Protection of converter dense power systems

The amount of Distributed Generation (DG - often from renewable energy sources) connected to the power system is increasing. DG typically requires a Power Electronic Converter (PEC) interface to connect to the main network. These PEC interfaces generally have a low tolerance to overcurrent and rely on extremely fast acting protection which is integral to the PECs' control systems. As the proportion of PEC interfaces increases, their fast acting, self-preserving, protection functions may have a detrimental effect on system protection and supply availability. The main goal of this paper is to investigate potential problems for network protection in “PEC-dense” power systems at the distribution level and to propose and discuss potential solutions to these problems.