Advanced Distributed Wind Turbine Controls Series: Part 2-Wind Energy in Isolated Grids; Microgrids, Infrastructure Resilience, and Advanced Controls Launchpad (MIRACL)

Benjamin Anderson, Ram Poudel, Venkat Krishnan, Jayaraj Rane, Przemyslaw Koralewicz, Jim Reilly, Ian Baring-Gould

Research output: NRELTechnical Report

Abstract

In an isolated grid, wind turbines are typically deployed to provide energy to maximize energy production, reduce diesel-fuel consumption, reduce carbon emissions, and reduce costs for energy and fuel transportation. However, in addition to solely providing energy to the power system, wind turbines contain rotating masses and inverter-based controls that can enable various reliability and resilience services through advance controls. As part of the Microgrids, Infrastructure Resilience, and Advanced Controls Launchpad (MIRACL) this paper demonstrates, through desktop simulations, advanced wind turbine controls that can be employed to support higher contributions of wind in isolated grids, and to demonstrate ways that wind can play a role in supporting stability of an isolated grid. This isolated grid used in these desktop simulations is comprised of a wind turbine (600 kW), solar PV (430 kW), battery energy storage system (1 MW/1MWh), a simulated diesel generator (2 MW) and various types of loads (critical, dynamic). We developed a model of the subsystems in MATLAB/Simulink and validated them with available data from real-world components on NREL's Flatirons Campus. These validated models are then configured for various case studies. We compare the output of the desktop simulation with a baseline case with the diesel generator. Active and reactive power control of the wind turbine can help improve frequency and voltage responses in the isolated grid, respectively. By utilizing a small integrated battery energy storage system in the DC-link of the wind turbine, we also demonstrate that wind turbines can help blackstart a critical load comparable to its rated power and support other renewables (e.g. solar PV) come online and pick up an additional load. This report illustrates some of these reliability and resilience services a wind turbine can provide in an isolated grid.
Original languageAmerican English
Number of pages31
DOIs
StatePublished - 2022

NREL Publication Number

  • NREL/TP-5000-81358

Keywords

  • distributed energy resources
  • distributed wind
  • frequency response
  • isolated grid
  • microgrid
  • power system
  • voltage support
  • wind

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