Abstract
The rapid expansion of wind power has led many transmission system operators to demand modern wind power plants to comply with strict interconnection requirements. Such requirements involve various aspects of wind power plant operation, including fault ride-through and power quality performance as well as the provision of ancillary services to enhance grid reliability. During recent years, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) of the U.S. Department of Energy has developed a new, groundbreaking testing apparatus and methodology to test and demonstrate many existing and future advanced controls for wind generation (and other renewable generation technologies) on the multimegawatt scale and medium-voltage levels. This paper describes the capabilities and control features of NREL's 7-MVA power electronic grid simulator (also called a controllable grid interface, or CGI) that enables testing many active and reactive power control features of modern wind turbine generators -- including inertial response, primary and secondary frequency responses, and voltage regulation -- under a controlled, medium-voltage grid environment. In particular, this paper focuses on the specifics of testing the balanced and unbalanced fault ride-through characteristics of wind turbine generators under simulated strong and weak medium-voltage grid conditions. In addition, this paper provides insights on the power hardware-in-the-loop feature implemented in the CGI to emulate (in real time) the conditions that might exist in various types of electric power systems under normal operations and/or contingency scenarios. Using actual test examples and simulation results, this paper describes the value of CGI as an ultimate modeling validation tool for all types of 'grid-friendly' controls by wind generation.
Original language | American English |
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Number of pages | 10 |
State | Published - 2017 |
Event | 15th International Workshop on Large-Scale Integration of Wind Power into Power Systems as well as on Transmission Networks for Offshore Wind Power Plants - Vienna, Austria Duration: 15 Nov 2016 → 17 Nov 2016 |
Conference
Conference | 15th International Workshop on Large-Scale Integration of Wind Power into Power Systems as well as on Transmission Networks for Offshore Wind Power Plants |
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City | Vienna, Austria |
Period | 15/11/16 → 17/11/16 |
NREL Publication Number
- NREL/CP-5D00-67247
Keywords
- electric grids
- microgrids
- power quality
- power system faults
- test facilities
- wind energy integration