Virtual Inertia Emulation in Standalone Microgrid with Photovoltaic-Battery Energy Storage System

Power generation from large-scale renewable energy sources like photovoltaics (PV) reduces the inertia and damping characteristics of the power system, leading to oscillations. In a standalone microgrid PV-Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), control is achieved using a Dual-Loop Virtual Synchronous Generator (DLVSG) control. This control mechanism provides virtual inertia and virtual damping to support frequency and voltage stability. This paper proposes a control strategy that imitates the rotational inertia and damping characteristics of synchronous generators based on the VSG operating principle. Adopting this control approach has emerged as a promising solution for enhancing the integration of renewable energy sources into microgrids. The proposed standalone microgrid with PV-BESS employs the Perturb and Observe Maximum Power Point Tracking (P&O MPPT) technique to achieve maximum power extraction and includes a bidirectional converter for the BESS. Simulation results demonstrate that the DLVSG control improves grid stability, power quality, robustness, and the ability to handle perturbations.