Dynamic virtual power plants: A comprehensive review of architectures, control strategies, and grid support capabilities

The increasing penetration of inverter-based resources (IBRs) and renewable energy resources poses significant challenges to the stability and controllability of modern power systems. Dynamic virtual power plants (DVPPs) have emerged as a transformative solution for aggregating and controlling heterogeneously distributed energy resources (DERs) flexibly and dynamically. This paper presents a comprehensive review of DVPPs, covering their conceptual evolution—from microgrids to virtual power plants (VPPs) and fast-acting VPPs—culminating in the dynamic DVPP paradigm. This review explores key architectural frameworks, including grid-forming and grid-following roles, as well as AC/DC interfacing strategies. Emphasis is placed on secondary frequency and voltage control mechanisms, dynamic-based and market-based disaggregation, and control methodologies tailored to DERs.