Cristóbal Esser

Contact

cesser@student.unimelb.edu.au

Melbourne Connect, Building 290, Level 1

Thesis title

Operation and planning of electricity grids with inverter-based resources

Research overview

Due to the urgency of reducing carbon footprints amid global warming, many countries are promoting unconventional renewable energy sources for power generation. As a result, power systems are undergoing an energy transition characterized by a growing penetration of inverter-based resources (IBR), including photovoltaic solar, wind, and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), which typically operate in grid-following (GFL) mode. While the integration of GFL-IBRs has numerous benefits, their widespread adoption poses stability and control challenges due to the displacement of conventional synchronous generators (SGs). SGs provide system strength, and their replacement with GFL-IBRs can lead to weak areas in power systems, increasing vulnerability to stability issues. This PhD research aims to develop optimization models to enhance decision-making in power system operation and planning with deep IBR-penetration.

Supervisor

Prof. Pierluigi Mancarella

Discipline

Power Systems

Qualifications

BSc  in Electrical Engineering, University of Chile

MSC in Electrical Engineering, University of Chile