Public Abstract

DE-SC0020281: PHASE 3 RENEWAL: Development and Validation of Models to Assess Dynamic Response of Converter-Dominated Power Systems across Multiple Spatiotemporal Scales

Award Status: Active

Institution: University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK
UEI: FDLEQSJ8FF63
DUNS: 615245164

Most Recent Award Date: 08/01/2022
Number of Support Periods: 4
PM: Fitzsimmons, Timothy

Current Budget Period: 08/15/2022 - 08/14/2023
Current Project Period: 08/15/2021 - 08/14/2023
PI: Shirazi, Mariko

Supplement Budget Period: N/A

Public Abstract

Accurate modeling tools are essential to plan and operate a reliable electric power system. Today’s methods and tools have evolved over multiple decades to accurately and efficiently assess the reliability of a grid predominantly shaped by the fundamental physics as well as standardized control methods associated with synchronous machines. The increasing penetration of inverter-based resources (IBR) is challenging our ability to use these established approaches. A converter-dominated power system (CDPS) will be driven by much smaller physical time constants and by controllers that today are still evolving. Thus, not only may electromagnetic transient (EMT) models become necessary where previously more efficient root-mean-square (RMS) had been used, but also the EMT models themselves may require detailed vendor-specific converter models to accurately represent the CDPS dynamics. Such EMT simulations are practically and computationally burdensome. As a result, there is currently much discussion in the power system modeling community regarding the appropriate level of detail to include in new models of IBR for power system simulations. The jurisdictions of the participating institutions already have or are expected to have high penetrations of IBR within isolated, regional, and continental grid scales. The team supported by this EPSCoR award seeks to develop local expertise to develop and validate modeling and control solutions to this challenge. This hope being to develop strong CDPS modeling programs at the University of Alaska Fairbank’s (UAF’s) Alaska Center for Energy and Power (ACEP); University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez (UPRM); South Dakota State University (SDSU), and the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s (UHM’s) Hawaii Natural Energy Institute (HNEI). The overarching technical goal of this program is to identify the type and detail of converter models required to accurately represent power system dynamical phenomena across multiple time scales and for CDPSs ranging from remote isolated microgrids to large interconnected grids. This goal remains relevant across all phases of this program. In this renewal proposal we seek to increase the impact of our work by incorporating demonstrations using real-world power systems and/or equipment. Specifically, the investigators propose to partner with local utilities and other system operators to develop models of operating power systems with high or potentially high converter penetrations and also to extend laboratory validation activities from custom-built to commercial inverters from various manufacturers. In addition to these demonstration activities, they also seek to research applications of the developed models for controller design.

Accurate modeling tools are essential to plan and operate a reliable electric power system. Today’s methods and tools have evolved over multiple decades to accurately and efficiently assess the reliability of a grid predominantly shaped by the fundamental physics as well as standardized control methods associated with synchronous machines. The increasing penetration of inverter-based resources (IBR) is challenging our ability to use these established approaches. A converter-dominated power system (CDPS) will be driven by much smaller physical time constants and by controllers that today are still evolving. Thus, not only may electromagnetic transient (EMT) models become necessary where previously more efficient root-mean-square (RMS) had been used, but also the EMT models themselves may require detailed vendor-specific converter models to accurately represent the CDPS dynamics. Such EMT simulations are practically and computationally burdensome. As a result, there is currently much discussion in the power system modeling community regarding the appropriate level of detail to include in new models of IBR for power system simulations.

The jurisdictions of the participating institutions already have or are expected to have high penetrations of IBR within isolated, regional, and continental grid scales. The team supported by this EPSCoR award seeks to develop local expertise to develop and validate modeling and control solutions to this challenge. This hope being to develop strong CDPS modeling programs at the University of Alaska Fairbank’s (UAF’s) Alaska Center for Energy and Power (ACEP); University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez (UPRM); South Dakota State University (SDSU), and the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s (UHM’s) Hawaii Natural Energy Institute (HNEI).

The overarching technical goal of this program is to identify the type and detail of converter models required to accurately represent power system dynamical phenomena across multiple time scales and for CDPSs ranging from remote isolated microgrids to large interconnected grids. This goal remains relevant across all phases of this program. In this renewal proposal we seek to increase the impact of our work by incorporating demonstrations using real-world power systems and/or equipment. Specifically, the investigators propose to partner with local utilities and other system operators to develop models of operating power systems with high or potentially high converter penetrations and also to extend laboratory validation activities from custom-built to commercial inverters from various manufacturers. In addition to these demonstration activities, they also seek to research applications of the developed models for controller design.