Volume 3 Number 5 October 2020 (475-485)

DOI: 10.14171/j.2096-5117.gei.2020.05.007

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Fast frequency response of inverter-based resources and

its impact on system frequency characteristics
Lining Su1, Xiaohui Qin1, Shang Zhang1, Yantao Zhang1, Yilang Jiang1, Yi Han1
1. China Electric Power Research Institute, Haidian District, Beijing 100192, P.R. China

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Abstract: The inertia response and primary frequency regulation capability of synchronous grids are declining owing to the
increasing penetration of inverter-based resources. The fast frequency response (FFR) of inverter-based resources is an
important mitigation option for maintaining grid security under the conditions of low inertia and insufficient primary frequency
response capability. However, the understanding and technical characteristics of the FFR of inverter-based resources are
still unclear. Aiming at solving the aforementioned problems, this paper proposes a definition for FFR based on the impact
mechanism of FFR on system frequency. The performance requirements of FFR are clarified. Then, the effects of FFR on
system frequency characteristics are further analyzed based on steady-state frequency deviation, the initial rate of change
of frequency, and the maximum transient frequency deviation. Finally, the system requirements for FFR and its application
effects are verified by simulating an actual bulk power grid, providing technical support for subsequent engineering
application.

Keywords: Fast frequency response, Rate of change of frequency, Frequency deviation, ROCOF-based FFR, Deviation-
based FFR.

1 Introduction frequency regulation ability of synchronous grids are

declining [1]-[6]. The frequency nadir of a grid with low
Conventional synchronous generators are being inertia and frequency regulation ability decreases sharply
increasingly replaced by inverter-based resources such during severe frequency disturbances such as generator
as wind turbines, solar photovoltaic batteries, and infeed tripping and polar blocking faults in DC transmission
HVDCs. As a result, the inertia response and primary systems. In addition, involuntary under-frequency load
shedding (UFLS) is more likely to occur in this case [7]-
[10]. Therefore, frequency stability is becoming a major
Received: 8 July 2020/ Accepted: 20 August 2020/ Published: 25 October
challenge owing to the high penetration of inverter-based
2020 resources.
Lining Su Yantao Zhang As power electronics devices have the advantage
[email protected] [email protected] of flexible control, the fast frequency response (FFR)
Xiaohui Qin Yilang Jiang of inverter-based resources during severe frequency
[email protected] [email protected] disturbances is an important mitigation option of frequency
Shang Zhang Yi Han instability for maintaining grid security in the conditions of
[email protected] [email protected] low inertia and insufficient primary frequency response.

2096-5117/© 2020 Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi Communications
Co., Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http: //creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ ).

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Global Energy Interconnection Vol. 3 No. 5 Oct. 2020

In recent years, the FFR of inverter-based resources

2.1 Clear definition of FFR
has been extensively investigated. In certain countries and
regions, rules and standards that consider FFR are being The proposed definition of FFR is as follows:
designed and revised to address upcoming challenges, FFR is the controlled contribution of electrical power
such as the enhanced frequency response in UK [11]-[15], from a generating unit or power plant that rapidly responds
the fast frequency reserve for the European Network of to frequency changes to minimize the torque imbalance of
Transmission System Operators for Electricity [16]-[20], synchronous generators by adding or subtracting the output
and the FFR in Australia [21]-[23], Ireland [24]-[25] and power into a system, thus contributing towards arresting the
Texas [21], [26]. In China, national standards are being frequency change and settling the frequency indirectly.
drafted and revised to regulate the frequency response of This definition focuses on performance requirements
wind farms and energy storage systems. more than technical implementation to achieve the
However, there are no unified definitions of FFR in controlled performance objectives. Based on this
existing literature. FFR appears to have different meanings perspective, various fast control strategies that achieve the
depending on the context. Moreover, the functional performance objective in the definition can be termed as
orientation, performance objectives, and technical FFR. To clarify, synthetic inertia response, which is defined
implementation specifications of FFR are unclear and in consistency with [30], is a subset of FFR.
inconsistent. A few authors consider that FFR refers to The significant characteristics of the proposed definition
inertia emulation (or several alternative terms such as are as follows :
inertia-based response and synthetic inertia), deloading (1) FFR is the controlled contribution of electrical
technology, proportional (droop) response [27]-[29], and power from various sources, unlike PFR, which considers
fast synchronous inertia [30], whereas others exclude the contribution of the mechanical power of synchronous
synthetic inertia from the definition of FFR [19]-[21], generators.
[26], [30]. There is a requirement for a clear definition of (2) The required response time is faster compared
the FFR of inverter-based resources for further study and to PFR. This is particularly critical under low-inertia
application. conditions.
The objective of this study is to propose a clear and (3) Various controlled responses are collected from
widely acceptable definition of FFR and analyze its impact inverter-based resources, such as ROCOF-based FFR
on system frequency characteristics. For this purpose, a responding to the ROCOF, deviation-based FFR responding
definition is proposed based on the impact mechanism of to frequency deviation, and fast power injection triggered by
FFR on frequency. Then, the performance requirements event detection.
of FFR are clarified. Furthermore, the effects of FFR on
2.2 Impact mechanism of FFR of inverter-based
system frequency characteristics are analyzed based on
resources on system frequency
the indicators of steady-state frequency deviation, the
initial rate of change of frequency (ROCOF), and the System frequency is naturally determined by the rotating
maximum transient frequency deviation. Finally, the speed of the synchronous generators connected to a grid.
system requirements for FFR and its application effects Load exceeds generation when a large generating unit in
are verified through the simulation of an actual power the system is abruptly lost. In the case of a synchronous
grid. This research provides a recognizable definition and generator in the system, the electromagnetic torque acting
classification system with clear physical meaning for FFR, on the rotor immediately exceeds mechanical torque,
thus providing a unified foundation for subsequent research thereby reducing the rotating speed of the rotor. Inertia,
and application. which is a significantly inherent physical characteristic of
the rotor, provides synchronous inertial response (SIR) to
2 Proposed definition of FFR and its impact arrest rotating speed decline. When the deviation between
mechanism on system frequency the current and the initial rotating speed exceeds the preset
deadband, the governor automatic control system provides
The FFR of inverter-based resources is defined based on PFR to increase mechanical torque, thereby arresting and
its impact mechanism on system frequency. The distinction restoring the rotating speed of the rotor after a certain
between the FFR of inverter-based resources and primary period. As indicated by the electrical parameters of the
frequency response (PFR) is clarified from the perspective system, the frequency of voltage and current changes with
of the impact mechanism on system frequency. the rotating speed of generators, declining in the first few

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 Lining Su et al. Fast frequency response of inverter-based resources and its impact on system frequency characteristics

seconds and rebounding after the frequency nadir. where Δf is the frequency deviation ( f‒f0) in hertz and Hsys
The impact mechanism of the FFR of inverter-based is the inertia constant of the system in seconds.
resources on system frequency is shown in Fig. 1. The The controlled contribution of the electrical power of
blue and red colors represent the cases in which inverter- inverter-based resources (ΔPe,FFR) is shown in Fig. 1(c).
based resources provide FFR and do not provide FFR, Notably, the control objective of the FFR of inverter-based
respectively. Note that the figure is only a schematic and resources is the electrical power injected into the system
does not show simulation results. The frequency response of to counteract part of the power imbalance of synchronous
load is not considered to simplify the analysis. generators. Hence, ΔPe is equal to the sum of the changes in
external electromagnetic power, as given by
Without the FFR of With the FFR of inverter-
inverter-based resources based resources ∆Pe = ∆Pd + ∆PL − ∆Pe,FFR (2)
f where ΔPd is the electrical power imbalance owing to a
System inertia and the
size of contingency disturbance. ΔPd > 0 for the abrupt loss of sources, and ΔPd < 0
decide the initial ROCOF
for the abrupt loss of load. ΔPL is the change in load in
response to frequency. ΔP e,FFR is the electrical power
provided by the FFR of inverter-based resources.
nadir When ΔPL is neglected, the inversion of the curve in Fig.
t 1(c) is the same as the trend of the red curve in Fig. 1(b).
(a) System frequency
From (1) and (2), FFR and PFR achieve the same effect
∆Pe and ∆Pm of ∆Pe ∆Pm is the mechanical
of reducing the imbalance between the mechanical power
∆Pm
synchronous power delivered by and electrical power acting on the rotors of synchronous
generators governors owing to PFR
generators. FFR contributes indirectly to reduce the
∆Pe is the electrical electrical power on the grid side, whereas PFR contributes
∆Pm power imbalance caused directly to increase the mechanical power on the prime
by contingency.
∆Pe (The load effect is not mover side of the synchronous generator. In other words,
considered here.)
FFR and PFR indirectly and directly affect the electrical
t
(b) Mechanical power and electrical power
power acting on synchronous generators, respectively.
of synchronous generators When the frequency response of load is considered, ΔPe
must be superimposed on ΔPL, as given by
∆Pe of
inverter-based ∆PL = K L ∆f (3)
resources FFR of inverter-based resources
• ROCOF-based FFR responding to where K L is the load frequency response coefficient.
df/dt
• deviation-based FFR responding to Typically, a change of 1% in frequency causes a change of
∆Pe, FFR
∆f
• fast power injection triggered by
1–2% in load power [31]-[32].
event detection Load frequency response slightly reduces the electrical
power acting on the rotors; thus, system frequency response
t improves slightly.
(c) Electrical power of inverter-based resources It should be noted that the functional orientation of FFR
Fig. 1 FFR impact mechanism is to be an alternative or supplement to PFR to help prevent
rapid frequency decline and low-frequency load shedding.
The high ROCOF and frequency nadir improve when Hence, FFR can be designed to be withdrawn after the
FFR is provided, as shown in Fig. 1(a). frequency nadir when PFR is sufficient for restoring
The changes in the electrical power (ΔP e ) and system frequency to the steady-state region. This must
mechanical power (ΔPm) acting on the rotors of synchronous be sufficiently gradual to ensure that frequency does not
generators are shown in Fig. 1(b). If the time and space decrease again.
distribution characteristics of frequency are not considered,
the system is equivalent to a single machine model. Thus, 3 Performance requirements of FFR
system frequency can be obtained according to the rotor
motion equation, as given by. The performance requirements of FFR, such as the
d ∆f response time, characteristics, and maximum response
2 H sys = ∆Pm − ∆Pe (1)
dt capacity, are discussed.

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Global Energy Interconnection Vol. 3 No. 5 Oct. 2020

3.2 Response characteristics and maximum

3.1 Response time of FFR response capability of FFR
The functional orientation of FFR is to contribute Based on the different methods of implementation,
towards arresting the change in frequency before the FFR is categorized into ROCOF-based FFR (synthetic
frequency nadir and settle frequency. The response time of inertia) corresponding to the ROCOF, deviation-based
FFR is critical under low-inertia conditions. FFR corresponding to frequency deviation, and fast power
From the viewpoint of the implementation of FFR, the injection triggered by event detection.
response time tr is the total of the response times of control Unlike the other two types, fast power injection triggered
actions, including measurement time t m, identification by event detection is a preset automatic strategy that is
time ti, signal processing time ts, activation time ta, and full only applicable to specific events. This type of control
response time tf, as expressed in. technology is typically used in high voltage direct current
tr = tm + ti + ts + ta + tf (4) (HVDC) power modulation and the automatic switching of
power sources.
Owing to the fast control advantage of power electronics, The controlled contributions of electrical power
the response time that can be technically achieved is as fast provided by ROCOF-based FFR and deviation-based FFR
as hundreds of milliseconds. The summary of the response are calculated as shown in (5) and (6), respectively.
time is provided in Table 1.
df dt
∆Pinertia = −TJ PN (5)
Table 1 Summary of the response time for inverter-based f0
resources [21], [33]-[34]
∆f (6)
Response time ∆Pf = − K f PN
f0
Inverter-based
Activate
resources Measure&
Signal &
where ΔP inertia and ΔP f are the electrical powers (in
Identify megawatts) provided by ROCOF-based FFR and deviation-
Respond fully
based FFR, respectively, TJ is the equivalent per unit inertia
Wind turbines 0.04–0.1 s 0.02 s 0.04–0.5 s
constant of inverter-based resources due to control actions, f
Solar photovoltaic is the instantaneous frequency in hertz, f0 is the system rated
0.04–0.1 s 0.02 s 0.1–0.2 s
batteries frequency in hertz, Kf is the frequency response coefficient
HVDC systems 0.04–0.1 s 0.02 s 0.05–0.5 s due to control actions, PN is the MVA rating capacity of
inverter-based resources, and Δf is the frequency deviation
Lithium batteries 0.04–0.1 s 0.02 s 0.01–0.02 s (f‒f0) in hertz.
Flow batteries 0.04–0.1 s 0.02 s 0.01–0.02 s The physical characteristics of the inertia of synchronous
machines are to prevent the rotor motion state from
Lead-acid batteries 0.04–0.1 s 0.02 s 0.04 s
changing. This prevents frequency from deviating from
Flywheels (inverters) 0.04–0.1 s 0.02 s 0.004 s the rated frequency and returning to the rated frequency.
According to (5), during the decrease in frequency, where
Δf < 0, df /dt < 0 and ΔPinertia > 0, that is, the inverter-
According to Table 1, the technically achievable
based resources inject more active power into the system,
response time is 0.07–0.62 s. However, the main challenge
thereby playing a positive role in preventing the decrease
is to rapidly and accurately measure frequency or the
in frequency. During the recovery of frequency, where
ROCOF in the transient period when an active power
Δf < 0, df/dt > 0 and ΔPinertia < 0, that is, the inverter-based
shortage contingency occurs. In this case, a longer duration
resources inject less active power into the system, thereby
is required to ensure the accuracy of measurement. A
playing a negative role in restoring frequency.
balance between acting fast and making high fidelity
Taking advantage of the flexible control characteristics
decisions is vital.
of the inverter-based resources, ROCOF-based FFR can be
Considering the aforementioned factors, the inertia level
designed to only operate under the conditions given by
of the actual system, and the coordination of FFR with the
conventional frequency response system, the recommended df
>0 ∆f (7)
response time is less than 0.5–1.5 s. Generally, the response dt
time decreases with system inertia. Thus, ROCOF-based FFR only plays a positive role

478
 Lining Su et al. Fast frequency response of inverter-based resources and its impact on system frequency characteristics

in preventing frequency from deviating from the rated system is given by

frequency. Furthermore, when frequency begins to recover, pinv = Pinv Ssys (8)
the inertia response is invalidated to avoid a negative impact
on the recovery of frequency. where Pinv is the output power of inverter-based resources
An active power reserve is required to ensure that FFR (megawatts) and Ssys is the system load capacity (megawatts).
injects sufficient power into the system. It must be ensured As inverter-based resources are a power substitute for
that the maximum available response capacity is above a synchronous generators, the output power of synchronous
certain level. generators decreases during operation as pinv increases.
The typical parameters of FFR are listed in Table 2. Unlike synchronously connected rotating machines,
inverter-based resources, such as wind turbines with rotating
Table 2 Typical control parameter ranges of FFR rotors, cannot directly affect frequency because the kinetic
energy of the wind turbine is on the DC side and is indirectly
Typical values
released to an AC system via a converter. In doubly fed
Control parameters Wind
Solar Electrochemical induction generators, which have an AC connection to
photovoltaic energy storage a system, physical inertia is negligible compared to the
turbine
batteries station
rotational inertia of synchronous generators.
Equivalent per unit Inertia arrests frequency decline by injecting kinetic
4–12 s 4–12 s 4–12 s
inertia constant TJ
energy from synchronously rotating devices into a system
Frequency response
10–50 10–50 50–200
during a power imbalance. The main contribution to Hsys is
coefficient Kf from synchronously connected rotating generators, as given
Maximum available by (9) [35]-[37]
≥6% ≥6% ≥10%
response capacity
H sys = ∑ H SG
i i
SSG Ssys
4 Impact of FFR on system frequency = ( ∑ SSG
i
Ssys )( ∑ H SG
i i
SSG ∑S ) i
SG
(9)
characteristics
= ( ∑ SSG
i
Ssys ) H SG
The commonly used indicators for measuring system i
frequency stability include the maximum transient frequency where Ssys is the system load capacity (megawatts), H SG
deviation at the nadir (Δfmax), ROCOF, and steady-state is the per unit inertia constant of the i-th synchronously
i
frequency deviation (Δfsteady). Δfmax is an important index, connected rotating generator, SSG is the MVA rating
as the UFLS is triggered by the set value of frequency. capacity of the i-th synchronously connected rotating
The maximum ROCOF should not exceed the maximum H sys = (1 − pinv ) H SG
generator, and is the average per unit inertia constant
withstand capability of power generation units and demand of synchronously connected rotating generators.
to prevent disconnection. Conventionally, SIR and PFR According to (5), system inertia is proportional to the
are two key elements in forming the dynamic frequency total capacity of conventional synchronous generators in the
characteristics of the system. Inertia determines the rate of system. (1 − pinv ) H SG is approximately equal, therefore
H sys =Generally,
frequency decrease, immediately after a disturbance. PFR H sys increases with the number of generators. Typically, the

determines steady-state frequency deviation. SIR and PFR HSG for a conventional synchronous generator is of the order
are involved in dynamic frequency response, and they affect of 3–6 s and varies according to the generation profile.
the frequency nadir. To simplify the analysis, it is assumed that synchronous
Based on the analysis of key system frequency response generators are turned off as pinv increases and there is no
parameters, system frequency characteristics are studied spinning reserve in the system. In this condition, relative
based on the frequency stability indicators. inertia decreases as pinv increases, as given by
H sys = (1 − pinv ) H SG (10)
4.1 Key parameters of system frequency response
The system frequency response coefficient, Ksys, consists
The key parameters of system frequency response of KL and the frequency response coefficient of generators,
include the system inertia constant, H sys, the system K G, in conventional synchronous-generator-dominated
frequency response coefficients, and the time constants of power systems. KG is generally expressed as the inverse of
PFR and FFR. the governor speed regulation droop, R.
The inverter-based resource penetration, pinv, in a power The typical values of the aforementioned parameters

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Global Energy Interconnection Vol. 3 No. 5 Oct. 2020

are shown in Table 3. These values are used to analyze and 0

intuitively display the frequency dynamic characteristics
after large power imbalance disturbances. −0.2

Table 3 Typical values of parameters −0.4

∆fsteady (Hz)
Parameters Typical values
−0.6
H sys = (1 − pinv ) H SG 5s
with deviation-based FFR
KL 1.0 −0.8 without deviation-based FFR

R 0.05
−1
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8
TR 8s Pinv

TJ 10 Fig. 2 Relationship between steady-state frequency deviation

TH 0.5 s and the penetration of inverter-based resources for different
control strategies
Kf 20

Tf 0.5 s
disturbance electrical power, ΔPd*, is assumed as 5%. Under
the condition of deviation-based FFR in Fig. 2, the value of
4.2 Steady-state frequency deviation
pf is set as 1.
The steady-state frequency deviation of the system As Kf is equal to KG, which is the inverse of R, the
is related not to system inertia, but only to the frequency steady-state frequency deviation with FFR remains constant
response coefficients of the system. as the penetration of inverter-based resources increases.
According to static frequency characteristics, the per In contrast, in the absence of the deviation-based FFR of
unit steady-state frequency deviation, Δfsteady*, is obtained inverter-based resources, the absolute value of steady-
from. state frequency deviation increases nonlinearly with
∆Pd* the penetration of inverter-based resources. Therefore,
∆fsteady* = − (11)
1 deviation-based FFR plays an important role in improving
K L + (1 − pinv ) + pinv pf K f
R steady-state frequency, particularly with a high penetration
where pf is the ratio of the rated capacity of the inverter- of inverter-based resources.
based resources that provide deviation-based FFR to the
4.3 Initial ROCOF
total output power of inverter-based resources.
Based on (11), steady-state frequency deviation is The ROCOF is defined as the time derivative of the
determined by KL, R, and the frequency response coefficient, power system frequency (df/dt). It is a measure of the rate of
Kf, of the deviation-based FFR of inverter-based resources. decline of the system frequency.
In the absence of the deviation-based FFR of inverter- As FFR is not an instant response but a control function,
based resources, that is, p f = 0, steady-state frequency it takes time to measure and identify signals. Thus, FFR
deviation is obtained from. cannot affect the initial ROCOF at time 0+. The initial
ROCOF is only determined by system inertia and the
∆Pd* amount of power imbalance, as given by (13).
∆fsteady* = − (12)
1
K L + (1 − pinv ) df* ∆Pd*
R =− (13)
According to (12), steady-state frequency deviation dt 0+ 2 (1 − pinv ) H SG
increases with the penetration of inverter-based resources where * represents the per unit quantity.
in the absence of the deviation-based FFR of inverter-based Therefore, when the penetration of inverter-based
resources. resources is high, the decrease in relative inertia leads to
Fig. 2 shows the trend of steady-state frequency a nonlinear increase in the initial ROCOF in the power
deviation with the penetration of inverter-based resources system, as shown in Fig. 3. The rate of increase in the initial
when a power imbalance disturbance occurs in the ROCOF increases with the penetration of inverter-based
system with the parameters listed in Table 3. The per unit resources.
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 Lining Su et al. Fast frequency response of inverter-based resources and its impact on system frequency characteristics

0 deviation. Among different FFR control strategies, the effect

of deviation-based FFR is better than that of ROCOF-based
−0.5
FFR, and the combined effect of these two strategies is the
best.
Initial ROCOF (Hz/s)

−1
When only the deviation-based FFR control strategy
is adopted, the absolute value of the maximum transient
−1.5
frequency deviation decreases as the penetration of inverter-
based resources increases because of the higher response
−2
speed compared to a system with no penetration of inverter-
based resources. However, when the penetration of inverter-
−2.5
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 based resources is high, the absolute value of the maximum
Pinv
transient frequency deviation increases with the penetration
Fig. 3 Relationship between the initial ROCOF and the of inverter-based resources owing to a higher ROCOF under
penetration of inverter-based resources lower inertia. Therefore, ROCOF-based FFR is considerably
necessary when the penetration of inverter-based resources
4.4 Maximum transient frequency deviation is high.

The maximum transient frequency deviation is obtained

at the frequency nadir, which occurs when the mechanical 5 Simulation case study
power and electrical power acting on the rotor become equal 5.1 System requirements and conditions for FFR
for the first time.
We simulated a bulk receiving end grid with a load
The increase in mechanical power is attributed to the
capacity of 350 GW. The frequency characteristics under
PFR of the governor automatic control system. PFR helps
a severe active power shortage contingency with various
arrest frequency and interacts with inertia to determine the
penetrations of inverter-based resources are compared
frequency nadir. PFR requires about 15-30 s to respond
in Fig. 5. After an ultra HVDC bipolar blocking fault,
fully. In conventional synchronous-generator-dominated
the active power loss of the system is 12 GW, which is
systems, the impact of PFR on the frequency nadir is
approximately 3.4% of the load capacity. As the penetration
stronger than that of system inertia [38]. The decrease in
of inverter-based resources increases, the dynamic
electrical power is primarily caused by load frequency
characteristics of system frequency gradually deteriorate,
response and the FFR of inverter-based resources.
which is indicated by the worse frequency nadir and higher
The relationship between the maximum transient
ROCOF.
frequency deviation and the penetration of inverter-based
resources for different control strategies is shown in Fig. 4.
22% inverter-based resources 27% inverter-based resources
ROCOF-based FFR and deviation-based FFR contribute 32% inverter-based resources 37% inverter-based resources
towards improving the maximum transient frequency 42% inverter-based resources 47% inverter-based resources
52% inverter-based resources

0 0
System frequency deviation (Hz)

−0.2 −0.2

−0.4
−0.4
−0.6
∆fmax (Hz)

−0.6
−0.8

−1 with ROCOF-based FFR and deviation-based FFR −0.8

with only ROCOF-based FFR
−1.2 with only deviation-basede FFR 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
with no FFR Time (s)
−1.4
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9
Fig. 5 Frequency characteristics under the same disturbance
Pinv
and various penetrations of inverter-based resources
Fig. 4 Relationship between the maximum transient
frequency deviation and the penetration of inverter-based The initial ROCOF immediately after the disturbance is
resources for different control strategies the highest, and increases with the penetration of inverter-

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Global Energy Interconnection Vol. 3 No. 5 Oct. 2020

based resources. Then, the ROCOF gradually decreases with no FFR

with only inertia-based FFR
with time owing to the comprehensive effects of frequency
with only deviation-based FFR
on system frequency response. The frequency nadir occurs with inertia-based FFR and deviation-based FFR
when the ROCOF becomes zero initially. The frequency
1
nadir worsens as the penetration of inverter-based resources
increases.
0.98

AC side active power (p.u.)

The figure shows that in the case of a large power
imbalance disturbance in the system, the ROCOF increases
0.96
and the frequency nadir worsens as the penetration of
inverter-based resources increases. This increases the risk
0.94
of UFLS and the disconnection of distributed renewable
energy sources. Therefore, the conventional method of
0.92
relying only on synchronous generators to maintain and
regulate system frequency is insufficient, and the system
requirements for FFR are crucial when the penetration of 0 20 40 60
Time (s)
inverter-based resources is high.
Fig. 7 The output power by the inverter-based resources with
5.2 Application effects of FFR different FFR

In the simulation case, the FFR is required the most

when the penetration of inverter-based resources is the best effect.
52%. ROCOF-based FFR and deviation-based FFR are The output active power on the grid side of the inverter
implemented separately via additional frequency control, is shown in Fig. 7. The power injection provided by
with the parameters provided in Table 2. ROCOF-based FFR reaches the peak in an extremely short
Considering the same disturbance as earlier, the period and then decreases gradually. Deviation-based FFR
frequency characteristics are improved to varying degrees subsequently dominates and continuously injects power into
by different types of FFR, as shown in Fig. 6. the system. The power injected into the system increases
when both types of FFR are used simultaneously.
with no FFR
with only inertia-based FFR
with only deviation-based FFR 6 Conclusions
with inertia-based FFR and deviation-based FFR

The increasing penetration of inverter-based resources

0
makes FFR a profound strategy for frequency security
and stability of the future power systems. A recognizable
Frequency deviation (Hz)

−0.2
definition with clear physical meaning for FFR has been
−0.4
presented to provide a unified foundation for subsequent
research and application. In addition, the performance
−0.6 requirements from the system perspective have been
proposed and verified. The following conclusions are
−0.8 obtained through simulation and comparison.
0 20 40 60
(1) FFR is clearly defined as the controlled contribution
Time (s) of electrical power from a generating unit or power plant
Fig. 6 System frequency deviation for different types of FFR that rapidly responds to changes in frequency to minimize
the torque imbalance of synchronous generators by adding
Fig. 6 shows that ROCOF-based FFR arrests frequency or subtracting the output power into a system, which
decline and improves the frequency nadir but does not contributes towards arresting the change in frequency and
contribute to frequency recovery. Deviation-based FFR settling frequency indirectly.
demonstrates outstanding frequency support by rapidly (2) PFR directly affects the mechanical input power
arresting frequency decline and contributing to the acting on the rotors of synchronous generators because
settlement of frequency. The combination of the two types system frequency is directly determined by the rotating
of FFR forms a collaborative response strategy and provides speed of the synchronous generators connected to a grid.

482
 Lining Su et al. Fast frequency response of inverter-based resources and its impact on system frequency characteristics

In contrast, the FFR of inverter-based resources indirectly Declaration of Competing Interest

affects the electrical output power acting on the rotors of
synchronous generators. FFR and PFR achieve the same We declare that we have no conflict of interest.
effect of minimizing the imbalance between the mechanical
power (torque) and electrical power (torque) acting on the References
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