Investigating Disturbance-Induced Misoperation of Grid-Following Inverter-Based Resources

Abstract

The rapid integration of grid-following inverter-based resources (GFL-IBRs) has increased the importance of their dynamic behaviour during disturbances. Simultaneously, there are increasing number of reports about the misoperation or inadvertent disconnection of GFL-IBRs during disturbances. This paper attempts to shed light on one of the potential root causes of disturbance-induced misoperations of GFL-IBRs. A framework is presented to quantify voltage drop and voltage phase angle jump that appear at the terminals of GFL-IBRs immediately after the inception of various events in the grid such as faults, and tripping of generators and transmission lines. We demonstrate voltage drop and voltage phase angle jump in the upstream grid due to various disturbances may transform into severe voltage drop and voltage phase angle jump at the terminals of GFL-IBRs. The combination of voltage drop and voltage phase angle jump that appear at the terminals of GFL-IBRs is identified as one of the root causes of their misoperation. Therefore, system-wide studies are required to evaluate the dynamic performance of GFL-IBRs rather than sole compliance with standards. The importance of system-wide studies is demonstrated through IEEE 39-bus test system. The impact of voltage drop and voltage phase angle jump in the upstream grid on the dynamic performance of GFL-IBRs is demonstrated using electromagnetic transient studies.