This paper presents an approach to extend the capabilities of smart grid laboratories through the concept of Power Hardware-in-The-Loop (PHiL) testing by re-purposing existing grid-forming converters. A simple and cost-effective power interface, paired with a remotely located Digital Real-Time Simulator (DRTS), facilitates Geographically Distributed Power Hardware Loop (GD-PHiL) in a quasi-static operating regime. In this study, a DRTS simulator was interfaced via the public internet with a grid-forming ship-To-shore converter located in a smart-grid testing laboratory, approximately 40 km away from the simulator. A case study based on the IEEE 13-bus distribution network, an on-load-Tap-changer (OLTC) controller and a controllable load in the laboratory demonstrated the feasibility of such a setup. A simple compensation method applicable to this multi-rate setup is proposed and evaluated. Experimental results indicate that this compensation method significantly enhances the voltage response, whereas the conservation of energy at the coupling point still poses a challenge. Findings also show that, due to inherent limitations of the converter s Modbus interface, a separate measurement setup is preferable. This can help achieve higher measurement fidelity, while simultaneously increasing the loop rate of the PHiL setup. ... Read more

As future power systems become increasingly complex and interconnected to other energy carriers, a single research infrastructure can rarely provide the required test-beds to study a complete energy system, especially if different types of real power hardware are expected to be in-the-loop. Therefore, virtual interconnection of laboratories for large-scale systems plays an important role for geographically distributed realtime simulation. This paper presents the improvements made in simulation fidelity as well as usability for establishing future simulator and laboratory connections. A general procedure is proposed and analyzed for geographically distributed real-time simulation, which allows users easily to adapt this procedure to specific test cases. A systematic and comprehensive analysis of a dynamic phasor based co-simulation interface algorithm and its improvements are provided to demonstrate the advantages as well as limitations of this approach. ... Read more