Distributed control of a virtual storage plant for frequency restoration services: An experimental validation

This paper presents the results, insights and challenges of a small-scale laboratory implementation of a virtual storage plant (VSP) and the distributed control of its portfolio for frequency restoration services. The proposed framework has been experimentally validated using a controller-hardware-in-the-loop setup consisting of 5 battery storage systems, a hydraulic turbine-generator and a real-time digital simulator. The results show that the performance of the VSP whose assets are controlled by the proposed framework is compliant with the grid code requirements regarding manual and automatic frequency restoration service. Furthermore, this paper reveals novel insight into the practical implementation challenges of consensus-based distributed control due to time delays and communication synchronization.