Granted Patent B2

US 12,531,420 · App. 17/840,716 · Granted Jan 20, 2026

Inventors: Philip Joseph Hart (Rexford, NY); Maozhong Gong (Latham, NY)

Assignee: GE Infrastructure Technology LLC

H02J3/381G05B9/02G05B13/042G05B19/042H02J3/0012H02J3/40G05B2219/2639

Abstract

Claims (68)

1 . A method for controlling a network of inverter-based resources connected to a power grid during a disturbance, the method comprising:

in response to a start of the disturbance, employing a system-level overload ride-through algorithm among the network of inverter-based resources, wherein the system-level overload ride-through algorithm comprises:

determining, via a system-level overload ride-through control module, a modified parameter set for one or more of the inverter-based resources using regularly-updated system-level analyses;

transmitting, via the system-level overload ride-through control module, the modified parameter set to the one or more of the inverter-based resources; and

automatically activating, via one or more local controllers of the one or more of the inverter-based resources communicatively coupled with the system-level overload ride-through control module, the modified parameter set at a time determined locally by the one or more local controllers, wherein automatically activating the modified parameter set comprises rapidly re-parameterizing one or more parameters of the one or more of the inverter-based resources for a duration of and for a time period after the disturbance so as to transition the network of inverter-based resources from a pre-disturbance stable state to a post-disturbance stable state.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the modified parameter set for one or more of the inverter-based resources using the regularly-updated system-level analyses further comprises:

setting a virtual reactance for one or more of the inverter-based resources to a value determined by a maximum continuous current rating of one or more of the inverter-based resources in consideration of one or more most stringent ride-through requirements;

setting a modified active power setpoint for one or more of the inverter-based resources to a value equal to a lowest of one of the following: an active power capability of one or more of the inverter-based resources, an estimated maximum active power that can possibly be transmitted through the virtual reactance selected for one of the one or more of the inverter-based resources in a post-disturbance scenario, or a desired value of an active power injection during and immediately following the disturbance;

setting at least one of a modified virtual inertia or a power measurement filter time constant for one or more of the inverter-based resources to a value determined by an amount of energy storage available to one or more of the inverter-based resources; and

adjusting a modified virtual damping for one or more of the inverter-based resources to improve a likelihood of the inverter-based resources reducing an overload condition or retaining synchronism during the disturbance.

3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein determining the modified parameter set for one or more of the inverter-based resources using the regularly-updated system-level analyses further comprises:

identifying a set of contingency events and post-event scenarios;

generating a system-wide energy function for each of the post-event scenarios;

determining a critical system energy for one or more of the post-event scenarios, the critical system energy being a maximum permitted post-event potential energy of the network;

for each post-event scenario associated with a given contingency event, determining whether the critical system energy is exceeded, thereby indicating loss of synchronism, at a start of a clearing time, for any of the contingency events;

at the clearing time, using a final set of angles of one or more of the inverter-based resources to calculate a total system energy of the network after the disturbance has cleared;

determining whether the critical system energy is exceeded by the total system energy;

if the critical system energy is exceeded by the total system energy in the network after the disturbance has cleared, incrementally reducing an absolute value of the modified active power setpoint for one or more of the inverter-based resources until the critical system energy is no longer exceeded by the total system energy, and if the critical system energy is not exceeded by the total system energy but an energy reserve of any of the inverter-based resources is exceeded during the disturbance, incrementally reducing the modified virtual inertia or the modified virtual damping of that inverter-based resource; and

determining the modified parameter set for one or more of the inverter-based resources once all contingency events have been evaluated for each post-event scenario and the critical system energy and energy limits have not been exceeded for any of the contingency events and post event scenario.

4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein at least one of the disturbance and the set of contingency events comprises one of a symmetric or asymmetric line-to-ground or line-to-line fault when islanded or grid-tied, a phase-to-ground fault at an infinite bus, simultaneous or staggered application of a virtual reactance by two or more of the inverter-based resources, a temporary loss of one of the inverter-based resources due to an overload event for that inverter-based resource, a load step, sag, or swell in a voltage magnitude of the power grid when grid-tied, a load step or jump in a phase angle of the power grid when grid-tied, loss of a distribution or transmission line when islanded or grid-tied, unexpected loss of another significant source when islanded or grid-tied, a large step in a constant-power load, constant current load, constant impedance load, or machine load, or combinations thereof when islanded or grid-tied, an intentional or unintentional islanding event, and/or an intentional or unintentional synchronization event.

5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the post-event scenarios comprise at least one of (1) a post-event system identical to a pre-event system, an alternative network topology in which one or more of the inverter-based resources or the power grid have disconnected from the network and are no longer present.

6 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the system-wide energy function comprises a kinetic energy (KE) function summed with a potential energy (PE) function.

7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein determining the critical system energy for one or more of the post-event scenarios further comprises:

determining a controlling unstable equilibrium point (CUEP); and

determining a potential energy at the CUEP using the PE function to determine the critical system energy for one or more of the post-event scenarios.

8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein determining the CUEP further comprises:

computing numerical integration of grid event dynamics until a ridgeline of a PE surface defined by the PE function is crossed;

tracing a gradient of the PE function along the ridgeline of the PE surface to determine an acceptable initial starting point for a homotopy method; and

applying the homotopy method to locate the CUEP.

9 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

monitoring, via the system-level overload ride-through module, one or more grid conditions to determine when it is safe for the one or more inverter-based resources to deactivate the modified parameter set; and

upon determining it is safe for the one or more inverter-based resources to deactivate the modified parameter set, sending, via the system-level overload ride-through module, a reset signal to the one or more inverter-based resources to deactivate the modified parameter set and return to nominal operating parameters.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the time determined locally by the one or more inverter-based resources corresponds to an instant of time at which the local controller detects an overload condition, the overload condition being indicative of the start of the disturbance.

11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the network of the one or more inverter-based resources further comprises a plurality of inverter-based resources, and wherein the one or more parameters within the modified parameter set may differ among the plurality of inverter-based resources.

12 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising continuing to operate the one or more inverter-based resources via the one or more local controllers using nominal operating parameters if no disturbance is detected.

13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the inverter-based resources are one of a wind turbine, an energy storage system, or a solar power system.

14 . A system for controlling a network of inverter-based resources connected to a power grid during a disturbance, the system comprising:

a system-level overload ride-through control module for controlling the system; and

a plurality of local controllers communicatively coupled to the system-level overload ride-through control module for controlling the inverter-based resources, the system-level overload ride-through control module comprising at least one processor configured to perform a plurality of operations, the plurality of operations comprising:

in response to a start of the disturbance, employing a system-level overload ride-through algorithm among the network of inverter-based resources, wherein the system-level overload ride-through algorithm comprises:

determining a modified parameter set for one or more of the inverter-based resources using regularly-updated system-level analyses; and

transmitting the modified parameter set to the plurality of local controllers of the one or more of the inverter-based resources,

the plurality of local controllers configured to automatically activate the modified parameter set at a time determined locally by the one or more local controllers, wherein automatically activating the modified parameter set comprises rapidly re-parameterizing one or more parameters of the one or more of the inverter-based resources for a duration of and for a time period after the disturbance so as to transition the network of inverter-based resources from a pre-disturbance stable state to a post-disturbance stable state.

15 . The system of claim 14 , wherein determining the modified parameter set for one or more of the inverter-based resources using the regularly-updated system-level analyses further comprises:

setting a virtual reactance for one or more of the inverter-based resources to a value determined by a maximum continuous current rating of one or more of the inverter-based resources in consideration of one or more most stringent ride-through requirements;

setting a modified active power setpoint for one or more of the inverter-based resources to a value equal to a lowest of one of the following: an active power capability of one or more of the inverter-based resources, an estimated maximum active power that can possibly be transmitted through the virtual reactance selected for one of the one or more of the inverter-based resources in a post-disturbance scenario, or a desired value of an active power injection during and immediately following the disturbance;

setting at least one of a modified virtual inertia or a power measurement filter time constant for one or more of the inverter-based resources to a value determined by an amount of energy storage available to one or more of the inverter-based resources; and

decreasing a modified virtual damping for one or more of the inverter-based resources by a substantial factor relative to a nominal virtual damping value to make the modified virtual damping negligible in comparison to the modified virtual inertia.

16 . The system of claim 15 , wherein determining the modified parameter set for one or more of the inverter-based resources using the regularly-updated system-level analyses further comprises:

identifying a set of contingency events and post-event scenarios;

generating a system-wide energy function for each of the post-event scenarios;

determining a critical system energy for one or more of the post-event scenarios, the critical system energy being a maximum permitted post-event potential energy of the network;

for each post-event scenario associated with a given contingency event, determining whether the critical system energy is exceeded, thereby indicating loss of synchronism, at a start of a clearing time, for any of the contingency events;

at the clearing time, using a final set of angles of one or more of the inverter-based resources to calculate a total system energy of the network after the disturbance has cleared;

determining whether the critical system energy is exceeded by the total system energy;

if the critical system energy is exceeded by the total system energy in the network after the disturbance has cleared, incrementally reducing an absolute value of the modified active power setpoint for one or more of the inverter-based resources until the critical system energy is no longer exceeded by the total system energy, and if the critical system energy is not exceeded by the total system energy but an energy reserve of any of the inverter-based resources is exceeded during the disturbance, incrementally reducing the modified virtual inertia or the modified virtual damping of that inverter-based resource; and

determining the modified parameter set for one or more of the inverter-based resources once all contingency events have been evaluated for each post-event scenario and the critical system energy and energy limits have not been exceeded for any of the contingency events and post event scenario.

17 . The system of claim 16 , wherein the system-wide energy function comprises a kinetic energy (KE) function summed with a potential energy (PE) function.

18 . The system of claim 17 , wherein determining the critical system energy for one or more of the post-event scenarios further comprises:

determining a controlling unstable equilibrium point (CUEP); and

determining a potential energy at the CUEP using the PE function to determine the critical system energy for one or more of the post-event scenarios.

19 . The system of claim 18 , wherein determining the CUEP further comprises:

computing numerical integration of grid event dynamics until a ridgeline of a PE surface defined by the PE function is crossed;

tracing a gradient of the PE function along the ridgeline of the PE surface to determine an acceptable initial starting point for a homotopy method; and

applying the homotopy method to locate the CUEP.

20 . The system of claim 14 , further comprising:

monitoring, via the system-level overload ride-through module, one or more grid conditions to determine when it is safe for the one or more inverter-based resources to deactivate the modified parameter set; and

upon determining it is safe for the one or more inverter-based resources to deactivate the modified parameter set, sending, via the system-level overload ride-through module, a reset signal to the one or more inverter-based resources to deactivate the modified parameter set and return to nominal operating parameters.

Assignments (3)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (61)