Overview of Inertia Enhancement Methods in DC System

Abstract

The modern power system is experiencing transformation from the rotational-generation-equipment-dominated system to a power-electronics-converter-dominated system, with the increasing penetration of renewable energy resources such as wind and photovoltaic. The power-electronics-based renewable generation, as well as energy storage system, can lead to the reduction of system inertia. As dc systems such as dc microgrids are attracting more attention, the low-inertia issues will challenge their stability. In this paper, a comprehensive review of inertia-enhancement methods in dc power systems is presented. The concept and significance of the inertia in dc systems is firstly introduced, and then the types of inertia-providing sources in dc systems are discussed. After that, the different virtual inertia control strategies applied in power electronics converters are classified and investigated. These virtual inertia control methods are proven to have a great ability to enhance the inertia of a dc system. The challenges and future research direction are discussed at the end of the article. In this paper, the previous research work on the inertia of dc power systems is summarized in detail, the inertia-enhancement methods of DC systems are comprehensively introduced, and the future research directions are prospected.

Keywords

• renewable energy sources
• dc microgrids
• inertia
• virtual inertia control
• energy storage system