Impact of the high share of converter-interfaced generation on electromechanical oscillations in Continental Europe power system

Abstract

This study investigates the effects of converter-interfaced generation integration on the dynamic response of the power system of Continental Europe. The system is analysed with a large-scale dynamic model of the entire synchronous area, considering different instantaneous integration percentages of converter-interfaced generation across the system. The study focuses on the reduction of the overall available kinetic energy and the impact on frequency dynamics and system oscillations. The dynamic model of the system originally provided by ENTSO-E is further developed according to a specific methodology, replacing a determined amount of synchronous generation and introducing a corresponding amount of converter-controlled current sources. The reference incident of a generation loss in Western Europe specified by ENTSO-E is considered in the analysis. The results of time-domain simulations and modal analysis show how the integration of non-synchronous generation affects the frequency dynamics of Western, Central and Eastern Europe, bringing to attention some relevant effects of the spatial distribution of different generation sources within an extensive system as the Continental Europe synchronous area.