Embedded Implementation of an Algorithm for Online Inertia Estimation in Power Grids

The energy transition is an issue of major importance worldwide and entails the gradual replacement of fossil fuels technologies with renewable energy sources (RES) for electric power production. However, integrating photovoltaic and wind power plants in traditional power grids threatens the stability of the system if no additional synthetic inertia is provided by control systems. Due to the intermittent nature of RES, the inertia of the power plants and of the entire grid is time-varying, calling the need for online monitoring methods. In this paper, we implement on a microcontroller an algorithm for online estimation of the inertia constant and damping coefficient of individual energy sources. The behavior of this embedded implementation is analyzed with respect to some key parameters and tested on the IEEE 14-bus power system.