SummaryMitigating inter‐area low‐frequency oscillations is a significant concern in multi‐machine power systems due to their adverse effects on system stability. These oscillations are intricately linked with power oscillations. So appropriate power modulation through the Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) can be an effective strategy for preserving system stability. In this paper, the maximal of all minimal residue indices under variations in power system operating conditions is utilized as the index for identifying the location for installation of the BESS, the damping control loop, and the feedback signal. A fixed‐structure scheme‐based wide‐area damping controller (WADC) is proposed for the BESS, providing sufficient damping of inter‐area oscillation modes. A modified IEEE 39‐bus system is simulated using a real‐time digital simulator as a test system in this work. The simulation results confirmed that the proposed WADC could effectively damp various inter‐area oscillation modes. Furthermore, it offers robust damping performance over contingencies associated with the system's various operating scenarios as well as the uncertainty associated with fixed and variable communication delays in the feedback signal of WADC and the integration of solar photovoltaic systems. Moreover, a comparative analysis of the proposed WADC is carried out with a BESS‐based wide‐area power system stabilizer, which is found to be more effective in mitigating system inter‐area oscillations.