Integration of renewable energy for power restoration : real time digital simulation approach

Abstract

The drive toward aggressive decarbonization goals is rapidly transforming the power grid, highlighted by an increase in renewable energy production. This expansion relies heavily on Distributed Energy Resources (DERs), yet operators face challenges due to the lack of transparency in DER operations. This opacity poses significant risks to grid stability as the growing number of DERs could exceed the capacity of the current power network. In response, the emergence of Digital Twins (DT) technology provides a potential solution by creating virtual replicas of the physical grid infrastructure, which require minimal data transmission. DT technology overcomes the obstacles of real-time data flow and enhances system transparency. To encourage the broad adoption of DT in the industry, it is crucial to develop and test its applications through practical experiments. For this purpose, Power Hardware-in-the-Loop (PHIL) experiments are used to compare the effectiveness of real power components with DT models. These experiments connect GFMI to a Real-time Digital Simulator (RTDS) for PHIL and DT testing, enabling detailed analysis of photovoltaic inverter behavior.

This research presents a platform specifically built for immediate simulation suited to DT and PHIL methods. It is designed to prototype, demonstrate, and assess GFMIs under various critical scenarios for power restoration. By incorporating the Perez Model into the DT model through simulation exchange, the accuracy in comparison with the PHIL model is enhanced. Thus, the entire restoration process can be thoroughly represented and analyzed. All in all, this dissertation introduces a novel approach to integrating renewable energy resources using PHIL-based digital twins technology to enhance power restoration stability.