems, the adoption of
hybrid microgrids appears more pragmatic than relying solely on ACMGs.

Author Contributions: Conceptualization, M.G.-R. and M.R.; methodology, M.G.-R.; software,

M.G.-R.; validation, M.G.-R. and M.R.; formal analysis, M.G.-R.; investigation, M.G.-R.; resources,
M.G.-R., M.R. and J.M.; data curation, M.G.-R.; writing—original draft preparation, M.G.-R. and M.R.;
writing—review and editing, M.G.-R., M.R., J.M. and P.W.; visualization, M.G.-R.; supervision, M.R.,
J.M. and P.W.; project administration, M.R., J.M. and P.W.; funding acquisition, M.R., J.M. and P.W.
All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding: This research was funded by the Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo (ANID)
ANID-Subdirección de Capital Humano/Doctorado Nacional/2022-21220504, FONDECYT regular
grant number 1220556, ANID FOVI230169, Fondap SERC 1523A0006, and IRCF project 24932270
from the University of Nottingham.
Data Availability Statement: Data sharing is not applicable.
Conflicts of Interest: All authors declare they do not have competing interests.
Designs 2024, 8, 77 17 of 25

Abbreviations
The following abbreviations are used in this manuscript:

APF Active power filter

AC Alternating current
ACMG AC microgrid
DDG Dispatchable distributed generation
DG Distributed generation
DGU Distributed generation unit
EC Exclusion criterion
ESS Energy storage system
FCS-MPC Model predictive control with finite control set
FPGA Field programmable gate array
HF High frequency
HIL Hardware in the loop
HMG Hybrid microgrid
IC Inclusion criterion
JCR Journal Citation Report
LV Low voltage
MG Microgrid
MPPT Maximum power point tracking
MS Microsoft
MV Medium voltage
PD-CSI Power decoupled current source inverter
PI Proportional-integral
PR Proportional-resonant
PRI Proportional-resonant-integral
PV Photovoltaic
PV-UPQC Photovoltaic unified power quality conditioner
PWM Pulse width modulation
SG Synchronous generator
SJR Scimago Journal Rank
RES Renewable energy source
RQ Research question
VSG-MPC Model-predictive-control-based virtual synchronous generator
VSI Voltage source inverter
WoS Web of Science
WT Wind turbine

Appendix A
A summary of the journals included in the study is presented in Table A1.
Table A1. Journals (Q1/Q2) in SJR or JCR and the number of works obtained from each one.

Journal Article
Applied Sciences (Switzerland) 3
Computers and Electrical Engineering 2
Electric Power Systems Research 4
Electricity Journal 1
Electronics 5
Electronics Letters 1
Energies 9
Energy Conversion and Management 1
Energy Reports 3
Heliyon 1
IEEE Access 7
Designs 2024, 8, 77 18 of 25

Table A1. Cont.

Journal Article
IEEE Canadian Journal of Electrical and Computer Engineering 1
IEEE Journal of Emerging and Selected Topics in Power Electronics 3
IEEE Systems Journal 4
IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems I: Regular Papers 1
IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology 1
IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics 7
IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics 2
IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications 6
IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery 1
IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics 5
IEEE Transactions on Power Systems 2
IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid 11
IET Generation, Transmission and Distribution 4
IET Power Electronics 2
IET Renewable Power Generation 3
International Journal of Electrical Power and Energy Systems 9
International Journal of Energy Research 1
International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 1
International Review of Electrical Engineering 1
International Transactions on Electrical Energy Systems 6
Inventions 1
Iranian Journal of Science and Technology-Transactions of 1
Electrical Engineering
Journal of Energy Storage 1
Journal of Engineering 1
Journal of Intelligent and Fuzzy Systems 1
Journal of Modern Power Systems and Clean Energy 1
Protection and Control of Modern Power Systems 1
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 2
Renewable Energy Focus 1
Sustainable Cities and Society 1
Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments 1
Sustainable Energy, Grids, and Networks 1
Systems and Control Letters 1
TOTAL 122

Appendix A.1. Registration and Protocol

This review is not registered and no protocol was prepared for this work.

Appendix A.2. Additional Data from This Work

The first author can supply more data related to this work.

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