PV-based virtual synchronous generator with variable inertia to enhance power system transient stability utilizing the energy storage system

Abstract The Photovoltaic (PV) plants are significantly different from the conventional synchronous generators in terms of physical and electrical characteristics, as it connects to the power grid through the voltage-source converters. High penetration PV in power system will bring several critical challenges to the safe operation of power grid including transient stability. To address this problem, the paper proposes a control strategy to help the PVs work like a synchronous generator with variable inertia by energy storage system (ESS). First, the overall control strategy of the PV-based virtual synchronous generator (PV-VSG) is illustrated. Then the control strategies for the variable inertia of the PV-VSG are designed to attenuate the transient energy of the power system after the fault. Simulation results of a simple power system show that the PV-VSG could utilize the energy preserved in the ESS to balance the transient energy variation of power grid after fault and improve the transient stability of the power system