Distance Protection Relaying in Distribution Grids with Increasing Inverter-Based-Resources

Löbel J, Becker G, Trunk K, Leugner J, Scheibe C, Jäger J (2026)

Publication Type: Conference contribution, Conference Contribution

Publication year: 2026

Event location: Montreal CA

ISBN: 979-8-3315-8138-1

URI: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11693794

DOI: 10.1109/PESGM58988.2026.11693794

Abstract

The number of renewable energy sources in distribution grids is increasing. Most of those plants are connected to the grid via inverters. Those inverter-based-resources (IBRs) are mainly controlled in grid-following mode (GFL). Prior research explained the influence of those GFL IBRs on distance protection, a widely spread grid protection algorithm. In this paper the prior findings are evaluated in a developing distribution grid. During four development stages, the number of GFL IBRs increases. Moreover, the GFL IBRs follow the three common fault-ride-trough (FRT) techniques. All relevant protection relays are analyzed for critical grid faults in each stage and each FRT. The results confirm the findings of the prior research. Active power in the positive sequence, reactive power in the positive sequence and reactive power in the negative sequence influence the measured impedance of the distance protection in different ways. In critical cases, this can lead to incorrect measurements. Additionally it is shown, that typical developments in distribution grids can impact the critical grid protection negatively. The test framework will in future serve for newly developed protection algorithms that address the problems described.

Authors with CRIS profile

Jonathan Löbel Professur für Elektrische Energieversorgung Gregor Becker Professur für Elektrische Energieversorgung Johann Jäger Professur für Elektrische Energieversorgung

Involved external institutions

Siemens AG DE Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Löbel, J., Becker, G., Trunk, K., Leugner, J., Scheibe, C., & Jäger, J. (2026). Distance Protection Relaying in Distribution Grids with Increasing Inverter-Based-Resources. In IEEE (Eds.), Proceedings of the 2026 IEEE Power & Energy Society General Meeting (PESGM). Montreal, CA.

MLA:

Löbel, Jonathan, et al. "Distance Protection Relaying in Distribution Grids with Increasing Inverter-Based-Resources." Proceedings of the 2026 IEEE Power & Energy Society General Meeting (PESGM), Montreal Ed. IEEE, 2026.

BibTeX: Download