Grid-Following and Grid-Forming Inverters: Design, Control and Implementation with Multilevel Inverters

Grid-Forming (GFM) capabilities are becoming crucial to overcome the stability constraints of conventional GridFollowing (GFL) systems as Inverter-Based Resources (IBRs) replace synchronous generators. Multilevel Inverters (MLIs) in five-level and seven-level designs are used in this paper to assess the performance of GFL and GFM modes. We examine effects on grid voltage profiles, power factors, and control complexity under dynamic loads by simulating decoupled and cross-coupled control techniques. The simulation findings demonstrate the unique operational benefits of GFM control in stabilizing contemporary power systems and validate the superiority of MLI topologies for grid integration.