Post #1883137
2023-06-04 10:05 UTC
Increase fuel usage when the frequency is going down, reduce it if it is going up, so you always provide exactly the power needed. This is generally called primary control (or frequency response): an immediate response to demand fluctuations, fast enough to be practically instantaneous. What's more, communicating this throughout the grid by means of frequency allows generators to orchestrate power distribution: All producers see how it changes and can contribute to the best of their abilities.
Replies (1)
-
@sbi@toot.berlin 2023-06-04 10:07
Now let's add a bunch of photo-voltaic (PV) panels with AC inverters to the mix. Those are *variable* power providers: Their output changes according to *supply*, not to *demand*. Supply depends on latitude, time of day/year, cloud cover, and other factors. PV inverters (usually) cannot *create* a grid. Other ("grid-forming") generators need to have done this first. ("Grid-following") PV inverters can then sync to that existing grid, adapting their frequency and phasing to it.