Final Technical Report: Stabilizing the Power System in 2035 and Beyond: Evolving from Grid-Following to Grid-Forming Distributed Inverter Controllers

Yashen Lin, Brian Johnson, Sairaj Dhople, Francesco Bullo, Patrick Chapman, Victor Purba, Saber Jafarpour, Gab-Su Seo, Hugo Villegas-Pico, Nathan Ainsworth, Miguel Rodriguez, Mohammed Khan, Joseph Eto, Abraham Ellis, Jack Flicker, Brian Pierre, Robert Lasseter

Research output: NRELTechnical Report

Abstract

Under existing grid operations, large synchronous generators provide sufficient rotational inertia to form a rigid backbone for the bulk power system. With photovoltaics (PV) forecasted to provide more than 600 GW of generation by 2050 under the U.S. Department of Energy’s SunShot Initiative objectives, however, it is clear that power electronic inverters will play a dominant role in future systems, and low-inertia stability must be ensured to maintain system reliability. Today, the risks to system stability can be observed on geographically small islands, such as Hawaii, which contain a relatively large amount of installed PV. These risks stem from a fundamental shortcoming of contemporary control strategies—existing inverter controllers cannot guarantee grid stability. Given that future power systems driven by sustainable resources will be characterized by low inertia, locations such as Hawaii provide a glimpse into the obstacles facing future power systems. Considering these challenges, the aim of this project wasto develop and demonstrate distributed inverter controllers that enable the reliable control of low-inertia power systems with hundreds of gigawatts of integrated PV.
Original languageAmerican English
Number of pages71
DOIs
StatePublished - 2021

NREL Publication Number

  • NREL/TP-5D00-79761

Keywords

  • grid-forming inverter
  • inverter-based resources
  • virtual oscillator control

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