Synthetic Inertia From Power Electronics

Inverters can emulate the stabilizing effect of spinning mass through control, a service that grows more valuable as physical inertia declines.

Emulating spinning mass

Physical inertia comes from the kinetic energy in spinning generators and resists sudden frequency change. Inverter-based resources have none by default, but their controls can measure the rate of frequency change and inject or absorb power to mimic an inertial response. This synthetic or virtual inertia can be delivered faster than a spinning machine because it is not limited by mechanical response.

The burner (MetroVolt), interfaced through power electronics, is a candidate for synthetic-inertia service. Its grid-forming inverter can be tuned to provide a defined inertial contribution to the local grid or microgrid it anchors.

Where the energy comes from

Synthetic inertia requires an energy source behind the inverter to inject power in the first instants. That can come from the burner's output headroom, from a DC-link capacitor, or from a co-sited battery. Pairing with storage is often the practical way to deliver the fastest inertial response.

Honest framing

Synthetic inertia is a proven concept for inverter-based resources generally but unproven for MetroVolt specifically. Its magnitude depends on available energy headroom, which is constrained by the same steady-burn and availability gates discussed across this category.