Application and Development of Hydropower and Renewable Energy Signal Simulation in Centralized Control Systems: A Review

As renewable energy penetration increases, centralized control systems are evolving toward multi-source coordination and intelligent dispatch, creating new requirements for signal simulation. However, existing studies generally examine hydropower and renewable energy simulation platforms separately, with insufficient attention to their compatibility and coordinated integration. This review compares the architecture, functions, and control characteristics of hydropower and renewable energy signal simulation platforms. The analysis covers centralized control structures, system upgrading, signal processing, and application adaptability for hydropower platforms, as well as grid-forming control, underlying support models, market behavior simulation, and functional integration for renewable energy platforms. On this basis, the review identifies three major barriers to multi-source integration: differences in dynamic characteristics, inconsistencies in modeling time scales and simulation accuracy, and heterogeneity in control interfaces and interaction mechanisms. It further examines multi-source signal integration mechanisms and summarizes the evaluation criteria and benchmarking requirements for simulation fidelity. The main contribution of this review is an integrated analytical framework that connects platform architecture and operational characteristics with coordinated control, integration, and fidelity evaluation requirements. The findings provide guidance for developing multi-source signal simulation platforms and support the intelligent operation and coordinated dispatch of integrated energy systems.