Enhancing distance protection in transmission grids with high penetration of renewable energy sources through cooperative protection

This article introduces innovative protection strategies, including cooperative protection, for power transmission grids amidst a significant shift towards renewable energy sources (RES) such as wind and solar power, as well as inverter-based resources (IBRs). The method employs a global consensus algorithm to achieve cooperative protection efficiently. This scheme leverages consensus protocols to dynamically oversee distance relay decisions, ensuring efficient fault detection and localization. The decentralized nature of the proposed method enhances robustness and security, while its high-speed operation is ensured through non-iterative global consensus algorithms, which provide rapid fault detection and localization crucial for real-time protection. By incorporating virtual leaders and leveraging existing communication infrastructure, the method achieves superior selectivity in identifying faulty lines, enhancing the reliability and stability of power transmission grids with high-RES penetration. Notably, the method does not require learning and training processes, making it adaptable to varying power system topologies without the need for extensive retraining or adaptation periods. The proposed methodology enables simultaneous participation in multiple protection zones by establishing interaction rules between agents. Virtual leaders simplify the selection of protection areas, enhancing scalability and fault localization. Simulation results conducted on the IEEE 39-bus test system validate the effectiveness of the proposed method.