Network-Independent Incremental Passivity Conditions for Grid-Forming Inverter Control

Abstract: Grid-forming inverters control the power transfer between the AC and DC sides of an electrical grid while maintaining the frequency and voltage of the AC side. This paper focuses on ensuring large-signal stability of an electrical grid with inverter-interfaced renewable sources. We prove that the Hybrid-Angle Control (HAC) scheme for grid-forming inverters can exhibit incremental passivity properties between current and voltage at both the AC and DC ports. This incremental passivity can be certified through decentralized conditions. Inverters operating under HAC can, therefore, be connected to other passive elements (e.g. transmission lines) with an immediate guarantee of global transient stability regardless of the network topology or parameters. Passivity of Hybrid Angle Control is also preserved under small-signal (linearized) analyses, in contrast to conventional proportional droop laws that are passivity-short at low frequencies. Passivity and interconnected-stability properties are demonstrated through an example case study.