This paper presents open-source, flexible, and easily-scalable models of grid following and grid forming inverters for the PSCAD software platform. The models are intended for system integration studies, particularly transient stability analyses of power systems with a high penetration of inverter-based generation. To verify the model functionality, they are implemented in a IEEE 9-bus system in a zero-inertia operational scenario of 100% inverter-based generation where the presence of grid-forming inverters are necessary. The models, including the 9 bus network, have been made available open source at the PyPSCAD NREL GitHub page (https://github.com/NREL/PyPSCAD).

Open-Source PSCAD Grid-Following and Grid-Forming Inverters and A Benchmark for Zero-Inertia Power System Simulations

A distributed power system operation and control node privacy and security are attractive research questions that deliver electrical energy systems to the participating stakeholders without being physically connected to the grid system. The increased use of renewable energy in the power grid environment creates serious issues, for example, connectivity, transmission, distribution, control, balancing, and monitoring volatility on both sides. This poses extreme challenges to tackle the entire bidirectional power flow throughout the system. To build distributed monitoring and a secure control operation of node transactions in the real-time system that can manage and execute power exchanging and utilizing, balancing, and maintaining energy power failure. This paper proposed a blockchain Hyperledger Sawtooth enabling a novel and secure distributed energy transmission node in the EPS-ledger network architecture with a robust renewable power infiltration. The paper focuses on a cyber-physical power grid control and monitoring system of renewable energy and protects this distributed network transaction on the blockchain and stores a transparent digital ledger of power. The Hyperledger Sawtooth-enabled architecture allows stakeholders to exchange information related to power operations and control monitoring in a private ledger network architecture and investigate the different activities, preserved in the interplanetary file systems. Furthermore, we design, create, and deploy digital contracts of the cyber–physical energy monitoring system, which allows interaction between participating stakeholders and registration and presents the overall working operations of the proposed architecture through a sequence diagram. The proposed solution delivers integrity, confidentiality, transparency, availability, and control access of the distribution of the power system and maintains an immutable operations and control monitoring ledger by secure blockchain technology.

EPS-Ledger: Blockchain Hyperledger Sawtooth-Enabled Distributed Power Systems Chain of Operation and Control Node Privacy and Security

As power systems become increasingly dependent on inverter-based resources (IBRs), the dominant physical and control interactions that determine system stability might no longer be accurately captured in positive sequence dynamic simulation tools; electromagnetic transient (EMT) simulations may be needed. This paper describes the process of creating and validating an EMT model of the entire Maui island transmission system in PSCAD software. The model is verified against the utility PSSE model and validated against field data for an event that consisted of a single-phase fault followed by a generation trip. The methodology and lessons learned are summarized.

Validation of Maui PSCAD Model: Motivation, Methodology, and Lessons Learned

In a 100% inverter-based microgrid, both grid-forming (GFM) and grid-following (GFL) inverters will have a crucial role to play in frequency/voltage regulation and maintaining power sharing through their grid support capabilities. Consequently, the coordination between these two technologies becomes increasingly important for optimal system performance. However, the existing work does not consider GFL’s potential to participate in a secondary control in coordination with GFM, thus not utilizing the full capability of inverter resources. In this paper, we present an automatic secondary control scheme that fully coordinates the GFL and GFM inverters to achieve frequency/voltage restoration, accurate power sharing, and circulating var mitigation in networked microgrids even without the support of any synchronous generators or the bulk power system. We use the leader-follower consensus framework to develop the GFM-GFL coordinated secondary control, in the absence of a centralized controller. The proposed coordination is effective under different disturbances, and can work in a plug-and-play manner. In addition, we find that the proposed fully-coordinated secondary control outperforms other approaches such as un-coordinated and partially-coordinated secondary controls in aspects of load sharing and frequency and voltage regulation. Overall, this study emphasizes the need and benefits of GFL-GFM coordination in microgrids.

Consensus Control for Coordinating Grid-Forming and Grid-Following Inverters in Microgrids

Coupled transmission and distribution simulations to assess distributed generation response to power system faults

Stability and control of power systems with high penetrations of inverter-based resources: An accessible review of current knowledge and open questions

Reiko Matsuda-Dunn

Papers

Stability and control of power systems with high penetrations of inverter-based resources: An accessible review of current knowledge and open questions