Addressing the Emerging Low-Inertia Challenge for Future Renewable Energy-Rich Power Grids

ABSTRACT

To ensure the power system operates in a reliable and efficient manner, day-ahead scheduling is performed daily by solving a security-constrained unit commitment (SCUC) problem. Maintaining system frequency within acceptable limits is critical for power system stability. However, with increasing penetration of variable renewable energy like wind and solar power in the electrical grids, the number of conventional synchronous generators that are committed on will be much less than before. This results in a significant reduction in system synchronous inertia, which would negatively affect system frequency stability. This makes it necessary to enforce inertia requirements in SCUC for future renewable energy-dominated low-inertia power grids.

BIOGRAPHY

Dr. Xingpeng Li is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Houston (UH). He previously worked for ISO New England and PJM Interconnection. Prior to joining UH in 2018, he was a senior engineer with ABB’s Power Grid division. He received a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Arizona State University in 2017. He received the National Academies Gulf Research Program’s Early-Career Research Fellowship in 2023 and the NSF CAREER award in 2024. His research interests include power system operation, control and planning, active distribution systems, and microgrid sizing and energy management.