Wind Power Plants

Marc Cheah Mañé

marc.cheah@upc.edu
Content
1. Introduction
2. Wind Power Plant Structure
3. Wind Power Plant Control
4. Wind Turbine Technologies and Control
5. Grid Connection Requirements

2
Content
1. Introduction
2. Wind Power Plant Structure
3. Wind Power Plant Control
4. Wind Turbine Technologies and Control
5. Grid Connection Requirements

3
1.1 Wind Energy in the World
How much is Wind Energy in the World ?

Estimated Renewable
Energy Share of Total
Final Energy
Consumption, 2015

Estimated Renewable
Energy Share of
Global Electricity
Production, End-2015

4
 1.1 Wind Energy in the World
Wind Power Capacity [1]
Global Capacity and additions, 2006-2016 Top 10 countries, 2016

x 6,5

[1]

China – 35%
Offshore Wind Capacity, 2006-2016
United States – 17%
Germany – 10%

• Offshore is 3 % of total Wind Power

x 18 capacity
• Europe represents 90 % of Offshore
Wind Capacity (UK and Germany
leading the market) 5
Content
1. Introduction
2. Wind Power Plant Structure
3. Wind Power Plant Control
4. Wind Turbine Technologies and Control
5. Grid Connection Requirements

6
 2.1 Onshore Wind Power Plant

[2] [3]

• Wind Turbines (WTs) distributed in Feeders or Strings

• Wind Turbines are typically 2.5-3 MW (50 m blade diameter)
• Feeders form Collector system at medium voltage ( 10∼30 kV)
• Current onshore wind farms typically up to 1-1.5 GW (Largest: Gansu Wind
Farm, 7.965 GW) 7
 2.2 Offshore Wind Power Plant
AC-connected

• Undersea cables required

• Wind Turbines are up to 6-8 MW
• Export cable at 155-220 KV and
collector system at 33 kV (in
future 66 kV)

[4]

8
 2.2 Offshore Wind Power Plant
DC-connected

• Long distance Offshore Wind Power Plants

• Multiple offshore wind farms connected to a DC-link at ±320 KV (in future ±525 KV)
• Existing HVDC-connected OWPPs in Germany
9
2.3 Collector grid design
Radial configuration Star configuration

[4]

[4]
Ring configuration

[4]

Single-sided Double-sided 10
 2.4 Future trends
• Larger Wind Turbines: >8 MW
• Increase of Offshore Wind Power Plant capacity
• Interconnection of DC-connected OWPPs: increase reliability

AC offshore grid DC offshore grid

• DC-collector grids

[5] 11
Content
1. Introduction
2. Wind Power Plant Structure
3. Wind Power Plant Control
4. Wind Turbine Technologies and Control
5. Grid Connection Requirements

12
3.1 General control structure
• TSO requests to the WPP :
• Ancillary services for the
main ac grid.
• Power reductions for
congestion management.
• WPP control:
• Measures powers (P,Q), ac
voltage and frequency at
the point of connection
(POC).
• Dispatches power
references to the WTs.
• WT control:
• Measures powers at WT
connection.
• Receives power references
from WPP control.

13
 3.2 WPP control structure
Active Power Control
• Power curtailment
• Ramp rates
• Frequency response
(frequency droop function)

[4]
Reactive Power Control

[4]

• Maintain voltage a the point of connection:

• Normal operation (droop characteristic, voltage-power factor limits)
• Fault operation (WTs contribute to faults)
14
 3.3 Additional control functions
WPP control with additional control functions proposed by DTU Wind [6]

• Additional control functions have faster response than standard control

functions:
• Standard functions: ∼minutes
• Additional functions: ∼seconds
• Power reference from additional control functions is included as feed-
forward components
15
3.4 WPP connected through HVDC

• WT control and WPP control structures are the same

• Grid Side Converter (GSC) controls:
• Voltage of dc link
• Reactive power for the onshore ac grid (according to TSO)
• Wind Farm Converter (WFC) controls:
• Voltage and frequency of offshore ac grid
• Coordination between HVDC converters and WPP control is very important
(possible delays) 16
Content
1. Introduction
2. Wind Power Plant Structure
3. Wind Power Plant Control
4. Wind Turbine Technologies and Control
5. Grid Connection Requirements

17
 4.1 Wind Turbine Type 1 and 2
Type 1: Fixed-Speed Wind Turbines
• Squirrel Cage
Induction
Generator (SCIG)
• No ride-through
capability/ grid
[4] support

Type 2: Limited Variable-Speed Wind Turbines

• Wound Rotor
Induction
Generator (WRIG)
• No ride-through
capability/ grid
support
[4]

18
 4.2 Wind Turbine Type 3
Type 3: Variable-Speed with Partial-Scale Converter Wind Turbines

[4]

• Most common WT (specially for onshore wind applications)

• Doubly Fed Induction Generator:
• Wound Rotor Induction Generator (WRIG)
• Partial-scale converter (∼1/3 nominal power of WT)
• Active and reactive power control (partial control)
• Ride-through capability/ grid support
• Complex control during faults
19
 4.2 Wind Turbine Type 3
General control structure

𝑃𝑃𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟,𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤 𝑄𝑄𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟,𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤

Wind Power Plant Control

20
 4.3 Wind Turbine Type 4
Type 4: Variable-Speed with Full-Scale Converter Wind Turbines

[4]

• Different feasible generators:

• Squirrel Cage Induction Generator (SCIG)
• Wound Rotor Synchronous Generator (WRSG)
• Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator (PMSG) – It can be direct-driven
• Full scale converter. Generator isolated from the grid
• Maximum power extraction from the wind
• Active and reactive power control (full control)
• Ride-through capability/ grid support

21
4.3 Wind Turbine Type 4
General control structure

𝑃𝑃𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟,𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤 𝑄𝑄𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟,𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤

Wind Power Plant Control

22
 4.4 Wind Turbine operation
• At Wind Turbine level (only variable-speed topologies)
Wind speed Operation
Low-medium wind speeds (Partial load) Optimal power extraction with
Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT)
High wind speed (Full load) Nominal power (additional power is
curtailed with pitch control)

I- Partial load
II Transition
III- Full load

[4]
23
 4.4 Wind Turbine operation
Optimal power extraction
1
𝑃𝑃𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 = 𝐶𝐶𝑝𝑝 𝜌𝜌𝐴𝐴𝑣𝑣𝑤𝑤3
2
• 𝐶𝐶𝑝𝑝 : power coefficient
• 𝜌𝜌: air density
• 𝐴𝐴: swept area of blades
• 𝑣𝑣𝑤𝑤3 : wind speed

• Rotor speed is modified to reach maximum power coefficient (Cp,opt)

Tip speed ratio:

𝜔𝜔𝜔𝜔
𝜆𝜆 =
𝑣𝑣𝑤𝑤
• 𝜔𝜔: rotor speed
• 𝑅𝑅: blade radius
24
 4.4 Wind Turbine operation
General control structure

[7]

Pitch control

[7] 25
 4.4 Wind Turbine operation
Example: Type 4 WT for different wind speed [7]

26
 4.4 Wind Turbine operation
Example: Type 4 WT at full load with steps in reactive power set point [7]

27
Content
1. Introduction
2. Wind Power Plant Structure
3. Wind Power Plant Control
4. Wind Turbine Technologies and Control
5. Grid Connection Requirements

28
 5.1 General Requirements
• Active Power Management
• Reactive power and Voltage Support
• Frequency Support
• Fault-Ride Through
• Short Circuit Current contribution
• Power Oscillation Damping
• Power quality (harmonics, flicker)
• Protection

29
 5.2 Grid Points
• Grid code requirements are defined at different points in onshore and
offshore WPPs
Onshore WPP

Grid Connection Point*: Connection

between WPP and main grid

Offshore WPP

Grid Connection Point*: Connection

between WPP and offshore ac grid
Grid Coupling Point*: Connection
between offshore and onshore ac grid

*names from TenneT 30

 5.3 Active Power Management
• At Wind Power Plant level:

Normal operation Maximum power extraction

Balance control Constant reduction of active power
Delta control (power spinning reserve) Reduction proportional to wind
generation
Power ramp rate control Limitation of increase or decrease of
active power
Balance control Delta control Ramp rate control

[8] 31
 5.3 Active Power Management
• Example: Horns Rev Offshore Wind Farm [9]

32
 5.4 Reactive Power & Voltage
• Reactive power is provided by,
• Wind Turbine converters.
• Other devices: capacitors, synchronous condensers, FACTS or
transformer regulation.
• Possible control modes:
• Reactive power control
• AC voltage control
• Power factor control

• Voltage control defined with a V-Q droop characteristic

∆V: voltage variation from

nominal value
∆Q: additional reactive power
demand requested to WPP

33
 5.4 Reactive Power & Voltage
• Grid codes define
• Voltage operating range
• PQ curves: reactive power limits depending on active power generation

TenneT, grid connection point of

National Grid offshore grid
• Voltage-power factor curves: voltage limits depending on power
factor (or similar, such as Q/Pmax)

34
 5.5 Frequency response
Frequency evolution after power imbalance (loss of generation/load connection)

50 or 60 Hz
Standard limit 𝑓𝑓𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠

Steady State 𝑓𝑓𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠

limit

Instantaneous 𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖
limit

Inertia Reserve Frequency Frequency Replacement

or Fast Frequency Containment Restoration Reserve
Reserve Reserve Reserve

- Names and characteristics of frequency support services are defined by each Transmission
System Operator 35
 5.5 Frequency response
Actuation
time
Inertia Reserve
Frequency Frequency Replacement
or Fast
Containment Restoration Reserve
Frequency
Reserve Reserve
Reserve

Activation
time

General characteristics of frequency support services (in Europe)

Service Activation Activation Actuation Provision from Synchronous
Time Time Generation
Inertia Reserve Automatic < 1-2 s ~ seconds Kinetic energy from rotation
(New service for non- mass
Synchronous Generation)
Frequency Containment Automatic < 30 s ~ minutes Governor (power-frequency
Reserve droop control)
Frequency Restoration Reserve Manual/ ~ minutes As long as Manual power dispatch/
Automatic required PI compensator

Replacement Reserve Manual ~ minutes As long as Manual power dispatch

required
36
 5.5 Frequency response
• Overfrequency event. The WTs reduce power:
• Pitch control (all WTs)
• Rotor speed control - power is reduced operating out of optimal power
extraction (only variable-speed WTs)
• Increasing temporarily rotor speed and store kinetic energy in rotating mass
(only for inertia response) (all WTs)
• Underfrequency event. The WTs increase power:
• If wind speed > rated speed, pitch control is used to release curtailed power.
• If wind speed ≤ rated speed, deloading operation - WTs operate below the
maximum possible power to ensure a power reserve. Two methods:
• Pitch control (all WTs)
• Rotor speed control – power is increased going back to optimal power
extraction (only variable-speed WTs)
• Decreasing temporarily rotor speed and extract kinetic energy from rotating
mass (only for inertia response) (all WTs)
• Use energy storage systems.

37
 5.5 Frequency response
Deloading operation of WTs:
• It ensures power reserve for underfrequency events.
• Advantages:
• It can be used to provide any frequency support service.
• Disadvantages:
• Wind generation has to be permanently curtailed, which reduces the
income from power generation.
• Implementation:
• Droop control based on frequency deviation
• Manual active power dispatch

Frequency-power droop control with

frequency dead-band

38
5.5 Frequency response
WT control structure with pitch and rotor speed control [10]

Pitch Control
Rotor speed control

39
 5.5 Frequency response
Inertia Emulation:
• Extraction of kinetic energy from WT rotational mass.
• Only variable-speed WTs using additional converter controls
• It can be used to provide Inertia response.
• Advantages:
• It does not require wind power curtailment.
• Disadvantages:
• It requires recovery power.
• The kinetic energy from rotational mass has to be recovered to
bring the rotation speed to initial operation.
• If WTs operate below rated speed, power generation is reduced to
compensate the recovery power.
• It can generate second frequency drop

1
∆E𝑘𝑘 = 𝐽𝐽𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤 𝜔𝜔02 − 𝜔𝜔𝑓𝑓2
2
𝐽𝐽𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤 : WT inertia constant
40
 5.5 Frequency response
Inertia Emulation (continuation)
• Implementation:
• Synthetic Inertia*: mimics inertia response of synchronous generators
using a derivative-based control
• Temporary Overproduction*: active power variation for predefined period
of time.

Synthetic Inertia Temporary Overproduction

*In the literature different name are found for both strategies 41
 5.5 Frequency response
• Grid codes define
• Frequency operating range
• Frequency-power droop characteristic:

EirGrid TenneT
- Deadband between B-C - Only overfrequency events
- Over and underfrequency
events

42
 5.5 Frequency response
Example:
• WPP of 100 MW
• Synchronous generator 1400 MVA
• Load increase 200 MW (underfrequency event)

WTs provide frequency Support from deloading operation using frequency droop
control

43
 5.5 Frequency response
Example:
• Introduction of WPPs without replacing Synchronous Generators (SGs) and WPP
does not participate in frequency response

If the WPP does not replace conventional generating units, it does not affect
frequency control
44
 5.5 Frequency response
Example:
• Introduction of WPP that replaces Synchronous Generators (SGs) and WPP does not
participate in frequency response

45
 5.5 Frequency response
Example:
• Introduction of 10% of initial load level as WPP that replaces Synchronous
Generators (SGs) and WPP participates in frequency response

46
 5.6 Fault-Ride Through
• Capability to remain connected to the main grid during temporarily faults

Typical FRT profile FRT profile in different countries

• The voltage must stay

above the FRT profile
during faults
• Only variable-speed WTs
can provide FRT

[8]
47
 5.6 Fault-Ride Through
• Examples
Type 3 WT (with DFIG) Type 4 WT (with PMSG)

48
 5.6 Fault-Ride Through
• Consequences of FRT for the WTs if wind power cannot be transferred:
• Only fixed-speed and DFIG-based WTs: wind power is stored in the
rotating mass, i.e. the rotor speed increases.
• Only variable-speed WTs: wind power is stored in the dc link of the
back-to-back VSC, i.e. dc voltage increases.
ωr increases

Vac
decreases

Vdc increases
• Solutions
• Reduce wind power generation quickly
• Dissipate power in resistor (crowbar or dc chopper)

49
 5.6 Fault-Ride Through
• Example: Activation of crowbar and dc chopper in DFIG-based WT [11]
FRT without DC chopper and crowbar FRT with DC chopper and crowbar

50
 References
[1] REN21, “Renewables 2016 – Global Status Report, “ 2016, 1-23
[2] “Wind Plant Power Flow Modeling Guide”, [Online]. Available:
http://wiki.uvig.org/index.php/Wind_Plant_Power_Flow_Modeling_Guide [Accessed: 06-10-2017]
[3] L. Monjo, L. Sainz, J. Liang and J. Pedra, “Study of resonance in wind parks ,” Electric Power Systems
Research, 2015, 128, 30-38
[4] D. Hertem, O. Gomis-Bellmunt, J. Liang, “HVDC Grids: For Offshore and Supergrid of the Future,” Wiley-
IEEE Press, 2016
[5] P. Lakshmanan, J. Liang and N. Jenkins, “Assessment of collection systems for HVDC connected offshore
wind farms,” Electric Power Systems Research, 2015, vol. 129, pp 75-82
[6] A. D. Hansen, M. Altin and N. A. Cutululis, “Modelling of Wind Power Plant Controller, Wind Speed
Time Series , Aggregation and Sample Results,” DTU Wind Energy, 2015.
[7] A. D. Hansen and I. D. Margaris, “Type IV Wind Turbine Model, ” DTU Wind Energy, 2014.

[8] M. Tsili and S. Papathanassiou, “A review of grid code technical requirements for wind farms, ” IET
Renewable Power Generation, 2009, vol. 3, issue 3, pp 308
[9] J. R. Kristoffersen, “The Horns Rev Wind Farm and the Operational Experience with the Wind Farm
Main Controller”, Copenhagen Offshore Wind 2005, 2005.
[10] F. Díaz-González, Hau, Melanie, A. Sumper and Gomis-Bellmunt, “Participation of wind power plants in
system frequency control: Review of grid code requirements and control methods,” Renewable and
Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 34, 2014, pp, 551-564
[11] D.H. Nguyen, M. Negnevitsky , “A review of fault ride through strategies for different wind turbine
systems, “Universities' Power Engineering Conference, 2010 51
Feel free to ask questions