Real-Time Simulation, Modelling, and Control of Low Inertial Microgrids

The proportion of renewable energy resources in modern power grids is expected to rise and displace fossil-based generating units, resulting in shallower inertia levels. Power grids lacking sufficient inertia are susceptible to instability issues. To alleviate such issues, virtual inertia synthesis has been proposed to enhance the dynamic performance of weak grids. In that regard, this paper investigates the impact of inertia reduction on the stability of the islanded microgrid using model-based layouts and real-time simulation. Elevated small-signal models are used to examine the evolution of the dynamics of the microgrid components. A virtual inertia control is also integrated to regulate the frequency and minimize the Rate of Change of Frequency (ROCOF) in an islanded microgrid. The present study is validated on a realistic benchmark constructed in the Real-Time Digital Simulator (RTDS). The model-based layouts are also verified using non-real-time simulation in MATLAB. The conducted simulation shows the ability of the proposed control design to regulate the frequency and minimize the ROCOF during system disturbances in both simulation environments.