Coordinated primary frequency control among non-synchronous systems connected by a multi-terminal high-voltage direct current grid

The authors consider a power system composed of several non-synchronous AC areas connected by a multi-terminal high-voltage direct current (HVDC) grid. In this context, the authors propose a distributed control scheme that modifies the power injections from the different AC areas into the DC grid so as to make the system collectively react to load imbalances. This collective reaction allows each individual AC area to downscale its primary reserves. The scheme is inspired by algorithms for the consensus problem extensively studied by the control theory community. It modifies the power injections based on frequency deviations of the AC areas so as to make them stay close to each other. A stability analysis of the closed-loop system is reported as well as simulation results on a benchmark power system with five AC areas. These results show that with proper tuning, the control scheme makes the frequency deviations converge rapidly to a common value following a load imbalance in an area.