Are “grid-forming” inverters the key to stabilizing renewable-heavy grids? Researchers think yes thanks to a test case in Hawaii. (PV Magazine)
For context: When an oil-fired generator tripped on Kaua’i in 2021, the grid suffered dangerous frequency oscillations because the island’s solar + storage plants used older “grid-following” inverters.
After upgrading to grid-forming controls—which provide “synthetic inertia” to hold frequency and voltage constant—at solar + storage plants, a similar generator trip in 2023 caused zero instability.