Utility Perspective on Protection Challenges with High IBR Penetration [Slides]

Conference · Wed Oct 23 04:00:00 EDT 2024

OSTI ID:2560766

Saeed, Ajmal ^[1]; Jensen, Mike ^[2]; Zadeh, Mohammad ^[3]; Reno, Matthew ^[4]; Bidram, Ali ^[5]; Zamani, Amin ^[6]

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1. Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Oakland, CA (United States); Pacific Gas and Electric
2. Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Oakland, CA (United States)
3. ETAP, Irvine, CA (United States)
4. Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
5. Univ. of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States)
6. Quantar Technology, Inc., Santa Cruz, CA (United States)

Utilities have seen rapid increase in Solar, Wind, and Battery Energy Storage Resources that interconnect to their electric system through Inverters. Inverter-Based Resources (IBRs) have fault current characteristics that are unlike the fault current response of traditional rotating-machine-based generators, which is well known and repeatable. IBR’s non-traditional fault current behavior is due to the IBR control scheme, which is configured to provide a clean AC output but also protect the inverter’s sensitive power electronics devices from damage, one source of which is overcurrent. This results in low fault current magnitude, low or no negative sequence current injection, the variability of sequence component currents, the variability of voltage with respect to current angles, and the lack of inertia. The control scheme also results in a fault current response that can vary between manufactures and between models of the same manufacturer. High penetration of IBRs can adversely affect the protection schemes applied in areas with high penetration of IBRs. With the proliferation of IBRs, utilities are finding out that conventional protection schemes are not adequately equipped to protect the electric systems. This is mainly because the existing protection elements and practices have been designed based on the fault current response of conventional rotating machines. In several cases, the available literature does not provide any clear solution for the issues when the protection scheme does not operate properly near IBRs. This report identifies various protection challenges due to IBRs that industry is facing, from the utility perspective. Instead of facing on one issue, this report looks broadly on all the challenges that system protection has experienced with high penetration of IBRs. Based on the IBR response from various utilities during real fault events and gathering perspective from different utility SMEs via questionnaire, the report summarizes on gathered data and internal experiences.

• Research Organization: Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Oakland, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Solar Energy Technologies Office
• DOE Contract Number: EE0010658
• OSTI ID: 2560766
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
17 WIND ENERGY
42 ENGINEERING
Higher Penetration of Renewables
IBRs
Protection Challenges
Renewables