Stability and operation limits of power systems with high penetration of power electronics

Abstract

Modern power systems are facing a number of challenges related to stability when integrating large amounts of power electronics, which is present in renewable generation, energy storage, flexible AC transmission systems or high voltage DC links. This paper analyses the stability and operation limits in power systems with high penetration of power electronics. In particular, steady-state, small-signal and transient analysis have been carried out to examine the minimum synchronous generation required to ensure stability in presence of an HVDC link based on a VSC operating in grid-following control. These analysis are based on performance indices, which evaluate the main magnitudes of the system, such as the grid frequency and voltage, but also the particular magnitudes of the system elements, mainly generators and VSCs. The use of these indices provides a fast overview of the system performance that could lead to save analysis time of power system engineers in the task of identifying critical cases for the system.