Control of PV Systems for Multimachine Power System Stability Improvement

The goal of achieving decarbonized operation of power systems in response to climate change has led to an increase in the number of sources connected to electrical grids through inverters, of which photovoltaic systems are an example. The operating characteristics of these systems in steady-state or transient operation are different from those of synchronous machines, giving rise to issues related to power system stability. The vast majority of grid codes stipulate that fault ride-through operating requirements should be enabled during severe contingencies in the transmission network, prioritizing delivery of reactive power to the power system to support voltage stability. However, this control action may contribute to rapid collapse of the system voltage under adverse operating conditions, such as when the critical voltage in the power vs. voltage curve is near the reliable voltage operating bound. Supporting power system stability under these circumstances represents a new challenge for inverter control schemes. This paper adapts a recently published fault ride-through control scheme for PV inverters for use in a multimachine power system and shows that the scheme can successfully maintain transient and voltage stability even under adverse voltage operating conditions.