Abstract
The controllers of wind parks that are connected to weak grids can induce unstable oscillations near the fundamental frequency. Such phenomenon can be studied with equivalent impedances of the wind generators, which depend on their operational setpoints at the fundamental frequency. The feasibility of such setpoint, i.e., solution to the power flow, does not depend on the control parameters. However, oscillations from unfeasible setpoints and control instabilities both occur at weak grids and near the fundamental frequency. This letter presents an exploratory study to map the conditions where both phenomena occur, using sensitivity studies comprising multiple setpoints and control parameter tunings. The results are visually presented as the regions which inform the configurations leading to unfeasible setpoints, and unstable control interaction scenarios. Amongst the results, it can be observed that the trajectory of the eigenvalues in the Nyquist plots towards an unfeasible setpoint approaches a fundamental frequency instability.
TRADITIONAL bulk synchronous power plants such as thermal and hydro plants are being replaced gradually by dispersed inverter-based generators such as wind and solar generators [
In response, [
When connected to weak grids, i.e., with a low short-circuit ratio (SCR) (, which is relative to rated generator capacity) [
As mentioned in [
So, before analyzing the stability, it is first necessary to ensure that the operational setpoint is feasible. A setpoint is classified as feasible if the system reaches a constrained numerical solution at the steady state, i.e., if the power flow at fundamental frequency can be solved within preset operational limits. Setpoints with high active power injection and low terminal voltage, which are more likely to occur at weak grids, can be unfeasible. Thus, the setpoint feasibility and stability of control interactions with power grid can be easily mixed up as they both occur near the fundamental frequency at weak grids, but are conceptually different.
This letter presents a series of charts illustrating the results of a sensitivity study, which show separate regions where unfeasibility and instability occur. Several active power and terminal voltage setpoints are presented with different grid strengths for a range of control parameters associated with unstable oscillations near the fundamental frequency [
The insights derived from this letter can serve as a basis for system operators during planning phase to map the two phenomena when performing power transfer capability studies to determine the stability margins in case of contingencies leading to weaker grids. It can also be used in post-event analysis to diagnose the true cause of oscillations.
Finally, it is important to clarify that this letter studies “weak grid oscillations” defined in [

Fig. 1 Example of unfeasible and unstable regions of PLL integral gain. (a) Vt = 0.8 p.u.. (b) Vt = 1.0 p.u..
To build the regions, a power flow at fundamental frequency is run first at every setpoint [
It is not the intention of this letter to draw the regions analytically. The regions are used as a support tool to show the conditions under which each phenomenon occurs, in a qualitative fashion. However, the regions can be built numerically using power flow software for the unfeasible regions and impedance-based equivalents for the unstable regions.
The test system used in this letter is shown in

Fig. 2 Simplified WP circuit for sensitivity study.
In
The power flow at the fundamental frequency is run for each SCR and to calculate the reactive power setpoint for a given terminal voltage . Feasibility is constraint to the limits of apparent power p.u. and the power flow reaching a solution within 100 iterations. The tested setpoints for the SCR, , and range from 0.5 to 4 in steps of 0.5, from 0.1 p.u. to 1 p.u. in steps of 0.1 p.u., and from 0.8 p.u. to 1 p.u. in steps of 0.1 p.u., respectively.
The suitable Type-III and Type-IV generator models to study weak grid oscillations are given in [

Fig. 3 PLL topology for Type-III and Type-IV generators.

Fig. 4 Internal current control of converters.

Fig. 5 Current reference control of GSC for Type-III generator.

Fig. 6 Current reference control of RSC for Type-III generator.

Fig. 7 Current reference control of GSC for Type-IV generator.
It is important to highlight that this letter aims for a qualitative analysis of the relationship between the setpoint and the control instability, and does not focus on specific control topologies nor tunings, which vary from vendor to vendor.
If the operational setpoint is feasible, the positive- and negative-sequence impedance matrices of the generator can be calculated from the frequency response of its terminal current to the terminal voltage disturbances at frequency .

Fig. 8 Sequence impedance profiles near fundamental frequency. (a) Type-III generator. (b) Type-IV generator.
The base values for parameters of the Type-III and Type-IV generators tested in the sensitivity study are shown in
These control gains are chosen for this letter as they interact with the fundamental frequency signals as well as the operational setpoint (active/reactive power and terminal voltage) [
The multiplier array for the PLL gains is set to be [0.1, 1, 10, 100, 200] in order to match the gains evaluated in [
The intention of using large variation intervals of the gains is to explore the possibility of control instabilities at weak grids with poorly tuned controllers, given that the original control tuning in
The stability of converter-based systems can be studied with the Nyquist criterion [
(1) |
where the subscripts WP and sc represent WP and power grid, respectively.
The sequence impedance matrices and are calculated at the PCCs of the WP and the power grid, respectively. The generalized Nyquist criterion dictates that if the eigenvalues of the matrix product encircle in the complex plane, the system is unstable. An example shown in

Fig. 9 Unstable oscillation of Type-III WP after change in active power. (a) Nyquist plot (eigenvalues). (b) EMT simulation results (current at PCC).
The power flow is feasible, and when the output power is reduced to p.u., the impedance-based Nyquist criterion dictates that unstable oscillations are expected at Hz. The electromagnetic transient (EMT) simulation results in
The most relevant results of this letter are summarized as follows. The stability of generators near the fundamental frequency is most sensitive to PLL gains, active power control, and current control, because they lead to the largest regions.
The unfeasible and unstable regions from the sensitivity study of the PLL gains are shown in

Fig. 10 Unfeasible and unstable regions from sensitivity study of PLL gains. (a) KpPLL (Type-III WP). (b) KpPLL (Type-IV WP). (c) KiPLL (Type-III WP). (d) KiPLL (Type-IV WP).
The larger unstable regions are reached for the lower proportional gains and the larger integral gains, which are associated to a large bandwidth (BW) with low damping, as confirmed by the PLL tuning scenarios in

Fig. 11 PLL performance for different tunings. (a) Frequency response. (b) Response to step p.u..
The PLL is more susceptible to instability if the generator is operated at low-voltage setpoints. However, if properly tuned, it provides a large stability margin even under large variations of the tunings of other controllers.
The unfeasible and unstable regions from the sensitivity study of the active power control loop are shown in

Fig. 12 Unfeasible and unstable regions from sensitivity study of active power control loop. (a) KpP. (b) KiP.
The unfeasible and unstable regions from the sensitivity study of the DC bus voltage control loop are shown in

Fig. 13 Unfeasible and unstable regions from sensitivity study of DC bus voltage control loop. (a) Kpdc. (b) Kidc.
The unfeasible and unstable regions from the sensitivity study of the current control loop of GSC are shown in

Fig. 14 Unfeasible and unstable regions from sensitivity study of current control loop of GSC. (a) KpGSC (Type-III WP). (b) KpGSC (Type-IV WP). (c) KiGSC (Type-III WP). (d) KiGSC (Type-IV WP).
1) Influence of Setpoint Variables
Generator impedances and the system stability are functions of the setpoint and grid strength. Studies in the literature tend to isolate one variable at the time [
This can be visualized through the irregular shape of the colored regions along the axes for fixed control gain values, and how these regions change for different values of terminal voltage.
2) Higher Risk Control Gains
Higher risk control gains are more likely to result in instability, as observed by the growing tendency of the regions.
However, inadequate control tunings (see the case of ) at weak grid can also result in unstable oscillations. Most works in the literature leading to instabilities near the fundamental frequency use PLLs with very large gains, thus, resulting in large bandwidths [
The active and reactive power control gains do not lead to unstable regions in the Type-IV WP. This occurs because the Type-IV WP power control is located in the machine-side converter, which is decoupled by the action of the DC bus voltage from the power grid dynamics.
The gains of the controller for DC bus voltage do not lead to significant regions in either of the WPs, and different values of the DC capacitor do not lead to instability regions. This is because the original PLL gains have a good stability margin. If they are poorly tuned with large BW, such gains may have a greater effect on the stability of weak grid oscillations.
3) Higher Risk Setpoints
As expected, most problems appear at low SCR and high Pt, i.e., unfeasible setpoints occur for and p.u.. The generators at lower-voltage setpoints are more susceptible to instability as the controller has greater difficulty in remaining synchronous with the grid while providing the required active power of the setpoint. Such condition is analog to a weaker grid. Moreover, the risk for unstable oscillations is higher when the generators absorb reactive power due to the change in the impedance profile, which depends on the setpoint.
4) Distinction Between Regions
In order to test for instability, the setpoint feasibility has to be confirmed first. As expected, the region of unfeasible setpoints is located with the largest power injections and at weaker grids. This occurs for both the Type-III and Type-IV WPs. Additionally, it increases in size for the lower values of terminal voltage. Moreover, the regions of instability may appear at any place of the chart, but also tend to increase their size with the lower terminal voltages.
5) Type-III WP v.s. Type-IV WP
Type-III WPs appear to be more susceptible to the instability than Type-IV WPs, when evaluated under the same control and setpoint conditions. This can be explained by the better decoupling of the Type-IV WPs via the DC bus, which isolates the active power control stage and rotating machine from the power grid.
6) Risk Associated to Wind Conditions
As expected, the higher power injections are more likely to lead to setpoint unfeasibility at weak grids. The high wind condition has been described as a key factor for instability in [
From the previous charts, a numerical risk index can be derived as the ratio of the area corresponding to the phenomenon to the total area of the chart. For example,
The risk indices corresponding to
An interesting outtake can be observed is that by using the Nyquist plot, unfeasible setpoints can be appreciated as instabilities at the fundamental frequency. The Nyquist plots of

Fig. 15 Relationship between unfeasible setpoint and instability at fundamental frequency for Type-III WP (, p.u.). (a) p.u. (stable). (b) p.u. (unstable).
This result is validated with EMT simulation by increasing the active power output of the generator in sequential steps of p.u., starting at p.u. until reaching the unfeasible setpoint at p.u.. The current magnitude at the PCC of WP is shown in

Fig. 16 Unstable oscillation at fundamental frequency for Type-III WP after entering unfeasible setpoint of Pt =0.95 p.u..
Oscillations resulting from unfeasible setpoints and control instability of WP controllers both occur near the fundamental frequency and at weak grid. However, these are different phenomena. The control instability can be studied with impedance models, but they depend on the operational setpoint. To map the conditions for each phenomenon, i.e., the circuit configurations leading to instability or unfeasibility, this letter presents a sensitivity analysis comparing Type-III and Type-IV generators at multiple setpoints and control tunings, and the results are presented as charts separating unfeasible and unstable regions of setpoint.
The results demonstrate that weak grids, low terminal voltages, high active power injections, and poorly-tuned PLLs increase the risk of instability. In addition, Type-III generators are just as vulnerable as or even more vulnerable than Type-IV generators, as the latter have a better electric decoupling from the the controllers and the rotating machine through the DC bus of the converter, which reduces their influence on the impedance profile of the generator.
As an interesting result, it is also noted that the trajectory of the eigenvalues in the Nyquist plot that lead to unfeasible setpoints approaches a fundamental frequency instability.
References
IEA. (2019, May). Status of power system transformation 2019. [Online]. Available: https://www.iea.org/reports/status-of-power-system-transformation-2019 [Baidu Scholar]
NERC. (2017, Dec.). Integrating inverter-based resources into low short circuit strength systems. [Online]. Available: https://www.nerc.com/comm/PC_Reliability_Guidelines_DL /Item_4a._Integrating%20_Inverter-Based_Resources_into_Low_Short_ Circuit_Strength_Systems_-_2017-11-08-FINAL.pdf [Baidu Scholar]
IEEE. (2020, May). PES-TR77 stability definitions and characterization of dynamic behaviour in systems with high penetration of power electronic interfaced technologies. [Online]. Available: https://resourcecenter.ieee-pes.org/publications/technical-reports/PES_TP_TR77_PSDP_STABILITY_051320.html [Baidu Scholar]
IEEE. (2020, Jul.). PES-TR80 wind energy systems sub-synchronous oscillations: events and modeling. [Online]. Available: https://resource- center.ieee-pes.org/publications/technical-reports/PES_TP_TR80_AMPSWSSO_070920.html [Baidu Scholar]
X. Xie, Y. Zhan, J. Shair et al., “Identifying the source of subsynchronous control interaction via wide-area monitoring of sub/super-synchronous power flows,” IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, vol. 35, no. 5, pp. 2177-2185, Oct. 2020. [Baidu Scholar]
J. Liu, W. Yao, J. Wen et al., “Impact of power grid strength and PLL parameters on stability of grid-connected DFIG wind farm,” IEEE Transactions on Sustainable Energy, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 545-557, Jan. 2020. [Baidu Scholar]
V. Swdien, X. Wang, J. Rueda et al., “Critical review of mitigation solutions for SSO in modern transmission grids,” Energies, vol. 13, pp. 1-21, Jul. 2020. [Baidu Scholar]
L. Fan and Z. Miao, “Wind in weak grids: 4 Hz or 30 Hz oscillations?” IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, vol. 33, no. 5, pp. 5803-5804, Sept. 2019. [Baidu Scholar]
H. Liu, X. Xie, J. He et al., “Subsynchronous interaction between direct-drive PMSG based wind farms and weak AC networks,” IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, vol. 32, no. 6, pp. 4708-4720, Nov. 2017. [Baidu Scholar]
W. Du, Y. Wang, H. Wang et al., “Analytical examination on the amplifying effect of weak grid connection for the DFIGs to induce torsional sub-synchronous oscillations,” IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, vol. 35, no. 4, pp. 1928-1938, Aug. 2020. [Baidu Scholar]
A. Argüello, “Simplified analytic procedure to calculate the electric variables at steady state of Type-III and Type-IV wind generators,” in Proceedings of 2020 IEEE PES Transmission & Distribution Conference – Latin America (T&D LA), Montevideo, Uruguay, Sept. 2020, pp. 1-5. [Baidu Scholar]
J. Sun, “Impedance-based stability criterion for grid-connected inverters,” IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, vol. 26, no. 11, pp. 3075-3078, Nov. 2011. [Baidu Scholar]
I. Vieto and J. Sun, “Sequence impedance modeling and analysis of Type-III wind turbines,” IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion, vol. 33, no. 2, pp. 537-545, Jun. 2018. [Baidu Scholar]