BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article
Front. Energy Res.
Sec. Smart Grids
This article is part of the Research TopicAdvanced Operation, Control, and Planning of Urban Power GridView all 3 articles
Response-Function Framework for Evaluating Converter Topologies in Renewable Energy Integration
Provisionally accepted
- 1Guangdong Power Grid Corp Guangzhou Power Supply Bureau Co Ltd, Guangzhou, China
- 2China Southern Power Grid South Electric Power Research Institute, Guangzhou, China
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Converter-dominated power systems play a key role in renewable energy integration, yet selecting suitable converter topologies under complex operating and fault conditions remains challenging. This brief study introduces a multi-criteria response modeling framework for evaluating modular multilevel converter (MMC) topologies. The method models nonlinear relationships between engineering indicators—voltage difference, reliability, compactness, cost, and control complexity—and topology adaptability using linear, saturating, and bell-shaped response functions. A hybrid weighting mechanism combining analytic hierarchy process and entropy theory balances expert judgment with data variability. Case studies across distributed renewable access, rail traction, and inter-city HVDC systems verify the framework's capability to capture topology–scenario matching. Results indicate that half-bridge MMCs excel in compact low-cost applications, symmetric hybrids perform best in high-reliability scenarios, and asymmetric hybrids show advantages under high-voltage interconnection requiring fault ride-through. The proposed method provides a concise, data-driven decision tool for renewable-dominated converter selection, supporting future HVDC planning and flexible grid development.
Keywords: renewable integration, MMC topology, Performance mapping, Multi-criteriaevaluation, response modeling
Received: 29 Oct 2025; Accepted: 17 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 duan, Liu, luo, zhou, yan and yang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Yang Liu, yangliu_csg@163.com
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