De-risking Grid Connection with Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) Testing

Australia's electricity system is changing rapidly.

As more utility-scale solar, battery storage and hybrid projects connect to the grid, demonstrating reliable system performance before commissioning has become an increasingly important part of successful project delivery. As renewable energy projects continue to grow in scale and technical complexity, engineering validation is playing an increasingly important role in reducing project risk and supporting successful grid connection.

Traditional power system studies remain an essential part of project development, but there is significant value in validating how real control hardware will respond before equipment reaches site.

Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) testing helps bridge this gap by combining real hardware with real-time digital simulation, enabling engineers to validate system performance before equipment reaches site.

By bridging the gap between PSS^®E and PSCAD simulations and on-site testing, HIL testing provides greater confidence in system performance before commissioning and helps project teams move from simulation to reality with confidence.

Every utility-scale renewable energy project is unique, and every grid connection presents its own technical challenges.

Identifying unexpected system behaviour during commissioning can impact project schedules, increase cost and introduce unnecessary risk.

HIL testing enables engineers to validate system performance under realistic operating conditions before commissioning begins.

Using a Real-Time Digital Simulator (RTDS), SMA Australia's Hardware-in-the-Loop platform connects real inverter control boards, Power Plant Manager and other control hardware to a simulated power system, allowing engineers to evaluate system behaviour under realistic operating conditions.

This early validation supports:

• Risk mitigation through early validation

• Dynamic testing under critical grid conditions

• Early-stage discrepancy detection

• Root-cause analysis of potential on-site issues

• Streamlined AEMO R2 compliance testing

• Support for smoother and faster commissioning

The result is a faster, safer and more cost-effective grid connection process with greater confidence before commissioning.

SMA Australia's Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) platform supports comprehensive system validation across a range of real-world operating scenarios, including:

Communication Tests

• Communication validation between controllers, inverters and meters

• System-level testing of grid events, SCADA and plant control

• Integration testing with live hardware interaction and full system validation

System Tests

• AEMO R2 hold point testing

• Simulation of outages, breaker trips, voltage and frequency deviations, and oscillations

• Functional testing of plant controllers and inverters

• SCADA communication and control validation

• Digital input-driven HV transformer tap changer model for plant control testing

System Integration Tests

• SCADA ↔ Power Plant Manager interface mapping and validation

• On-site hardware integration via low-voltage interfaces (300 V, 32 A)

• Live interaction with physical meters (e.g. ION 9000)

Comprehensive benchmarking compares PSCAD simulation results with HIL test outcomes, enabling potential discrepancies to be identified before commissioning begins.

Hardware-in-the-Loop testing is more than a validation tool, it's a way to reduce uncertainty before commissioning begins.

By providing a proven gateway from simulation to reality, SMA's Hardware-in-the-Loop platform helps build confidence before first energisation and supports a faster, safer and more cost-effective grid connection process for developers, Network Service Providers and AEMO.

When performance matters, validation should come first.

Tested Before It Matters.

Explore the testing scope, validation capabilities and engineering services available through SMA Australia's Hardware-in-the-Loop testing platform.