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Contribution of Wind Farms to Ancillary Services

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CONTRIBUTION OF WIND FARMS TO ANCILLARY SERVICES

P. BOUSSEAU (1), R. BELHOMME (1), E. MONNOT (1), N. LAVERDURE (2),

D. BOËDA (2), D. ROYE (2), S. BACHA (2)
(1) EDF R&D, 1 av du Général de Gaulle, 92141 Clamart, France
(2) GIE IDEA - LEG, 961 rue de la Houille Blanche - BP 46, 38402 St Martin d’Heres Cedex
France

SUMMARY
In the last decade, wind energy has experienced a substantial growth in Europe with an increase in
generation capacity from 2.5 GW in 1995 to 34 GW at the end of 2004. This increase has raised new
problems and constraints which led system operators, electric utilities, governments or regulatory
boards to define technical requirements for the grid connection of wind farms and more generally of
distributed generation (DG) units. At first, the requirements for wind farms were rather “soft” (at least
softer than for other DG units) and were mainly intended to limit the “disturbances” caused by wind
energy on power quality and grid operation. But with the ever increasing development of wind power,
the impacts on the grids become more and more significant leading to the definition of more and more
“severe” requirements. In particular, wind farms (WF) are now more and more often asked to provide
some sort of ancillary services such as contribution to voltage/reactive power control and
frequency/active power control. This paper focuses on the possible provision of such ancillary services
by wind farms. Regarding reactive power and voltage control:
- Doubly-fed Induction Generators (DFIG) and Synchronous or Induction Generators with full power
electronics interfaces (SIG) can have reactive power control capabilities (both in production and
absorption) depending on the rating of their power electronics converters. These capabilities
(characterized by a fast dynamic response) can be used to perform voltage control. Moreover, if
required, external reactive power compensation devices may also be installed.
- Classical Induction Generators (CIG) do not have such reactive power control capabilities and
therefore require external devices for reactive power and voltage control.
- Simulations carried out show that WFs with voltage control capabilities can significantly sustain the
network voltage in case of grid events and thus may efficiently support the power system stability.
Regarding frequency control: the results show that when the Wind Turbine Generator (WTG) is fully
loaded (maximum active power generation), appropriate use of the pitch control may enable the WTG
(DFIG, SIG or CIG) to contribute to frequency control. In case of partial load, the contribution to
frequency control can be achieved either by “disoptimizing” the wind energy conversion by means of
the pitch control, or by setting a non-optimal rotor speed for DFIG or SIG. However, a judicious way
to use variable speed generators may also be to operate them as inertial flywheels.

KEYWORDS
Frequency control, ancillary services, active power control, reactive power control, voltage
control, wind farm
Pierre.bousseau@edf.fr
 1. Introduction
In the last decade, wind energy has experienced a substantial growth in Europe with an increase in
generation capacity from 2.5 GW in 1995 to 34 GW at the end of 2004, with leading countries such as
Germany, Spain, Denmark. This increase raised new problems and constraints on distribution and
transmission power systems which led system operators, electric utilities, governments or regulatory
boards to define technical requirements for the grid connection of wind farms and more generally of
distributed generation (DG) units. At the beginning, the technical requirements for wind farms were
“softer” than for other “classical” DG units: either specific rules were defined or the existing rules for
DG were adapted, or in some cases, exemptions applied. But with the ever increasing development of
wind power, the impacts on the grid become more and more significant leading to the definition of
more and more “severe” requirements. At first, the requirements have evolved in order to limit the
disturbances of wind energy on system operation (e.g. definition of Fault Ride Through requirements).
Now wind farms (WFs) are more and more often asked to provide some sort of ancillary services. This
paper focuses on the possible contribution of wind farms to ancillary services and more specifically to:
- voltage control and reactive power compensation,
- frequency regulation.

2. Wind energy and ancillary services

2.1. Impact of wind energy on ancillary services

Ancillary services (AS) have been and are still provided for the major part by large centralized power
plants connected to the transmission network. The characteristics of ancillary services and of their
provision were devised in this context. With the present evolution of power systems and in particular
with the advent of DG and wind energy on distribution (and transmission) networks these
characteristics will probably need to be adapted, extended or revised. Different issues are raised [1-2].

First, power systems and in particular distribution networks were initially designed to operate with
unidirectional power flows (from the centralized power plants to the loads). With the advent of DG
and wind farms, this is no more the case. Depending on the technology used, this has raised new
problems and constraints at different levels: modification of the power flows, of the voltage profile, of
the steady-state and short-circuit currents, possible degradation of the quality supply, interaction with
the protection system, degradation of network stability, etc. This has to be taken into account in the
way ancillary services are provided or should be provided.

Then, a large development of DG of stochastic nature like wind energy, is expected to cause larger
imbalances between generation and consumption thus leading to an increased demand in active power
reserves. For example it is estimated that a 10 000 MW wind power penetration in the UK would need
a 160 MW additional reserve capacity which corresponds to 1.6 % of the installed wind power
capacity [3]. In Germany, to balance unforeseen variations in wind power, the need of additional
reserve is expected to reach 9 % of the installed wind power capacity by 2015 [4].

Large amounts of DG or wind energy on power systems lead to reduce the share of centralized power
plants (CCP) in the balance between generation and consumption. However, due to the trend of load
increase on the European grid, the development of DG and wind energy does not necessarily means a
decrease of the contribution of centralized power plants in absolute value. Nevertheless, the
contribution of both distributed and centralized generation units to AS has to be revised and an
efficient and economical way to provide AS needs to be found.

2.2. Needs for ancillary services from wind farms

Ancillary Services (AS) may be divided in two main categories [1-2]:
- local AS such as voltage control and reactive power supply, which have to be provided locally (or
regionally) where they are needed,

1
- system-wide AS such as frequency control and active power reserves, which may be provided
anywhere in the power system.
Local AS have to be performed by local means. Therefore distributed generation (DG) and WFs in
particular may be and are sometimes already requested to contribute. More specifically, there is a need
of contribution in terms of:
- primary voltage control or reactive power supply. This is a local automatic control which can take
different forms depending on the size and capabilities of the DG units: constant reactive power,
reactive power control, power factor control, or actual voltage control.
- Secondary voltage control, presently required only for large DG units connected to the
transmission grid. Secondary voltage control is a centralized automatic control which coordinates
the actions of generating units in order to manage the flow of reactive power within a predefined
voltage zone. The use of a dedicated communication system is required. For high DG penetration
levels, the contribution of smaller generating units (even those connected to the medium voltage
level) might be required. However, the implementation of secondary voltage might then need to be
revised to take into account the specificities of distribution networks (e.g. radial topology, etc).
- Network restoration. With high penetration levels of DG, centralized power plants may not be able
to efficiently restore the whole power system since they will contribute to only a part of the
consumption. Therefore DG units, depending on their size, may be required to participate. Again, for
this purpose, appropriate communication means and coordination strategies will have to be devised
and used. Due to the stochastic nature of wind energy, it is difficult for WFs to participate to
network restoration without storage or coordination with other DG units.
- System stability. Firstly, at the local level, support of system stability implies that DG units keep
their own stability and stay connected to the network in disturbed situation. Secondly, support of
system stability may involve a contribution to the voltage control and the provision of reactive
power in order to prevent voltage dip to propagate and therefore help to maintain stability at a
regional level.

System-wide AS, as mentioned above, may be provided (almost) everywhere on the power system as
long as no constraint is violated due to this provision (e.g. maximum current limits on transmission
lines). Typically, primary frequency control, secondary frequency control and tertiary frequency
control are system-wide ancillary services.
- Primary frequency control is a fast automatic control which delivers the appropriate amount of
primary reserve power in a few tens of seconds in order to restore quickly the load-generation
balance for power system security reasons. This control counteracts frequency variations and is
indispensable to the network stability.
- Secondary frequency control is a centralized automatic control which starts acting within 30
seconds (within the UCTE). It delivers secondary reserve power in a few minutes in order to bring
back the frequency to its target value, and maintains the exchanges between the interconnected
networks in compliance with the interchange program.
- Tertiary frequency control is a manual control which starts acting in about fifteen minutes. It
adjusts production and consumption taking into consideration economic criteria and congestion
problems. It enables to restore the primary and secondary power reserves, and to bring back the
frequency and the interchange programs to their target if the secondary control is unable to perform
this task.
Contribution to system stability is also a system-wide issue as far as active power provision or active
power oscillations are concerned. Typically, DG units and wind farms in particular are presently not
requested to participate in such system-wide AS (except on islanded power systems). However, with
the increased development of wind energy, transmission system operators begin to define some
requirements in some countries in terms of active power control of wind farms. With higher and
higher penetration levels of DG, the definition of requirements may be expected in terms of
contribution to active power reserves (at least primary frequency control reserve) and (some kind of)
frequency control. For large DG unit, contribution to load follow and secondary control may even be
envisaged, implying the use of appropriate communication means and coordination strategy.

2
 3. Voltage regulation and reactive power compensation with wind energy
This section deals with the capability of wind farms to participate to voltage regulation and reactive
power compensation. The following topics are presented:
- grid connection requirements on French distribution networks. At the end of 2005, all the wind
farms in metropolitan France were connected only to distribution networks, so only this case is taken
into account in this paper,
- wind farm capabilities regarding reactive power and voltage control,
- choice of a voltage regulation for wind farms on medium voltage (MV) networks (20 kV voltage
level in France) and the resulting impact on the network.
A new “energy policy law” was promulgated on July 13, 2005 in France. With this new law, the
purchase obligation for wind energy is no more limited to wind farms smaller than 12 MW as before
but is now applicable only for wind farms located in “wind power development areas”. These areas are
defined by the prefects (regional authorities) on proposals coming from the town councils. The “old”
system with a purchase obligation for wind farms smaller than 12 MW will still be applicable in
parallel for two years. Furthermore, invitations to tenders for large onshore and offshore wind farms
(larger than 12 MW) have been made by the French government and 8 projects have been accepted
representing a total power of 330 MW. So, in the future, WF connections to the transmission network
will come out since according to the French regulation, generation units larger than 12 MW have to be
connected to the transmission grid. For these wind farms, the connection requirements to the
transmission network will then have to be taken into account.

3.1. Grid connection requirements

In France, the technical requirements for the connection of generating units to mainland distribution
networks are specified in decrees and ministerial orders [5-8]. Regarding voltage control and reactive
compensation, the following requirements are defined:
Connection Installed power Connection conditions regarding voltage control and reactive
Level of the WF power
LV P < 250 kVA No reactive power must be consumed
Each generating unit shall be able to produce (at the machine
P ≤ 1 MW
terminals) reactive power up to 40% of its apparent nominal power Sn
Each generating unit must be able to produce (at the machine
1 MW < P ≤ 10
terminals) at least 50% of Sn and to consume at least 10% of Sn. The
MV MW
WF shall be able to adjust the voltage control at the DNO’s request.
Each generating unit must be able to produce (at the machine
10 MW <P ≤ 12
terminals) at least 60% of Sn and to consume at least 20% of Sn. The
MW
WF shall be equipped with a voltage control system.
with LV for low voltage and DNO for Distribution system operator.
A specific rule applies for classical induction generators: their reactive power needs and the possibly
required additional reactive power generation are provided by capacitor banks connected either to the
producer’s installation or to the HV/MV1 substation. The reactive power produced by the capacitor
banks at the DNO’s request shall not exceed 0.4 Sn.
The value of the reactive power produced and the control mode (voltage, power factor or reactive
power control) are determined by the distribution network operator in accordance with network
operation requirements.
The choice of the value of the reactive power produced, the control mode and its characteristics can
have an impact on flicker and voltage fluctuations, on voltage fluctuations at coupling and decoupling
of the WF, on the dynamic behavior and stability.

1
In France, HV levels are 400 kV, 225 kV, 150 kV, 90 kV and 63 kV voltage levels. The MV level is mostly 20 kV voltage
level and sometimes 15 kV voltage level.

3
 3.2. Voltage and reactive power control capabilities of wind farms
Voltage and reactive power control can be performed [9]:
- by the wind turbines generators themselves (see Section 3.2.1),
- and/or by additional devices located in the wind turbines or on the internal network of the wind
farm (Section 3.2.2).
Note that, even if it is not the present practice in France due to the regulatory framework, the needs of
the network regarding reactive power and voltage control might also be fulfilled by devices or other
generating plants located in the vicinity of the connection point of the considered wind farm.

3.2.1. Wind turbine technologies

Wind turbine generators (WTG) could be divided into 3 main types:
- Classical squirrel cage induction wind turbine generator (CIG) directly connected to the grid
(including induction WTG with dynamic slip control). These WTG only consume reactive power:
from roughly 25% of nominal power at no load up to roughly 60% at full load. The reactive power
consumption is directly linked to the active power production and the voltage value at the generator
terminals. So no reactive power control nor voltage control is possible with this type of generator.
- Doubly-fed induction WTG (DFIG): induction generator with the rotor windings connected to the
machine terminals through back-to-back power electronics converters. The reactive power capacity
directly depends on the rating of the power electronics converters (usually from 10% to 30% of the
WTG apparent power Sn). Depending on the wind turbine considered, reactive power ranges up to ±
0.3 Sn can be observed. The maximum reactive power that can be provided or consumed results
from a current limit in the converters and therefore is further limited by the active power effectively
produced. The time constant of the reactive power or voltage control can be as low as a few
milliseconds.
- Synchronous or Induction WTG connected to the grid through back-to-back power electronic
converters (SIG). This type of WTG can provide or consume reactive power depending on the rating
of the converters. So if we consider a probable case of a converter designed at 110% of the nominal
power, the reactive power capacity at full load and nominal voltage is ±0.45 Sn. Again, the time
constant of the reactive power or voltage control can be as low as a few milliseconds.

3.2.2. Additional devices for reactive power and voltage regulation

Additional devices combined with wind farms can provide the required reactive power and voltage
control capability either totally as in the case of CIG, or as a complement to the existing capability of
the WTG technology used as in the case of DFIG and SIG.
Possible additional devices are:
- Static VAR Compensator (SVC): based on thyristor-controlled reactors, or thyristor-switched
capacitors. The typical response time of a SVC is around 20 milliseconds.
- STATCOM: based on voltage sourced converters (VSC), it is a voltage source where the
amplitude, phase and frequency are entirely controllable. The capacitor on the DC bus applies a DC
voltage at the input of the inverter. The inverter output is connected to the AC grid via an inductance
(generally a transformer). While adjusting the converter voltage in function of the network voltage,
the converter can very quickly supply or absorb reactive power thanks to the control signals of the
switches of the converter. The response time is mainly influenced by the switching frequency
(typically 1 to 2 kHz), the size of the inductance, the measurement and calculation time. It can be as
small as a few milliseconds.
- Synchronous Condenser: they are synchronous generators without prime mover, that can be
controlled to absorb or provide reactive power and can perform a voltage control. They have been
partly supplanted by static compensators.

Note that these additional devices for reactive power and voltage control can in specific cases provide
the wind farm with a Fault Ride Through (FRT) capability (i.e. such that the wind farm will not
disconnect in case of a voltage dip in the network).

4
 3.3. Choice of the voltage regulation for a wind farm connected to the distribution
network
The choice of the type of regulation for a wind farm connected to a distribution network has to be
specified by the network operator. This choice must ensure that:
o the contractual and regulatory constraints are respected: steady state voltage kept within the
admissible values, limited voltage fluctuations, voltage quality maintained, …
o there will be no overvoltages leading to damages to grid components or consumers’
installations.
The choice of the voltage regulation should be the result of an optimization performed in order to:
o facilitate the grid connection of both power production units and consumers installations,
o limit active power losses on the network,
o limit the cost related to the reactive power exchanges between the distribution and the
transmission systems,
o improve the behavior of the network by sustaining the voltage in case of exceptional low
voltages.
This choice has to ensure an efficient coordination between the different reactive power and voltage
regulation devices existing on the distribution network: capacitors banks, online tap changer of the
HV/MV transformer, other production units connected to the considered distribution network.
Depending on the available equipment, this coordination can be performed with or without data
exchanges between the different regulation devices and measurement devices, and with or without a
centralized regulator. If such data exchange could not be implemented, the coherence between the
different independent regulation devices has to be ensured by appropriate control rules.

Note that:
- The regulation can be a single phase control (for a single phase connection) or a three-phase
control (for a three-phase connection, with or without separated action on the three phases).
- The coordination between the voltage regulation of the wind farm connected on a distribution
feeder and the HV/MV online tap changer should be carefully studied.
- In the case of a high local penetration of wind energy, a coordination between the different wind
farms connected to different neighboring distribution feeders can be considered for the provision of
reactive power and voltage control on the transmission network but provided that distribution
network constraints are respected.

3.4. Dynamic simulations

In order to assess the impact of voltage regulation in the possible enhancement of the network
dynamic behavior, simulations have been performed with the Eurostag dynamic simulation software
[10,11]. These simulations were carried out in a prospective study where a high development of wind
energy in France was considered. The simulations take into account:
- the whole France metropolitan grid connected to an equivalent of the European grid. A high wind
energy penetration case is simulated corresponding to an hypothesis of 6 GW of wind power
installed in France in the year 2010 and a low load level. The instantaneous wind power penetration
for this prospective case is close to 10%. The whole wind energy connected in Brittany for this case
is close to 1.2 GW.
- Synchronous wind turbine generators with full power electronics interface. Depending on the
rating of the converters, this type of generator is likely to have the higher reactive power control
capability and so is well suited to show the impact of a voltage regulation on the network dynamic
behavior. Note however that a rather equivalent behavior can be obtained with the other
technologies with adapted reactive power production and control capabilities (NB. CIG requires an
additional reactive power compensation device).
- A 225 kV fault cleared in two steps (120 ms – 500 ms) near Brittany.
- WTG with fault ride through capabilities to prevent disconnection in case of voltage dip.
- Two different types of voltage regulations: (i) a constant cos φ regulation with cos φ equal to 1;
(ii) a voltage regulation adjusting the reactive power in function of the voltage with a 5% droop
when the voltage is out of the voltage range [0.94 pu, 1.06 pu] and taking a zero reactive power set

5
 point otherwise. This latter regulation was chosen only as an example in order to show that voltage
regulation can indeed sustain the voltage in case of a fault.

Figure 1 shows the span and the magnitude of the voltage dip on the network for the considered short-
circuit, just before the first clearing step (119 ms). The voltage magnitude indicated is an average
value based on the voltage per unit values of the different voltage levels. It can be seen that the
average voltage is roughly between 0.05 and 0.1 pu higher with the “V control” than with the
“constant cos φ” control.

Brittany : Brittany :
Constant cos φ V control

Figure 1 : Voltage (pu) in Brittany for the considered short-circuit

Where WFs are connected, the voltage on the LV and MV levels are often significantly higher with
the “V control”, which corresponds to a provision of reactive power during the short-circuit. For
example, for two WFs in Brittany, Figure 2 shows that the voltage at the WTG terminal can be up to
0.3 pu higher. The voltage control helps to maintain the voltage within the admissible values and
improves the network stability.
p.u.
1.2

1.0
V control

0.8

ROSPES1G, LV Wind Turbine Voltage in p.u

0.6 : cos φ constant : V control
P.CHRS1G, LV Wind Turbine Voltage in p.u
0.4 : cos φ constant : V control

0.2
cos φ constant
0.0 s
20.0 20.2 20.4 20.6 20.8 21.0

Figure 2: WTG voltage on LV level for two WFs in Brittany

Note however that, even if the use of voltage regulation for a wind farm connected to the distribution
network can improve the network dynamic behavior, it may also increase the risk of unwanted
islanded operation. Moreover, it may also increase the short-circuit currents on the network that may
require additional network reinforcements, at least on the distribution side.

4. Contribution of wind farms to frequency regulation

4.1. Problem description

The frequency continuously depends on the production/demand balance. In the UCTE area [12], its
value is normally comprised between 50.02 Hz, and 49.98 Hz. Even in abnormal grid condition
(overload, production loss, overproduction), the balance between production and demand must

6
nevertheless be maintained, to keep the network in safe conditions. The objective of the frequency
control is to maintain at any time the frequency close to its nominal value. This control is performed
by means of the active power reserves in three steps [13], [14]: the primary, the secondary and the
tertiary frequency control.

4.2. Wind Turbine Generator contribution to the frequency control

The common WTG control strategy is the maximum power point tracking. For a participation to the
frequency control, a new operating policy, is required based on the use of positive or negative active
power reserves. The frequency droop strategy [15], used by classical generating units, can be applied
to WTG with the following specificity: the frequency characteristic K of the unit, which represents the
steady state response of the unit following a frequency disturbance, is strongly linked to wind
conditions. The following equations present the principle and values of the WTG frequency droop
strategy used in this paper, where “s” is the droop.
1 PTdisp
PT = PT 0 + K ( f − f 0 ) K= ⋅ ,
s f0
PT = turbine power PTdisp = ma ximum available power for the given wind condition
f 0 = 50 Hz PT 0 = turbine power at f 0
s = 5% K = frequency characteristic ( MW / Hz )
Regarding participation in frequency control, three different types of operation can be presented:
- participation at full load (wind speed higher than nominal wind speed): when the pitch control
limits the active power to a value lower than its nominal value. In this case, a decrease of the pitch
angle enables to increase the active power provided,
- participation at partial load, type 1: in this case, positive power reserve can be kept by a
“disoptimisation” of the transfer of wind energy to mechanical energy on the main shaft by means of
the pitch control or of an appropriate rotor speed set point.
- participation at partial load, type 2: it could be profitable to operate the wind turbine as a flywheel
by setting a high rotor speed set point that, although limiting the active power by “disoptimizing” the
power transfer, enables to store a substantial amount of kinetic energy.
In any case, the negative power reserve can be obtained by an action on the pitch control. The
following section presents the participation at full load and at partial load “type 2”.

4.3. Simulations
The simulations are carried out on the simplified grid described in Figure 3 (and not on the complete
French network model used in Section 3.4). It is composed of two synchronous generators providing
respectively 10 MW and 2.5 MW and a wind farm represented by a wind turbine generator of 660 kW.
A total impedant load of 10.6 MW is initially considered and during the test load Lo4 is increased by
2 MW.
G1 1
T1 L1 4 3 T3 WTG
L3

L2
G2 T2 Lo3

Lo4

2 « Overload »

Figure 3: Grid used for the simulations

7
The duration of the simulations is 25 s. At t=12 s, load Lo4 is increased. At t=20s, the secondary
frequency control implemented in generator G1 starts to operate2. The WTG contributes only to the
primary frequency control, so it has to increase its production when the load increase is detected, and
has to recover its previous state after the secondary control have started to operate. Two kinds of tests
are presented below :
- Simulation at full loading of the WTG, when wind velocity is about 15 m/s. The strategy consists
in modifying the pitch control in order to adapt the power of the generator [16].
- Simulation at partial loading of the WTG for the case where it is operating as a flywheel (type 2).
This strategy can only be applied to the variable speed generators (DIFG and SIG).

4.3.1. Full load operation

Considering an active power reserve of 15% of PTdisp and according to the strategy of the frequency
droop (Section 4.2):
PT 0 = 0,85 × PTn , PTn = PTdisp , droop = 5% , where PTn is the nominal power of the wind turbine.
For the three types of generators, the pitch control is used to adjust the power of the WTG (Figure 4):
PT0 Active power
set point

Power corrector

PTref βref:
(PT)ref β
f + pitch angle

Frequency -
f ∆P

Frequency droop
PT Active power output

Figure 4: Implementation of the pitch control

Figure 5 presents the results of the simulation for CIG, DFIG and SIG.
Grid frequency (p.u) Grid frequency (p.u) Grid frequency (p.u)
1.02 1.02 1.02

1 1 1

0.98 0.98 0.98

12 14 16 18 20 22 24 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 12 14 16 18 20 22 24

Mech. power (dash) and elec. power (p.u) Mech. power (dash) and elec. power (p.u) Mech. power (dash) and elec. power (p.u)
1.2 1.2 1.2
1 1 1
0.8 0.8 0.8
12 14 16 18 20 22 24 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
blade setting angle (°) blade setting angle (°) blade setting angle (°)
2 8 8

1 6 6

0 4 4
12 14 16 18 20 22 24 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
run time (s) run time (s) run time (s)
5(a) CIG 5(b) DIFG 5(c) SIG

Figure 5: Participation to the frequency contribution with the pitch control

After the load increase, the frequency decreases by 1%. The three (SIG, DFIG and CIG) structures
react quickly (in less than 1s), decrease their pitch angle and increase their active power when the
frequency variation occurs. Then the secondary frequency control performed by G1 brings back the
frequency to its nominal value: the wind turbine restores its power reserve by increasing the pitch
angle. So for the three types of generators, the use of the pitch control proves to be effective for the
participation of the WTG to the frequency control. The WTG reacts immediately when a frequency

2
Note that the time scale for the secondary frequency control to operate is voluntarily reduced in the simulations to decrease
the run time and facilitate the exploitation of the results.

8
variation is detected and is therefore able to contribute to primary frequency control. However DFIG
and CIG show oscillations on all the mechanical variables because of the low stiffness of the
mechanical shaft system but no such oscillation appears for the SIG.

4.3.2. Partial load operation, type 2

During low wind speed periods, the power which can be extracted by the WTG is obviously reduced
(and sometimes may be negligible) compared with classical generator of equivalent installed power. In
this case, using the speed of the generator may be a good solution to make the WTG contribute to the
primary frequency control.

The variable speed WTGs (DFIG and SIG) offer the possibility to store inertial energy in these wind
conditions [14,15]. To maximize the stored inertial energy, a high speed ratio λ is chosen, that
corresponds to a small power coefficient Cp3.
1
J ⋅ (Ω T ) with J the inertia of the WTG and
2
In these conditions, the inertial energy stored is: Wc =
2
ΩT the rotor speed of the turbine. In a first approximation, taking into account neither the mechanical
power corresponding to wind, nor the mechanical losses, this energy can be supplied to the network if
Wc
necessary during: t decr = where PTc is the active power set point. In order to use this energy, when
PTc
a frequency variation is detected, the normal speed control loop is opened, and a new torque set point
PTc
is imposed to the generator: (ΓG )ref = with ΩG the speed of the main shaft of the generator
ΩG
(Figure 6):
ΩGref + Speed Torque
corrector reference
-

ΩG
PTc

ΩG
Torque control

Figure 6: Inertia control mode

The objective here is to provide a constant power for the largest possible duration following a
frequency variation.

The simulation results are presented in Figure 7. In the first instants following the frequency variation,
the new torque set point is imposed. The active power provided to the grid is increased and kept
constant by using the stored kinetic energy of the WTG and so the rotor speed decreases. Note that, for
the case presented, the decrease of the rotor speed leads to an increase of the mechanical power
(increase of the Cp coefficient) at least till time t = 55 s.

3
The speed ratio λ is equal to the rotor speed multiplied by the radius of the turbine and divided by the wind velocity. The
power coefficient Cp is specific to each wind turbine profile and determines the efficiency of the power conversion from
wind to mechanical power on the shaft of the generator.

9
 mechanical power input (dash) and electrical power output (p.u)

0.5

0
10 20 30 40 50 60
run time
generator rotation speed
(p u)
1

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2
10 20 30 40 50 60
run time

Figure 7: Results for SIG

With the initial speed of the generator at its nominal value, the slowing-down time is up to 50 seconds.
Naturally, this slowing-down can be stopped before if the secondary frequency control operates.

5. Conclusion
Concerning reactive power and voltage control ancillary service, DFIG and SIG have capabilities in
terms of reactive power production and absorption that depend on the rating of the power electronic
converters. If needed, external reactive power devices (such as SVC) can also be installed. DFIG and
SIG can use these capabilities (characterized by a fast dynamic response) to perform voltage control.
CIG does not have such capabilities and requires external devices for the reactive power and voltage
control. The dynamic simulations have shown that voltage control for wind farms can significantly
help to sustain the network voltage in case of grid events and therefore enhance the power system
stability and dynamic behavior.

Concerning frequency control ancillary service, the main objective of this study was to look at the
possibilities offered by the three main types of WTG. It has been shown that when at full loading of
the WTG, the use of the pitch control proves to be effective and enables WTGs to contribute to
frequency control. Nevertheless, the control performance is better for SIG than for DFIG and for CIG.
In case of partial loading of the WTG and for DFIG and SIG, the participation can be performed by
“disoptimizing” the energy conversion process by means of the pitch control, or by setting a non-
optimal rotor speed. In case of partial loading, a judicious way to use the variable speed generators
may also be to use them as inertial flywheels as was demonstrated by the simulation results.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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