Generic WECC IBR: Grid-Following PV Plant

Models
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Overview

A WECC-based grid-following PV plant model with plant, electrical, and converter-level control blocks for inverter-based resource studies.

This model implements a generic WECC-style photovoltaic plant designed for grid-following inverter-based resource studies in HYPERSIM. It is a strong starter model for users working on renewable integration, plant-level controls, and dynamic response benchmarking.

The model uses a WECC control chain approach for plant-level and converter-level behaviour, making it useful for teams evaluating active power response, reactive power support, current limits, and grid disturbance performance. It is especially relevant for users who want a ready-to-run baseline instead of building a utility-scale PV model from scratch.

Key Features

  • WECC-aligned PV plant structure for IBR studies
  • Suitable for active and reactive power response analysis
  • Useful baseline for fault and disturbance testing
  • Good starting point for renewable interconnection studies

Getting Started

  1. Open the example from the Renewable Energy category in HYPERSIM
  2. Run the model with its default configuration
  3. Observe terminal voltage, active power, reactive power, and controller response during events
  4. Use it as a baseline before customizing plant behaviour or scaling studies

Model Specifications

Parameter Value
Product HYPERSIM
Minimum version HYPERSIM 2026.2+
Application Renewable Energy, Grid Simulation
Model file Generic_WECC_IBR_GFL_PVPlant.zip

Specifications pending: time step, dependencies, recommended/minimum hardware, license, and compatible hardware are to be confirmed (tracked in the community seeding checklist).

Downloads

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If you use WECC-style generic models in your studies, what do you usually adjust first: plant controller settings, current limits, or reactive support behavior?

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@Parija What is the difference between using the WECC model and the smart inverter library model for GFL and GFM?

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@Vincent_Jiang

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For GFL (Grid-Following)

The WECC GFL models are intended to reproduce the aggregate behavior of inverter-based resources for power system planning studies. They focus on capturing the overall dynamic response rather than the internal controller implementation.

The Smart Inverter GFL library provides detailed control components including:

  • PLL
  • Current controllers
  • Power controllers
  • Volt-Var
  • Droop
  • Constant Power Factor
  • Protection functions
  • Current limiting

When to choose Smart Inverter GFL

  • Developing new inverter controls
  • HIL testing
  • IEEE 1547 validation
  • Studying controller interactions
  • Microgrid applications

For GFM (Grid-Forming)

The WECC GFM models (such as REGFM_C1) are generic representations intended for large-scale stability and planning studies when vendor-specific information is unavailable. The model implements generic GFM and GFL behavior and includes fault current limiting capability.

The Smart Inverter GFM library provides detailed controller building blocks including:

  • Signal conditioning
  • Secondary control
  • Primary control
  • Inner control loops
  • Droop control
  • VSG control
  • Single-loop and double-loop inner controls
    allowing detailed EMT simulation and controller prototyping.

When to choose Smart Inverter GFM

  • VSG development
  • Black-start studies
  • Microgrid operation
  • GFM-GFL interaction studies
  • Controller tuning
  • PHIL/HIL applications

That being said in short “WECC models focus on representing inverter behavior at the system level for planning and stability studies, whereas the Smart Inverter Library provides detailed GFL/GFM controller models for EMT simulation, HIL testing, and controller validation.”

Thank you

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@Party_Patel Thank you for your help.