PI: Saeed Lotfifard
Co-PI(s):
Sponsor: Power Systems Engineering Research Center
Award Amount: $70,000
Project Period: 01/2021 – 08/2022
Summary: Future power systems are envisioned to transition to significant amount of renewable energy. For example, California has mandated 100% renewable energy supply by 2045 and Minnesota has passed laws to move to full renewable energy supply by 2050. New technologies such as HVDC systems will be also integrated into the conventional AC systems forging hybrid AC-DC systems. To assure reliable integration of such a massive amount of renewable inverter-based resources (IBRs), the IBRs should be augmented with grid support capabilities and compatibility features. To this end, this project proposes a multi-pronged research effort as follows: i) Grid Firming Converters: proposing methods to achieve desired voltage and frequency supports from IBRs such as wind and PV farms in the future grid, ii) Grid Forming Converters: developing controls to enable cold start capability of a system with high penetration of renewables, and iii) Resilient Converters: Designing fault ride through capability and post-fault recovery control strategies to avoid massive dropouts of renewables following a disturbance such as what happened in the Western system.