An application of four‐wire grid‐forming power inverter in unbalanced distribution network

Abstract

Abstract The modelling of a three‐phase four‐leg four‐wire grid‐forming inverter in a low voltage distribution system 18‐bus European Cigré under unbalanced conditions in an autonomous distribution network is presented. The case study has two types of inverters control strategy: (i) grid‐forming to supply all the system demand in the interval of the intentional supply interruption and (ii) grid‐following to integrate photovoltaic renewable energy resources into power systems. The model suggests a control scheme with two loops: An inner current loop with a proportional‐integral controller and an outer voltage loop with a proportional controller, both in the synchronous reference frame (dq0), in which dq‐axis are decomposed in positive and negative sequences. Simulation results, carried out using the PSCAD software, showed the effectiveness of the suggested control strategy with smooth synchronization where the grid‐forming inverter was able to form a network with an unbalanced degree lower than 2%, sinusoidal voltage and frequency within standard limits 49.5–50.5 Hz.