Convex Optimization-Based Control Design for Parallel Grid-Connected Inverters

This paper presents a novel frequency-domain approach toward the control design for parallel grid-connected voltage source inverters (VSIs) with LCL output filters. The proposed method allows the controllers of multiple VSIs to be designed in a single step, and inherently attenuates the resonances introduced by the output filters and coupling effects while guaranteeing stability. Performance specifications such as desired closed-loop bandwidth, decoupling or robustness toward multi-model uncertainty can be specified through frequency-domain constraints. Furthermore, controllers can be designed in a plug-and-play fashion. The designed controllers are equivalent in structure to multi-variable PI controllers with filters. As the control design is based on the frequency response of the system, the algorithm is independent of the model order, which allows the use of large and high-order models. The performance of the method is demonstrated on a relevant example of a low-voltage distribution grid with five VSIs, and the results are validated both in numerical simulation using MATLAB/Simulink as well as in power-hardware-in-the-loop experiments.