Leveraging Real-Time EMT Simulation Technology for Accelerating Large-Scale IBR Integration by Dr. Aditya Ashok

#grid #energy #power #system

Abstract: With the ever-increasing interconnection queues across all the major system operators in North America, the need for performing accurate IBR integration studies at-scale is compelling. Further, it is also evident that such studies need to be performed on high-fidelity EMT models with detailed OEM/black-box controllers integrated to obtain accurate behaviors of IBR plants during disturbances. This presentation will provide holistic overview of the entire workflow for IBR integration studies covering OPAL-RT’s unified model database that allows conversion of models from various phasor-domain tools into the EMT-domain, approaches to integrate detailed OEM/black-box controller codes into the EMT simulation, model quality tests to benchmark IBR plant models, as well as a useful scripting/automation framework to perform a range of standard tests for system impact studies including the post-processing of results. Finally, the presentation will show an example video of this workflow that includes model conversion, model quality validation leveraging an automation framework, and a demo of fault simulations on a large-scale EMT benchmark system.

Bio: Dr. Aditya Ashok is the Director of Energy Systems at OPAL-RT Corporation and is responsible for managing their R&D projects in the US as well as for collaborating with various energy sector stakeholders including national labs, universities, vendors, and utilities to pursue new research funding opportunities as well as consulting projects. Prior to joining OPAL-RT Corporation, he was a Senior Research Engineer and a Team leader in the Electricity Infrastructure and Buildings division at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland, WA (Feb. 2016 – Feb. 2023). Aditya received his doctoral degree in Electrical Engineering from Iowa State University in May 2017. His research interests include leveraging high-fidelity, real-time simulation with hardware in the loop to develop, refine, and validate resilient controls and protection algorithms for power electronics-based distributed energy resources in the grid, development of cyber-physical testbeds for smart grid studies, smart grid cybersecurity, and cyber-physical situational awareness to name a few. He is a senior member of IEEE, an active member of IEEE Power System Communications and Cybersecurity Committee (PSCCC) and a reviewer for several top-tier IEEE journals such as the IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid.