Professional Documents
Culture Documents
by:
Germany 6
Indonesia 8
Frequency Control 15
Primary Control 16
Secondary Control 17
Tertiary Control 18
This presents a question of where to source the energy. Despite the growing trend of
utilization of renewable resources, electrical energy needs grows far more quickly than
current rates of renewable energy implementation. According to the International
Energy Outlook 2017 (IEO2017), researched by the U.S. Energy Information
Administration (EIA), total world energy consumption is predicted to conform to a
rising trend4 if observation includes a period from 2015 to 2040. From 575 quadrillion
British thermal units (Btu) in 2015 to 736 quadrillion Btu in 2040, an increase of 28% is
stipulated. Most of the world’s energy growth is predicted to occur in countries outside
of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)5, where strong,
long-term economic growth drives increasing demand for energy. Non-OECD countries
in Asia themselves account for more than half of the world’s total increase in energy
consumption over the 2015 to 2040 projection period, predicted to exceed energy use
in the entire OECD by 41 quadrillion Btu in 2040. However, unfortunately, this growing
1 https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD
2 Yergin, World Economy Forum, 2012
3 https://www.iea.org/publications/wei2017/
4 https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/ieo/
5 For consistency, OECD includes all members of the organization as of June 1, 2016
need that need to be addressed may invite more conventional means: energy sources
that are already being relied on may take precedence in the choosing of power plant
types. The IEO2017 predicts that although consumption of non-fossil fuels is expected
to grow fast, fossil fuels will still account for 77% of energy use in 2040.
Seeing that renewable energy is the alternative we seek to meet the demand in a more
sustainable way, the challenge presents itself as to how to make it more favourable for
developing countries, which may lack the political will to adopt a certain direction
towards focusing on advancing renewable energy sourcing. A clear motivation to policy
design in many growing economies is return on investment (ROI), seeing through
perspectives of monetary value and societal value, using scientific methodology as
means to achieving it. Therefore, it is important to find ways to utilize existing electrical
infrastructure in a given country and integrate it with renewable energy plants, because
this implies a much more cost-effective way of installing more renewable energy
capacity and connecting it to the existing network of users - thus a faster ROI in societal
and monetary value for vast geographical areas that are under development.
Additionally, new expansions could greatly benefit from lessons learned in existing
power grids, making future infrastructure more suitable for renewable energy
integration.
In the perspective of the whole, it can be seen how we have two large elements, namely
new renewable energy plants and the existing electricity grid, that need to be adapted
with one another. Connecting the two reveals a technical challenge, due to the
intermittent nature of some renewable energy sources, as well as the requirement to
maintain frequency and voltage stability of the electricity grid. Hence, the solution is to
technically regulate the electricity flow between the two elements. This regulation is
called the Grid Code.
This project paper seeks to obtain a clear picture about the fundamentals of grid codes
and its application. Furthermore, a comparison is made between management and
technical details of grid codes in Germany and Indonesia, in order to find a
recommendation regarding improving Grid Codes in Indonesia.
Introduction to Grid Codes
Grid codes, also known as the ‘interconnecting guidelines’, are the instructions and
standards, which specify technical and operational characteristic requirements to
interconnect new generating plants to the local or bulk systems. The main goal for
development of these codes was to specify the details of the power generation
equipment and connection requirements for their connection to transmission systems.
The contents of a grid code can vary depending on the transmission company who owns
the electrical grid. When a power plant intends to connect its energy supply into the
grid, they are required to have their power generation units to be in accordance to the
grid codes. This is to avoid risks and disturbances in the electrical grid due to the
supplied electricity and to regulate the behavior of the generator units during those
disturbances. These include voltage regulation, power factor limits and reactive power
supply, response to a system fault (short-circuit), response to frequency changes on the
grid, and requirement to "ride through" short interruptions of the connection.
This paper will discuss a few of the requirements of the grid code which are:
1. The voltage and frequency range.
2. Active power control.
3. Reactive power control.
4. Frequency control.
5. Fault ride through.
Overview of Germany and Indonesia Current
Energy Situation
Germany
Germany’s current energy mix is still relying on conventional energy sources as seen
from figure 16. In 2016, coal contributed to 40.3% of the overall energy mix with
nuclear being the second biggest source at 13.1%. However, the percentage of power
generation of renewable energy reached 29%. In recent years there has been a push to
reduce the usage of conventional energy sources through Energiewende. Energiewende
is the transition by Germany to a low carbon, environmentally sound, reliable, and
affordable energy supply7. Energiewende is currently transitioning Germany to
implement a system that relies heavily on renewable energy, energy efficiency, and
energy demand management. Germany also plans to shut down all its nuclear power
plants and usage of coal in the future. By 2050, Germany plans to have an energy mix
which consist of renewable energy contributing at least 80% of its energy mix.
6 https://1-stromvergleich.com/strom-report/renewable-energy-germany/
7https://web.archive.org/web/20161006040920/http://www.bmwi.de/English/Redaktion/Pdf/energy
-concept%2Cproperty%3Dpdf%2Cbereich%3Dbmwi%2Csprache%3Den%2Crwb%3Dtrue.pdf
Germany currently has the second biggest total installed capacity of wind and solar in
the world. By 2016, 79.8 TWh of wind power and 38.3 TWh of solar power were
produced. Other forms of renewable energy such as biomass produced 51.7 TWh and
Hydropower produced 21.5 TWh. The continued reduction of price, introduction of
better feed-in tariffs policies and push for low carbon emissions will drive renewable
energy to continue to increase in Germany.
8 https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%9Cbertragungsnetzbetreiber
https://www.next-kraftwerke.de/wissen/regelenergie/transmission-code
Figure 2. Germany Transmission System Operator
Indonesia
Indonesia has its fair share of interesting metrics. It is an archipelago of more than
18,000 islands, and home to more than 255 million people9. These data places
Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest economy, as the world’s fourth most populous
country. Further exploration on economic advancement sheds light on the demand for
supply of power in the country. Although the year 2013 has seen a slowdown in
Indonesia’s GDP growth due to lower commodity prices and a slowdown of economy in
China, future perspectives include optimistic views. A research done by
Pricewaterhousecoopers (PWC) reports how the Indonesian government is observed to
make significant progress in infrastructure as well as regulatory and subsidy reforms.
The Economist Intelligence Unit has forecasted an average growth of 5.3% until 2019.
Other indications of growth includes expected rebalancing of economic development
towards manufacturing and its expansion to areas outside of traditional industrial
heartlands, an expected emerging middle class of around 74 million, as well as
urbanization.
A good evaluation point is to see the current energy mix in Indonesia’s power sector. As
of 2015 - according to Indonesia’s 2014 National Energy Policy, BP Statistical Review of
World Energy June 2016 (65th edition), and a PwC Analysis - coal and oil still played a
big role, occupying 41% and 38% of Indonesia’s energy generation capacity
respectively. The 2015-2025 National Energy Policy mandates that by 2025, renewables
should reach at least 23% of energy generation capacity, and at least 31% by 2050.
Attached below is an illustration of this target over timeline.
PWC’s observation also notes access to electricity, which also needs improvements in
order to reach a more regionally balanced electrification ratio. Seen in the figure below
is data on how the electrification rate differ across regions in Indonesia. It can be
concluded that achieving comparatively equal ratios across all provinces remains a
challenge, which is clearly another reason for the Indonesian government to make
strides in the field of power infrastructure investment.
The challenge of realizing this target, of course, does not come without obstacles. Seeing
the bureaucratic topology of Indonesia’s power sector, which necessitates centralized
control of the power infrastructure by the state-owned National Electricity Company
(Perusahaan Listrik Negara - “PLN”), diversification of building efforts done by
Independent Power Producers (IPPs) must be either in coordination with PLN, or in the
captive power sector which uses an improvised business-to-business scheme. Should
new renewable energy power plants be built by the private sector to cater for the
demand, it will have to be established on the basis of a Power Purchase Agreement
(PPA) with the PLN, and comply with the standards given before integrating to the grid.
This notion proves to be an interesting starting point to discuss the grid code in
Indonesia, considering its importance in current and future practices which is gaining
momentum.
Grid Code Comparison
Voltage and Frequency Range
The power system frequency is an indication of the balance between power generation
and load consumption. Any deviation from the planned production or consumption
moves the system frequency away from its nominal value. As frequency deviate away
from the nominal value, generator units may not work properly due to overheating of
windings, degradation of insulation material, and damages to power electronic devices.
Thus, the grid code requires the generator unit to be designed appropriately to operate
continuously within the voltage and frequency variation limits encountered in normal
operating conditions. In addition, they should remain in operation in case of frequency
deviations outside the normal operating limits for a specified time and in some cases
with a specific active power output. By having the ability to remain connected to the
grid for a wider frequency range, wind farms support the system during abnormal
operating conditions and allow for a fast system frequency restoration.
In Germany, the generator unit must be able to maintain its frequency within the
normal working operation range from figure 310.
Indonesia has similar requirements. The nominal frequency used is 50 Hz, and it is
required to be maintained between 49.5-50.5 Hz. If the frequency falls below 47.5 Hz or
increases above 52 Hz, then the generator is allowed to disconnect from the grid as
shown from Figure 5. The voltage ranges can be seen from figure 6.
Figure 5. Response to abnormal frequency
In Germany, renewable power plants are required to participate in active power control
according to the requirement of the TSO to counteract a disturbance to the system
stability. In case of low frequency, the power output must be reduced with at least 10%
of the network connection capacity per minute without disconnection from the
network. If the frequency reaches more than 50.2 Hz, the instantaneous power must be
reduced with a gradient of 40% of the generator’s instantaneously available power. If
the frequency returns to a value of f ≤ 50.05 Hz, the active power output may be
increased again as long as the actual frequency does not exceed 50.2 Hz.
In Indonesia, each generator in the renewable power plant must be capable of operating
within a range of power factors from 0.90 leading to 0.85 lagging. Operation beyond
these limits still can be acceptable as long as the reactive power of the renewable plant
can still be used to meet need for own use, or if not, then reactive power is provided by
PLN, without generating any adverse impact on the system voltage. Renewable power
plants must automatically apply power factor correction and not voltage control during
parallel connection with PLN distribution system.
Frequency Control
In all electricity grids, stability is key to managing a sustainable power flow from
generating units to consumers. Frequency control is an integral part of this, as vast
electricity networks should maintain a steady operation to cater for all appliances
throughout the residential and the industry sectors. In principle, frequency control is
done by system operators through constant monitoring of the grid frequency – where a
balance of energy generated and immediately-consumed energy is expected – and
responding to frequency fluctuations. There are two possibilities of a deviation from the
normal (nominal) frequency. The first possibility is a higher frequency than the nominal
value, which implies a lessening of the system load. The second possibility is the
opposite, which is a lower frequency than the nominal value, implying additional system
loads being connected. Since a balance between power supplied and consumed is
always pursued, responding to the first possibility will include lessening power inputted
to the grid, and to the second possibility more power is needed. This power input to the
grid describes “active power” exclusively, and thus relates to another section titled
“Active Power Control. Another power component “reactive power” and its relevance to
maintain a stable overall system voltage is also discussed in another section.
As described, the system operators will seek to maintain frequency stability. This is
done through procedures that are designed to react to frequency deviations, in
coordination with generating units. In chronological order from a hypothetical
frequency variation occurrence, these procedures are called the Primary Control,
Secondary Control, and Tertiary Control (or Minute Reserve) respectively. Reserve
power for this balancing act will have to be procured. Because the German Power grid is
intertwined with the Union for the Co-ordination of Transmission of Electricity (UCTE)
network – whose task now lies within the responsibility of European Network of
Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E) – which encompasses vast
areas of Europe, agreed rules state that German Transmission System Operators (TSOs)
are responsible for the procurement of reserve power from power producers and
importers to balance demand.
Primary Control
As a first measure to counteract any disturbance in the balance between generated
power and the system load – which will show itself by means of deviation from the
nominal frequency of 50 Hz – certain generating units must react with an increased
power output. These certain units can also be called primary regulating units, because
they are most likely to produce a large part of the total power, and they are obliged to
have an extra 4-5% of their nominal power reserved. This “primary control reserve”
(PCR) is first to be called to allow reestablishment of frequency balance in the system.
In general, every generating plant with a rated capacity of ≥100 MW must be capable of
supplying primary control power, as a prerequisite for connection to the grid.
Generating plants with a rated capacity of < 100 MW can, by agreement with TSO, also
be used to secure the primary control.
Shown below is an illustration of how primary control reacts to a deviation in the grid
frequency.
It can be seen in the illustration that after a frequency deviation, primary control is used
to stop the frequency drop by calling on the primary control reserve, effectively
supplying additional active power into the grid. It is noted that this reserve will be
called only when the deviation exceeds ±20mHz. However, it can also be observed that
the frequency fails to return to the nominal value of 50Hz, and retains a steady-state
error Δf – also called “Quasi-Steady-State Deviation”. Primary control aims to keep Δf
under ±180mHz.
Secondary Control
After a short period where primary control is used, secondary control action (or
secondary control reserve, SCR) commences to restore the frequency to the initial value
of 50Hz and primary control ceases to engage. Other than to restore the system
frequency to the set-point value, secondary control also aims to ensure that power
exchanges between grid control areas will return to scheduled values. This is important
because an imbalance in one certain control area of the ENTSO-E grid will also disrupt
power exchanges with adjacent control areas, thus necessitating mitigation measures.
Additionally, how secondary control makes sure that primary control reserves are
available again.
The difference between PCR and SCR is that while PCR is applied in nonselective
manner, SCR is only deployed in areas where there are system imbalances. Each
Transmission System Operator (TSO) will have their respective load-frequency
controllers in control areas locate the system imbalance and activate reserves that are
required. Usually, SCR derives its reserves from extra generating units that are able to
output needed power quickly in response to demand. Typical examples of these fast-
responding power plants include thermal power plants and pump-hydro storage power
plants.
A figure below shows how secondary control reserves take the leading role to restore
system frequency stability after primary control is used.
It can be seen how SCR is integral in its role of localized stabilization, however, its fast-
reacting functionalities imply high technical requirements. This proves to be a challenge
in solely using the SCR to manage longer-lasting system imbalances that may be caused
by forecast errors or power plant failures. Therefore, a third reserve is used, namely the
tertiary control reserve (TCR).
Tertiary Control
Continuing from the previous subsection, lower requirements serve as a prerequisite to
Tertiary Control Reserve (TCR) as compared to SCR. For example, this includes
deployment time which is should be done within 15 minutes, compared to 30 seconds
for PCR, and SCR shortly after. Unlike the SCR, the TCR receives no continuous control
signal from control centers, but instead, delivers energy according to a schedule defined
in 15-minute intervals. Lower responsivity demands for the TCR means that generation
units capable of catering to the category includes open-cycle gas turbines, demand-side
management resources, or biomass power plants. Furthering the comparison, while the
activation of PCR and SCR is procedural in nature, TCR is only called upon on a case-by-
case basis by the discretion of system-responsible Transmission System Operators
according to the performance and utilization of the SCR beforehand.
Shown below is a flowchart depicting the task flow of electricity system reserves.
In Germany, the fault ride through characteristics of type 1 generating plants, which
refers to generators connected directly to grid, are seen from figure 9. They must
withstand voltage dips of the nominal voltage for up to 150 ms. Disconnection is not
allowed above the borderline.
An example of the limit curve for type 2 generating plant can be seen from figure 10. All
generating facilities shall pass through the fault without being disconnected from the
network above the borderline 1 in Figure 10. Below the borderline 2 in Figure 10, a
short-time disconnection of the generating facility from the network is always
permitted. For all generating facilities which are not disconnected from the network
during the fault, active power supply must be continued immediately after fault
clearance and increased to the original value with a gradient of at least 20 % of the
nominal capacity per second.
Figure 10. Limit curve for type 2 generating unit
Generator units are also required to take part in voltage control during low voltage
faults. They must supply reactive current to the grid based on the depth of the voltage
dip with a contribution of at least 2 % of the rated current per percent of the voltage
drop. If required, it must be possible to supply reactive current of at least 100 % of the
rated current. After return of the voltage to the dead band range as shown in figure 11,
voltage control must be maintained at least over additional 500 ms according to the
given characteristic.
Fault ride through in Indonesia is based on figure 12. The maximum clearing time refers
to the duration between abnormal condition and disconnection of renewable energy
plant. The maximum clearing time vary depending on the voltage at the point of
common coupling. Renewable energy plants are not required to do voltage control
during the faults.
Figure 12. Overvoltage/Undervoltage Trip Setting and Clearing Time
Conclusion
In