Navigating Small-Signal Instability in Converter-Dominated Power Systems
Virtual: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/486960Electrical power systems are undergoing unprecedented changes, mainly driven by decarbonisation targets and climate change, as well as other technical, economic, and social reasons. This leads to the integration of new technologies such as renewable generation, electric vehicles, HVDC links, etc. These devices are mostly connected via power electronics with very different dynamic behaviour, leading to increasing complexity of power system dynamics. In addition, uncertainty is also increasing due to the intermittent nature of renewable generation, but also because of how society will use energy on the way to decarbonization (e.g., electrification of transport or possibly heating). At the same time, advanced measurement and communication infrastructure are being integrated into modern power systems. Such technologies, especially coupled with machine learning, offer opportunities for advanced situational awareness, decision support tools, and automated control methods. This presentation will highlight the challenges faced in future power systems with high penetration of converter-connected units, in terms of their dynamic behaviour, and discuss methods and tools to tackle them. The talk will mainly address the question of how we characterize the complex and uncertain dynamic behaviour in power systems with high converter penetration, and how this can be affected by different control structures. Probabilistic stability assessment methods to quantify the impact and characterize new types of oscillatory interactions of power systems with converter-connected units will be discussed, including the behaviour of oscillations in the sub-synchronous range. In addition, a view on how to define system strength associated with small-signal dynamics will also be discussed. Co-sponsored by: University of California Riverside Speaker(s): Dr. Panagiotis Papadopoulos, Virtual: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/486960