Resilient Control of Low Inertia Renewable Power Systems

The latest acceleration of renewable energy resources, such as wind and solar energy, is reducing the amount of rotational inertia on modern power systems. The occurrence of low-inertia conditions can lead to faster frequency deviations, reduced system stability, and a heightened susceptibility to disturbances. Traditional control methodologies, which were developed for high-inertia grids, do not sufficiently handle any of these new issues. This paper discusses resilient control methodologies for low-inertia renewable power systems, such as synthetic inertia emulation, adaptive frequency control, robust optimization, and advanced grid-forming inverter control. Predictive modeling and real-time simulation studies are used to assess the effectiveness of these methodologies under various disturbance conditions. Examples indicate how resilient control can increase ride-through capability with faults, improve frequency stability, and manage secure high renewable penetration. Our results provide supportive evidence for the case that resilient control is necessary for reliable, sustainable, and secure power system operation with high renewable penetration into the future.