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Dispatching Grid-Forming Inverters in Grid-Connected and Islanded Mode

Conference ·

This paper explores the dispatchability of grid-forming (GFM) inverters in grid-connected and islanded mode. GFM inverters usually use droop control to automatically share power with other GFM sources (inverters and synchronous generators) and follow the change in the load demand; however, they can be dispatched like their grid-following (GFL) counterparts to output the target active and reactive power. This will help grid operators better manage their inverter-based resources (IBRs) to improve operation efficiency and reliability; therefore, this paper proposes an innovative concept of dispatching GFM sources (inverters and synchronous generators) to output the target power in both grid-connected and islanded mode by adjusting their droop intercepts. The fundamental principle is that the GFM inverter's active and reactive power is dictated by its frequency and voltage, and thus dispatching the active and reactve power of a GFM inverter can be achieved through dispatching its frequency and voltage. Moreover, the concept distinguishes the dispatch rules for grid-connected and islanded mode. Finally, the concept is validated with an example microgrid system with two GFM inverters, one diesel generator, one GFL inverter, and the load in both grid-connected and islanded mode. This pioneering work results in practical guidance for the development of energy management systems for future electric grids with GFM and GFL inverters.

Research Organization:
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Solar Energy Technologies Office
DOE Contract Number:
AC36-08GO28308
OSTI ID:
2477190
Report Number(s):
NREL/CP-5D00-92020; MainId:93798; UUID:6b4ee1b5-1f86-41a3-830d-1a7804376c1f; MainAdminId:74213
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (7)

Study of Inverter Control Strategies on the Stability of Microgrids Toward 100% Renewable Penetration conference October 2022
Design of a Generalized Control Algorithm for Parallel Inverters for Smooth Microgrid Transition Operation journal August 2015
Power-Sharing between Grid-Forming and Grid-Following Inverters conference November 2021
Droop Control-Based Dispatch of an Islanded Microgrid with Multiple Grid-Forming Sources conference October 2023
Active Power Coordination for a Large Population of Grid-Forming and Grid-Following Inverters Based on Mean Field Games Theory journal January 2023
A Unified Droop-Free Distributed Secondary Control for Grid-Following and Grid-Forming Inverters in AC Microgrids conference August 2020
Decentralized Distribution System Restoration with Grid-Forming/Following Inverter-Based Resources conference July 2022