Search

Stability of power electronic converters connected to power grids is commonly assessed by using the impedance criterion. On the contrary, stability of power grids is typically analysed by using network state-space representation and system eigenvalues. It has been already reported in the literature that the impedance criterion may lead to erroneous results if the dynamics of the grid frequency is not taken into consideration. Meanwhile, the eigenvalue analysis is still considered as a reliable method for finding instabilities. However, the equivalence between these two methods (impedance criterion with frequency dynamics included and eigenvalue analysis) has not been thoroughly studied before. In this paper, the impedance method with frequency dynamics included is compared with the conventional eigenvalue analysis for a system fully based on electronic interfaces. Analytical expressions that link both methods are provided, showing that they are identical under certain conditions. Then, both methods are applied to a system based on a grid-forming and a grid-following converter. The results obtained from real-time simulations performed in OPAL-RT are used to validate the theoretical developments and main contributions of this work.

Low-frequency oscillations are an inherent phenomena in transmission networks and renewable energy plants should be configured to damp them. Commonly, a centralised controller is used in PV plants to coordinate PV generators via communication channels. However, the communication systems of PV plants introduce delays of a stochastic nature that degrade the performance of centralised control algorithms. Therefore, controllers for oscillation damping may not operate correctly unless the communication channel characteristics are not considered and compensated. In this paper, a centralised controller is proposed for the oscillation damping that uses a PV plant with all the realistic effects of communication channels taken into consideration. The communication channels are modelled based on measurements taken in a laboratory environment. The controller is designed to damp several modes of oscillation by using the open-loop phase shift compensation. Theoretical developments were validated in a laboratory using four converters acting as two PV inverters, a battery and a STATCOM. A real-time processing platform was used to implement the centralised controller and to deploy the communication infrastructure. Experimental results show the communication channels impose severe restrictions on the performance of centralised POD controllers, highlighting the importance of their accurate modelling and consideration during the controller design stage.

In recent years, transmission system operators have started requesting converter-interfaced generators (CIGs) to participate in grid services such as power oscillation damping (POD). As power systems are prone to topology changes because of connection and disconnection of generators and electrical lines, one of the most important requirements in the POD controller design is to account for these changes and to deal with them by using either adaptive or robust approaches. The robust approach is usually preferred by system operators because of the fixed structure of the controller. In this paper, a procedure to design POD controllers for CIG-based power plants that takes into consideration all possible network configurations is presented. This procedure is based on frequency-response techniques, so it is suitable for the commissioning in newly installed power plants, even in those cases when a detailed small-signal model of the system is not available. This procedure can be used to damp critical system modes by using active power, reactive power, or both power components simultaneously. The proposed procedure is applied to the design of the POD controller for a CIG-based power plant connected to the IEEE 39 Bus system. Simulations performed in Matlab and SimPowerSystems are used to validate the proposed design procedure.