Performance Analysis and Benchmarking of PLL-Driven Phasor Measurement Units for Renewable Energy Systems

Phasor measurement units (PMUs) are a key part of electrical power systems, providing the dynamic monitoring and control of electrical units and impacting overall operation and synchronization of a network if not properly designed. This paper investigates the use of a phase-locked loop (PLL)-based algorithm for PMUs (to accurately find the magnitude, phase, and frequency) in a three-phase system. Various PLLs are reported in the literature, ranging from the very basic to advanced, capable of dealing with normal and abnormal grid behavior and mainly used for the control of grid-connected converters. In this paper, a number of PLLs were utilized to perform PMU functions, and a benchmarking study has been investigated to analyze the developed PLL-driven PMUs under various grid conditions (such as unbalanced faults, harmonics, and frequency variations). The simulation and experimental results were provided to support the performance capabilities and suggested limitations. In addition, the best PMU in benchmarking was used in the Kundur’s two-area system to show the significance of PMUs in a power system.