ree&pqj2

 
Stability Analysis of Grid-following Converters in Power Systems Depending on Grid Stiffness

S. Delgado-Sánchez, J. L. Rodríguez-Amenedo and S. Arnaltes

Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Departamento de Ingeniería Eléctrica, Leganés, Madrid (Spain)

ftf

2026-02-15

im5

Abstract

The integration of renewable energy sources inpower systems has become a stability challenge. Their connection is made via power electronics, mostly using a grid-following control scheme. However, it has been proven that this type of control raises instability problems when they are connected to weak grids. This paper focuses on analyzing the stability of grid-following converters when connected to grids with different stiffness using frequency analysis. Firstly, an assessment of the converter’s passivity indicates the frequency range where the grid stability can be compromised. Then, a time-domain simulation shows how the converter responds to a voltage dip in each case. Finally, the frequency-domain impedance on the small-signal model reconfirms the previously obtained results. The conclusions support the theory explained and point possible future applications.

Key words: Grid-following converter, weak grid, stability, passivity, impedance stability analysis.

Published in: Renewable Energies, Environment & Power Quality Journal (REE&PQJ)
ISSUE: Vol. 25. No. 3 Pages: 285-289
E-ISSN: 3020-531 X Date of Current Version: 2026-02-01
REF: 549 Issue Date: 2026-02-15
DOI:10.24084/reepqj25-549 Publisher: AEDERMACP/ EA4EPQ

References

[1] B. Kroposki et al., “Achieving a 100% Renewable Grid: Operating Electric Power Systems with Extremely High Levels of Variable Renewable Energy,” IEEE Power and Energy Magazine, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 61–73, Mar. 2017, doi: 10.1109/MPE.2016.2637122.

[2] F. Milano, F. Dorfler, G. Hug, D. J. Hill, and G. Verbic, “Foundations and Challenges of Low-Inertia Systems (Invited Paper),” in 2018 Power Systems Computation Conference (PSCC), IEEE, Jun. 2018, pp. 1–25. doi: 10.23919/PSCC.2018.8450880.

[3] T. Ackermann, T. Prevost, V. Vittal, A. J. Roscoe, J. Matevosyan, and N. Miller, “Paving the Way: A Future Without Inertia Is Closer Than You Think,” IEEE Power and Energy Magazine, vol. 15, no. 6, pp. 61–69, Nov. 2017, doi: 10.1109/MPE.2017.2729138.

[4] W. Du et al., “Modeling of Grid-Forming and Grid-Following Inverters for Dynamic Simulation of Large-Scale Distribution Systems,” IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, vol. 36, no. 4, pp. 2035–2045, Aug. 2021, doi: 10.1109/TPWRD.2020.3018647.

[5] D. B. Rathnayake et al., “Grid Forming Inverter Modeling, Control, and Applications,” IEEE Access, vol. 9, pp. 114781–114807, 2021, doi: 10.1109/ACCESS.2021.3104617.

[6] J. Rocabert, A. Luna, F. Blaabjerg, and P. Rodríguez, “Control of Power Converters in AC Microgrids,” IEEE Trans Power Electron, vol. 27, no. 11, pp. 4734–4749, Nov. 2012, doi: 10.1109/TPEL.2012.2199334.

[7] D. Pattabiraman, R. H. Lasseter, and T. M. Jahns, “Comparison of Grid Following and Grid Forming Control for a High Inverter Penetration Power System,” in 2018 IEEE Power & Energy Society General Meeting (PESGM), IEEE, Aug. 2018, pp. 1–5. doi: 10.1109/PESGM.2018.8586162.

[8] M. Davari and Y. A.-R. I. Mohamed, “Robust Vector Control of a Very Weak-Grid-Connected Voltage-Source Converter Considering the Phase-Locked Loop Dynamics,” IEEE Trans Power Electron, vol. 32, no. 2, pp. 977–994, Feb. 2017, doi: 10.1109/TPEL.2016.2546341.

[9] Y. Li, Y. Gu, and T. C. Green, “Revisiting Grid-Forming and Grid-Following Inverters: A Duality Theory,” IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, vol. 37, no. 6, pp. 4541–4554, Nov. 2022, doi: 10.1109/TPWRS.2022.3151851.

[10] D. Dong, B. Wen, D. Boroyevich, P. Mattavelli, and Y. Xue, “Analysis of Phase-Locked Loop Low-Frequency Stability in Three-Phase Grid-Connected Power Converters Considering Impedance Interactions,” IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, vol. 62, no. 1, pp. 310–321, Jan. 2015, doi: 10.1109/TIE.2014.2334665.

[11] X. Wang, M. G. Taul, H. Wu, Y. Liao, F. Blaabjerg, and L. Harnefors, “Grid-Synchronization Stability of Converter-Based Resources—An Overview,” IEEE Open Journal of Industry Applications, vol. 1, pp. 115–134, 2020, doi: 10.1109/OJIA.2020.3020392.

[12] J. Z. Zhou, H. Ding, S. Fan, Y. Zhang, and A. M. Gole, “Impact of Short-Circuit Ratio and Phase-Locked-Loop Parameters on the Small-Signal Behavior of a VSC-HVDC Converter,” IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, vol. 29, no. 5, pp. 2287–2296, Oct. 2014, doi: 10.1109/TPWRD.2014.2330518.

[13] J. Sun, “Impedance-Based Stability Criterion for Grid-Connected Inverters,” IEEE Trans Power Electron, vol. 26, no. 11, pp. 3075–3078, Nov. 2011, doi: 10.1109/TPEL.2011.2136439.

[14] L. Harnefors, X. Wang, A. G. Yepes, and F. Blaabjerg, “Passivity-Based Stability Assessment of Grid-Connected VSCs—An Overview,” IEEE J Emerg Sel Top Power Electron, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 116–125, Mar. 2016, doi: 10.1109/JESTPE.2015.2490549.

[15] A. Rygg, M. Molinas, C. Zhang, and X. Cai, “A Modified Sequence-Domain Impedance Definition and Its Equivalence to the dq-Domain Impedance Definition for the Stability Analysis of AC Power Electronic Systems,” IEEE J Emerg Sel Top Power Electron, vol. 4, no. 4, pp. 1383–1396, Dec. 2016, doi: 10.1109/JESTPE.2016.2588733.

[16] A. Rygg and M. Molinas, “Apparent Impedance Analysis: A Small-Signal Method for Stability Analysis of Power Electronic-Based Systems,” IEEE J Emerg Sel Top Power Electron, vol. 5, no. 4, pp. 1474–1486, Dec. 2017, doi: 10.1109/JESTPE.2017.2729596.

 
logos0
 
br

| Main | Articles | Publication-Regulations | Committees | Publication-Ethics | Open-Access | Fees | Background |

REE&PQJ is edited by:

European Association for the Development of Renewable Energies, Environment and Power Quality (EA4EPQ/AEDERMACP)

ICREPQ

Copyright © 2025 EA4EPQ All rights are reserved