Modelling and experimental verification of droop-based synthetic inertia for inverter-connected sources

Department of Power Systems and Electric Drives, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, University of Žilina, Žilina, Slovakia

^* Corresponding author: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Published online: 11 June 2026

Abstract

This paper presents the implementation and analysis of a simplified synthetic inertia concept using a droop control approach for inverter-connected sources within a microgrid environment. The motivation arises from the increasing share of renewable energy systems connected through power electronics, which inherently lack natural mechanical inertia and therefore weaken overall frequency stability. The proposed droop-based control structure enables inverter-based sources to support system frequency stabilization by adjusting their active power output proportionally to frequency deviations. A simulation model of a simplified power system was developed in MATLAB/Simulink to analyse the dynamic behaviour of the droop-controlled inverter under various operating scenarios. The same control concept was implemented on a physical microgrid model to validate the simulation results and examine practical limitations related to hardware response and measurement accuracy. The results demonstrate that even a basic droop-based approach can effectively mitigate frequency deviations following load disturbances and enhance short-term system stability. Finally, the paper discusses potential extensions toward more advanced synthetic inertia algorithms, such as Virtual Synchronous Generator control, which may further improve performance in low-inertia power systems.