Abstract

Microgrids are very dynamic structures that need continuous monitoring of their components and surroundings to guarantee an efficient energy management. To accomplish these functions, a dedicated sensor network and communication infrastructure are necessary to coordinate the control actions and to broadcast the collected data to the interested partners which can be allocated in distant places. The microgrid configuration and the control objectives impose a variety of requirements to the communication system which must guarantee different delivering times for diverse type of signal generated inside and outside of the microgrid. Communication infrastructures as well as the protocols and technologies to be used in microgrids communication systems are not yet fully established, thus, the aim of this chapter is to identify the main components of the communication infrastructure and their corresponding functions. Furthermore, different communication technologies that might fulfill the microgrids communication requirements are described. Additionally, interoperability and security issues are discussed. Finally, the peer-to-peer networks and multi-agent systems are introduced.