IP Library Granted Patent US 12665428
Granted Patent B2
US 12665428 · App. 18/097,535 · Granted Jun 23, 2026

Method for operating a power supply plant, and power supply plant

Inventors: Andreas Knobloch (Kassel, DE); Christian Hardt (Kassel, DE); Mats Bernsdorff (Kassel, DE); Daniel Premm (Kaufungen, DE)
Assignee: SMA Solar Technology AG
H02J3/38G05B19/042H02J3/16H02J7/82G05B2219/2639
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12665428
App. No.
18/097,535
Granted
Jun 23, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

In a method for operating a power supply plant having a plurality of inverters and a plant controller connected to the inverters for communication, the power supply plant has a grid connection, which is connected to an AC voltage grid. Via the grid connection, the inverters exchange electrical interchange powers with the AC voltage grid such that the power supply plant exchanges a total interchange power, composed of the respective electrical interchange powers, with the AC voltage grid. By means of a respective regulator, the inverters adjust their respective interchange powers depending on a respective deviation of a voltage profile of a grid voltage from a respective reference profile with respect to a respective reference frequency and/or depending on a respective voltage amplitude differential between a respective grid voltage and a respective reference voltage. The plant controller influences the regulators of the inverters depending on a power differential between the total interchange power and a specified interchange power. A power supply plant according to the application is designed to carry out this method.

Claims (51)

1 . A method for operating a power supply plant having a plurality of inverters and a plant controller, which is communicatively connected to the inverters,

wherein the power supply plant has a grid connection which is connected to an AC voltage grid, and wherein the plurality of inverters exchange electrical interchange powers with the AC voltage grid via the grid connection, so that the power supply plant exchanges a total interchange power with the AC voltage grid which is composed of the respective electrical interchange powers,

wherein the inverters adjust their respective interchange powers by means of a respective regulator circuit based on a respective voltage profile deviation of a voltage profile of a grid voltage from a respective reference profile based on a respective reference frequency, wherein the respective voltage profile deviation comprises a phase angle differential between a grid phase angle of the grid voltage and a respective inverter phase angle,

wherein the plant controller influences regulator circuits of the plurality of inverters based on a power differential between the total interchange power and a specified interchange power, such that the power differential is minimized by the plant controller by influencing the regulator circuits,

wherein a power exchange with respective energy storages connected to the respective inverters are controlled such that a respective specifiable state of charge of the respective energy storages is targeted to 50% of a capacity of the respective energy storages, with charging or discharging of the energy storages being carried out with lower average power than a maximum interchange power due to the respective regulation of the interchange power as a function of a respective deviation of the respective phase angle differential.

2 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the electrical interchange powers of the plurality of inverters comprise an active power (P) and a reactive power (Q), wherein the total interchange power of the power supply plant comprises an active power component and a reactive power component, and wherein the specified interchange power comprises an active power component and/or a reactive power component.

3 . The method according to claim 2 , wherein the active power component and/or the reactive power component of the specified interchange power is constant.

4 . The method according to claim 2 , wherein the active power component of the specified interchange power depends on a grid frequency and/or the reactive power component of the specified interchange power depends on the grid voltage.

5 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein intervention dynamics of the plant controller are slower than dynamics of the respective regulators of the plurality of inverters.

6 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the voltage profile deviation comprises a frequency differential between a grid frequency and a respective reference frequency, wherein the grid frequency is determined from the grid voltage, and wherein active power (P) is adjusted by the respective regulator circuit as a function of the frequency differential.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the inverter phase angle has a frequency, which may be specified by means of the respective regulator as a function of respective active power, taking into account a respective reference active power and a respective reference frequency.

8 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the inverters adjust their respective active power (P) on the basis of a respective characteristic curve, wherein a parameter of the respective characteristic curve depends on the respective reference frequency (fref) and/or a parameter of the characteristic curve depends on a respective reference power (Pref), and wherein the characteristic curve has a respective slope (df/dP, dP/df), and wherein the characteristic curve in the respective regulator circuit specifies a functional relationship between the respective active power (P) and a respective frequency differential, wherein the respective active power (P) in the respective regulator circuit is used as a measured variable and the frequency and/or a phase angle of an output voltage of the respective inverter are set as a manipulated variable.

9 . The method according to claim 8 , wherein the plant controller adjusts the respective active power (P) by influencing the parameter of the respective characteristic curve, which depends on the respective reference frequency (fref), and/or the parameter, which depends on the respective reference power (Pref), in such a way that an active power component of the total interchange power of the power supply plant is approximated to the active power component of the specified interchange power with a specifiable time constant.

10 . The method according to claim 8 , wherein the parameter of the respective characteristic curve, which depends on the respective reference frequency (fref), is influenced in such a way that the respective reference frequency (fref) is matched to a low-pass filtered grid frequency measured at the grid connection.

11 . The method according to claim 8 , wherein the respective reference frequencies (fref) and/or the respective reference powers (Pref) of the inverters are the same and are transmitted by the plant controller to the inverters, wherein the transmission takes place in particular by broadcast.

12 . The method according to claim 8 , wherein the respective reference frequencies (fref) and/or the respective reference powers (Pref) differ between the inverters and are transmitted to the inverters by the plant controller.

13 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the power differential is transmitted from the plant controller to the inverters, and the respective reference frequencies (fref) and/or the respective reference powers (Pref) in the regulator circuits of the inverters are changed as a function of the received power differential.

14 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein a level of an active power instantaneous reserve, which is provided by the power supply plant for a given voltage profile deviation, is adjusted with respect to its maximum power and its energy by specifying parameters of the regulator circuits of the plurality of inverters and/or by specifying the parameters of the plant controller.

15 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein dynamics of the respective regulator circuits of the plurality of inverters are adjusted by specifying a respective slope of a characteristic curve by the plant controller.

16 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein

intervention dynamics are adjusted in the regulator circuits by specifying parameters of an integral controller or a PI controller which uses the power differential as an input variable and outputs a reference power (Pref).

17 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the respective plurality of inverters exchange reactive power with the AC voltage grid, wherein the respective regulator circuit is configured to influence the interchange power when an apparent power limit of the respective inverter is reached in such a way that reactive power exchanged with the AC voltage grid is reduced and an active power exchanged with the AC voltage grid is increased.

18 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein a reactive power component of the total interchange power at the grid connection is adjusted as a function of a measured voltage at the grid connection.

19 . A method for operating a power supply plant having a plurality of inverters and a plant controller, which is communicatively connected to the inverters,

wherein the power supply plant has a grid connection which is connected to an AC voltage grid, and wherein the inverters exchange electrical interchange power with the AC voltage grid via the grid connection, so that the power supply plant exchanges a total interchange power with the AC voltage grid which is composed of the respective electrical interchange powers each comprising an active power (P) and a reactive power (Q),

wherein respective reactive power of the inverters is adjusted by the plant controller and a reactive power regulator in the respective inverter in dependence on a respective voltage amplitude differential between a respective grid voltage and a respective reference voltage, wherein the adjustment of the reactive power component of the total interchange power at the grid connection comprises at least the following acts carried out by the plant controller:

determining a reactive power component of the interchange power at the grid connection as a function of the AC grid voltage,

measuring the reactive power component at the grid connection,

determining respective reactive power set points for the inverters as a function of the reactive power component of the specified interchange power and the measured reactive power component at the grid connection,

transmitting the respective reactive power set points to the plurality of inverters;

and the following acts executed by the plurality of inverters:

measuring the respective grid voltage at the respective output of the inverters,

comparing the respective measured AC grid voltage to a reference voltage corresponding to an average value of the AC grid voltage,

determining a respective reactive power correction value as a function of a deviation of the measured AC grid voltage from the reference voltage by a Q-U characteristic curve,

adjusting the respective reactive power based on a sum of the respective reactive power set point and the respective reactive power correction value.

20 . A method for operating an inverter in a power supply plant, the power supply plant having a grid connection which is connected to an AC voltage grid, and the inverter exchanging electrical interchange power comprising active power and reactive power with the AC voltage grid via the grid connection, the inverter adjusting its interchange power by means of a regulator circuit as a function of a voltage profile deviation of a voltage profile of a grid voltage from a reference profile based on a reference frequency (fref), a specified parameter of the regulator circuit being varied as a function of a power differential between the interchange power of the power supply plant at the grid connection and a specified interchange power,

wherein the power differential is measured outside the inverter in a plant controller, and is transmitted to the inverter, wherein the inverter determines a reference power (Pref) from the power differential using an integrator circuit,

wherein the integrator circuit has an amplifier circuit having a gain factor (1/Hθ), and

wherein the gain factor (1/Hθ) of the integrator circuit is adjustable.

21 . The method according to claim 20 , wherein intervention dynamics of varying the specified parameter of the regulator circuit is slower than control dynamics of the interchange power, such that the regulator circuit responds more quickly with changes in the interchange power to variations in the grid voltages than with changes in the specified parameter to changes in the power differential.

22 . The method according to claim 20 , wherein the regulator circuit of the inverter comprises a droop regulator, wherein the droop regulator uses the active power (P) as a measured variable and, using a characteristic curve with a slope (df/dP), adjusts the frequency and/or a phase angle of an output voltage of the inverter as a manipulated variable, a specified parameter of the characteristic curve being dependent on the reference frequency (fref) and/or a specified parameter of the characteristic curve being dependent on a reference power (Pref), the reference frequency (fref) and/or the reference power (Pref) being varied as a function of the power differential.

23 . The method according to claim 20 , wherein the reference frequency (fref) is varied such that the reference frequency (fref) is matched with a low-pass filtered grid frequency measured at the grid connection.

24 . The method according to claim 22 , wherein the slope (df/dP) of the droop regulator is adjustable.

25 . The method according to claim 24 , wherein an inverter phase angle (θset) has an inertia with respect to a grid voltage phase angle that is adjustable by a product of the gain factor (1/Hθ) and the slope (df/dP).

26 . The method according to claim 25 , wherein a synchronization of the inverter phase angle (θset) with the grid voltage phase angle has a damping that is adjustable by a ratio of the gain factor (1/Hθ) to the slope (df/dP).

27 . The method according to claim 26 , wherein the inertia and/or the damping of the inverter phase angle (θset) is adjustable during ongoing operation of the power supply plant, and wherein, in order to adjust inertia and/or damping, the gain factor (1/Hθ) and/or the slope (df/dP) are adjustable via a low-pass filter with adjustable time constant or via a ramp with adjustable slope.

28 . A method for operating an inverter in a power supply plant, the power supply plant having a grid connection which is connected to an AC voltage grid, wherein the inverter exchanges electrical interchange power comprising active power ad reactive power with the AC voltage grid via the grid connection and adjusts its interchange power by means of a regulator circuit as a function of a voltage amplitude differential between a grid voltage and a reference voltage, wherein the regulator circuit of the inverter comprises a grid-following reactive power regulator, which comprises:

measuring the grid voltage (Uis),

determining a reactive power correction value (Q(Uref)) as a function of the deviation of the grid voltage from a reference voltage (Uref) using a Q-U characteristic curve,

adjusting the reactive power (Q) based on the sum of the reactive power component in the specified interchange power and a respective reactive power correction value (Q(Uref)),

wherein the reference voltage (Uref) is varied as the specified parameter of the Q-U characteristic curve in such a way that the reactive power (Q) of the inverter is approximated to the reactive power component of the specified interchange power with a specifiable time constant, by a reactive power correction value (Q(Uref)) approaching zero.