IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jchals/v16y2025i1p12-d1587989.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A Review of System Strength and Inertia in Renewable-Energy-Dominated Grids: Challenges, Sustainability, and Solutions

Author

Listed:
  • Paul Moore

    (Department of Electrical Engineering, Engineering Institute of Technology, West Perth, WA 6005, Australia)

  • Oyeniyi Akeem Alimi

    (Department of Information Systems, Durban University of Technology, Greyville, Durban 4001, South Africa)

  • Ahmed Abu-Siada

    (Electrical Engineering Discipline, School of Electrical Engineering, Computing and Mathematical Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, Perth, WA 6102, Australia)

Abstract

The global shift towards renewable energy sources (RESs) presents significant challenges to power grid stability, particularly in grids with a high penetration of inverter-based resources (IBRs). The shift to RESs is critical to improve planetary health; however, grids must remain reliable and affordable throughout the transition to ensure economies can thrive and critical infrastructure remains secure. Towards that goal, this review introduces the issues of declining system strength and inertia in such grids, illustrated by case studies of curtailment measures employed by system operators in the deregulated electricity markets of Australia, Ireland, and Texas. In these high-IBR markets, curtailment has become essential to maintain system security. This paper presents the current mitigation strategies used by system operators and discusses their limitations. In addition, the paper presents a comprehensive review and analysis of current research on system strength and inertia estimation techniques, grid modelling approaches, and advanced inverter control, with a particular focus on virtual inertia. Future research directions and recommendations are outlined based on the identified gaps. These recommendations are intended to minimise system operator intervention and RES curtailment while maintaining reliable and affordable grid operation. The insights presented in this paper provide a framework to guide system operators, researchers, and policymakers toward enhancing grid stability while targeting 100% RES.

Suggested Citation

  • Paul Moore & Oyeniyi Akeem Alimi & Ahmed Abu-Siada, 2025. "A Review of System Strength and Inertia in Renewable-Energy-Dominated Grids: Challenges, Sustainability, and Solutions," Challenges, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-30, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jchals:v:16:y:2025:i:1:p:12-:d:1587989
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2078-1547/16/1/12/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2078-1547/16/1/12/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Joel Gilmore & Tahlia Nolan & Paul Simshauser, 2022. "The Levelised Cost of Frequency Control Ancillary Services in Australia’s National Electricity Market," Working Papers EPRG2202, Energy Policy Research Group, Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge.
    2. Wanli Yang & Chunming Tu & Fan Xiao & Jiaqi Yu, 2024. "A Method to Improve Both Frequency Stability and Transient Stability of Virtual Synchronous Generators during Grid Faults," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-21, February.
    3. Xuhong Yang & Hui Li & Wei Jia & Zhongxin Liu & Yu Pan & Fengwei Qian, 2022. "Adaptive Virtual Synchronous Generator Based on Model Predictive Control with Improved Frequency Stability," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-13, November.
    4. Aleksey Suvorov & Alisher Askarov & Nikolay Ruban & Vladimir Rudnik & Pavel Radko & Andrey Achitaev & Konstantin Suslov, 2023. "An Adaptive Inertia and Damping Control Strategy Based on Enhanced Virtual Synchronous Generator Model," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 11(18), pages 1-29, September.
    5. Audrey Moulichon & Mazen Alamir & Vincent Debusschere & Lauric Garbuio & Nouredine Hadjsaid, 2023. "Polymorphic Virtual Synchronous Generator: An Advanced Controller for Smart Inverters," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(20), pages 1-14, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Psarros, Georgios N. & Papathanassiou, Stavros A., 2023. "Generation scheduling in island systems with variable renewable energy sources: A literature review," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 1105-1124.
    2. Alisher Askarov & Vladimir Rudnik & Nikolay Ruban & Pavel Radko & Pavel Ilyushin & Aleksey Suvorov, 2024. "Enhanced Virtual Synchronous Generator with Angular Frequency Deviation Feedforward and Energy Recovery Control for Energy Storage System," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-26, August.
    3. Wenwen He & Jun Yao & Hao Xu & Qinmin Zhong & Ruilin Xu & Yuming Liu & Xiaoju Li, 2024. "Transient Synchronous Stability Analysis of Grid-Forming Photovoltaic Grid-Connected Inverters during Asymmetrical Grid Faults," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(6), pages 1-19, March.
    4. Rangarajan, Arvind & Foley, Sean & Trück, Stefan, 2023. "Assessing the impact of battery storage on Australian electricity markets," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    5. Ji, Feng & Xu, Z., 2024. "Increased LVRT capability for VSG-based grid-tied converters," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 369(C).
    6. Aleksey Suvorov & Alisher Askarov & Nikolay Ruban & Vladimir Rudnik & Pavel Radko & Andrey Achitaev & Konstantin Suslov, 2023. "An Adaptive Inertia and Damping Control Strategy Based on Enhanced Virtual Synchronous Generator Model," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 11(18), pages 1-29, September.
    7. Genzhu Wu & Weilin Zhong & Muyang Liu & Xiqiang Chang & Xianlong Shao & Ruo Mo, 2024. "Online Evaluation for the POI-Level Inertial Support to the Grid via Ambient Measurements," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(20), pages 1-17, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jchals:v:16:y:2025:i:1:p:12-:d:1587989. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.