Frequency Response And Inertia

Grid frequency reflects the instant balance of supply and demand; firm resources with fast response help keep it within limits.

Frequency as a balance signal

Grid frequency, nominally 50 or 60 Hz, rises when generation exceeds load and falls when load exceeds generation. Large spinning machines store kinetic energy that slows frequency change, buying seconds for controls to respond; this is inertia. After the initial dip, primary frequency response adjusts generator output to arrest and correct the deviation.

As inverter-based resources replace spinning plants, physical inertia declines and frequency can move faster after a disturbance. Fast-responding resources become more valuable. An inverter-based burner can provide programmable frequency response and, through controls, synthetic inertia.

What the burner can offer

The burner (MetroVolt) can be programmed to change output in response to frequency deviations and, with grid-forming control, to emulate inertia by injecting power in the first instants of a disturbance. Paired with a co-sited battery, the fastest response can come from storage while the burner provides sustained correction.

Honest framing

Frequency response and synthetic inertia are control capabilities of inverter-based resources; for MetroVolt they are design objectives. Real inertial emulation depends on available headroom and energy behind the inverter, tying back to the steady-burn and availability gates.