Power Oscillations Damping Control using BESS with Real-Time PHIL Co-Simulation Validation

Power oscillations are an actual problem in the operation of power systems, possibly leading to critical situations of system instability, power flow restrictions and equipment damage. In previous works, specific strategies based on controlled active power injection have been studied as a possible solution to increase the damping in the system, and thus mitigate low-frequency oscillations. The paper presents a damping control strategy for a battery energy storage system, based on a wide-area control signal. The fundamental characteristics of the principle are first introduced, and a proof of concept is provided referring to the standard two-area benchmark system. The control strategy is then verified with real-time Power Hardware-in-the-Loop co-simulation tests, implementing a remote interconnection between the real-time facilities of the two laboratories, and applying the proposed control strategy to an actual battery energy storage.