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Design of Grid Forming Multi Timescale Coordinated Control Strategies for Dynamic Virtual Power Plants

Yan Tong, Qin Wang, Sihao Chen, Xue Hu, Zhaoyuan Wu

Abstract

As the penetration level of distributed energy resources (DERs) continues to rise, traditional frequency and voltage support from synchronous machines declines. This weakens grid stability and increases the need for fast and adaptive control in a dynamic manner, especially in weak grids. However, most virtual power plants (VPPs) rely on static aggregation and plan based resource allocation strategies. These methods overlook differences in device response times and limit flexibility for ancillary services. To address this issue, we propose a dynamic virtual power plant (DVPP) that coordinates heterogeneous resources across multiple time scales using grid forming control. We first contrast grid following and grid forming converters: grid following designs rely on a phase locked loop which can undermine stability in weak grids, whereas our DVPP applies virtual synchronous generator control at the aggregate level to provide effective inertia and damping. Then, we introduce a dynamic participation factor framework that measures each device s contribution through the frequency active power and voltage reactive power loops. Exploiting device heterogeneity, we adopt a banded allocation strategy: slow resources manage steady state and low frequency regulation; intermediate resources smooth transitions; and fast resources deliver rapid response and high frequency damping. Comparative simulations demonstrate that this coordinated, timescale aware approach enhances stability and ancillary service performance compared to conventional VPPs.

Design of Grid Forming Multi Timescale Coordinated Control Strategies for Dynamic Virtual Power Plants

Abstract

As the penetration level of distributed energy resources (DERs) continues to rise, traditional frequency and voltage support from synchronous machines declines. This weakens grid stability and increases the need for fast and adaptive control in a dynamic manner, especially in weak grids. However, most virtual power plants (VPPs) rely on static aggregation and plan based resource allocation strategies. These methods overlook differences in device response times and limit flexibility for ancillary services. To address this issue, we propose a dynamic virtual power plant (DVPP) that coordinates heterogeneous resources across multiple time scales using grid forming control. We first contrast grid following and grid forming converters: grid following designs rely on a phase locked loop which can undermine stability in weak grids, whereas our DVPP applies virtual synchronous generator control at the aggregate level to provide effective inertia and damping. Then, we introduce a dynamic participation factor framework that measures each device s contribution through the frequency active power and voltage reactive power loops. Exploiting device heterogeneity, we adopt a banded allocation strategy: slow resources manage steady state and low frequency regulation; intermediate resources smooth transitions; and fast resources deliver rapid response and high frequency damping. Comparative simulations demonstrate that this coordinated, timescale aware approach enhances stability and ancillary service performance compared to conventional VPPs.
Paper Structure (9 sections, 14 equations, 5 figures, 3 tables)

This paper contains 9 sections, 14 equations, 5 figures, 3 tables.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. GFM Control Design for DVPP
  3. GFL and GFM
  4. Virtual Synchronous Generator
  5. Design of DVPP Output Coordination Methods
  6. Definition of the DVPP Dynamic Participation Factor
  7. Design of the DVPP Dynamic Participation Factor
  8. Experimental Simulation and Parameter Design
  9. Conclusion

Figures (5)

  • Figure 1: Inverters and their control structures. (a) Grid-forming inverter. (b) Grid-following inverter.
  • Figure 2: IEEE nine-bus system
  • Figure 3: Experiment I results: (a) Frequency variations of the three SG units; (b) Active-power deviations of the three SG units; (c) Reactive-power deviations of the three SG units.
  • Figure 4: Experiment II results: (a) Active-power deviations of the three units; (b) Active-power deviations within DVPP1; (c) Frequency variations within DVPP1.
  • Figure 5: Experiment III results: (a) Frequency variations of the three devices within DVPP2; (b) Active-power deviations within DVPP2; (c) Reactive-power deviations within DVPP2.