English

Asynchronous Grid Connections Providing Fast-Frequency Response: System Integration Study

Systems and Control 2026-01-22 v2 Systems and Control

Abstract

This paper presents an integration study for a power electronic-based fast-frequency response technology, an asynchronous grid connection operating as an aggregator for behindthe-meter resources and distributed generators. Both technical feasibility and techno-economic viability studies are presented. The dynamic performance of the fast-frequency response enabled by the asynchronous grid connection is validated with Power Hardware-in-the-Loop experiments and transferred to an IEEE 9-bus system in DigSilent PowerFactory for dynamic stability analysis. We demonstrate that droop-based control enhancements to the local distributed generators could allow their aggregation to provide grid-supporting functionalities and participate in the market for ancillary services. To this end, we performed a long-term simulation embedding the system within the ancillary service market framework of PJM. The fast-frequency response regulation is subsequently used to calculate the potential revenue and project the results on a 15-year investment horizon. Finally, the techno-economic analysis concludes with recommendations for enhancements to access the full potential of distributed generators on a technical and regulatory level.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2507.23571,
  title  = {Asynchronous Grid Connections Providing Fast-Frequency Response: System Integration Study},
  author = {Felix Wald and Amir Sajadi and Barry Mather and Giovanni De Carne},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2507.23571},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

to be published in IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery

R2 v1 2026-07-01T04:27:53.468Z