Grid-Forming Controller Based on Virtual Admittance for Power Converters Working in Weak Grids

Abstract

The high penetration of distributed energy resources, based on power electronics, is giving rise to stability issues in the electrical network, as initially those plants were not required to provide either voltage or frequency support. Due to this, TSOs and DSOs have set new requirements for them to provide grid support functionalities. This paper presents a grid forming control strategy for power converters which is based on a virtual admittance loop. By means of this strategy it is possible to use a conventional current control based inverter, just adding this outer loop. By doing so, the converter is not only able to perform current control, but also frequency and voltage support functionalities. In this work, the proposed control is described and analyzed, checking as well its stability boundaries. After this analysis, the results obtained in a hardware-in-the-loop platform, where faulty scenarios, islanding or black start conditions, will be shown. Finally, the results obtained in an experimental true scale workbench will show its effectiveness for providing such services.