Synchronverter: A Comprehensive Review of Modifications, Stability Assessment, Applications and Future Perspectives

The increase in the penetration of renewable energy sources (RES) has reduced the effective inertia of the power system dominated by synchronous machines. The reduction in inertia has paved the way to the development of inertia emulation techniques, which complements the increased penetration of RES. The synchronverter technology is one among the virtual inertia emulation techniques which resembles close to the synchronous machine. The advancements in control and adaptations of synchronverter for various applications demand a comprehensive yet critical review. Thus, the main objective of this paper is to present a critical review of synchronverter technology which could increase the inertial response of RES. A critical analysis of modifications made to original synchronverter and the stability assessment techniques is presented. The effect of parameter variation on stability and dynamic performance is brought out as a decision matrix by analysing the movement of eigenvalues presented in various works. Towards the end, a synoptic overview is presented to depict the research trend and emphasize the domain which requires further attention. Furthermore, a brief discussion of the research gaps perceived during the phase of review is presented to leverage future research in the field.