PV generation enhancement with a virtual inertia emulator to provide inertial response to the grid

With high-penetration levels of renewable generating sources being integrated into the existing electric power grid, conventional generators are being replaced and grid inertial response is deteriorating. This technical challenge is more severe with photovoltaic (PV) generation than with wind generation because PV generation systems cannot provide inertial response unless special countermeasures are adopted. To enhance the inertial response, this paper proposes to synthesize a virtual inertia emulator (VIE) by using a battery energy storage system (BESS) and a three-phase grid-tied inverter to simulate a traditional generator such that the inertial response can be appropriately enhanced without sacrificing energy efficiency. Control systems for the VIE are presented in this paper, along with simulation results from PSCAD and MATLAB to validate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.