Re: Grand Apagon - Electricity (not) in Spain

On 5/1/25 12:04, Martin Brown wrote:

On 01/05/2025 01:36, Chris Jones wrote:

On 30/04/2025 1:07 am, Martin Brown wrote:

The idea that renewable sources make the grid frequency harder to manage sounds like total nonsense.

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It is pretty much accurate. The local feed in for domestic PV track whatever frequency they see on the network. The big problem is that without the large spinning generators and the energy stored in that angular momentum the frequency is able to shift rather too quickly.

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If the specifications for the inverters are written based on sound engineering and simulation of the grid behaviour rather than fear and ideology, it would be quite feasible to alter the algorithm in the PV inverters to help stabilise the grid frequency. For example, you could make it simulate what a spinning generator would do, or very likely something much better.

 I don't disagree that inverters at least on the bigger systems could be made to behave a lot more like a system that has physical inertia.
 I don't think it is viable for home units though since they are made down to a price and the robustness needed to oppose a frequency drift is not insignificant. They would be like a flea trying stop an elephant.

I don't agree here. Since the power injected into the grid by
large installations is regulated by looking at the frequency,
once the grid gets dominated by, say, solar PV power, they'd
better make sure it behaves the same way. Of course, any single
small unit can't have a noticable effect, but collectively,
they can!
Jeroen Belleman