Frequency regulation with wind power plants

Synchronous and fixed-speed induction generators release the kinetic energy of their rotating mass when the power system frequency is reduced. In the case of doubly fed induction generator (DFIG)-based wind turbines, their control system operates to apply a restraining torque to the rotor according to a predetermined curve with respect to the rotor speed. This control system is not based on the power system frequency and there is negligible contribution to the inertia of the power system. A DFIG control system was modified to introduce inertia response to the DFIG wind turbine. Simulations were used to show that with the proposed control system, the DFIG wind turbine can supply considerably greater kinetic energy than a fixed-speed wind turbine.

This paper proposes a control scheme that allows doubly fed induction wind generators (DFIWG) to participate effectively in system frequency regulation. In this control approach, wind generators operate according to a deloaded optimum power extraction curve such that the active power provided by each wind turbine increases or decreases during system frequency changes. The control strategy defined at the wind generator to supply primary frequency regulation capability exploits a combination of control of the static converters and pitch control, adjusting the rotor speed and the active power according to the deloaded optimum power extraction curve. Results obtained in a small isolated system are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach.

This paper proposes an optimized dispatch control strategy for active and reactive powers delivered by a doubly fed induction generator in a wind park. In this control approach, wind turbines are supposed to operate over a deloaded maximum power extraction curve and will respond to a supervisory wind farm control after a request from a system operator for adjusting the outputs of the wind park. The definition of the active and reactive powers operating points, for each wind turbine, is defined from an optimization algorithm that uses the primal-dual predictor corrector interior point method. The control strategy used at the wind generator level exploits a combination of pitch control and control of the static converters to adjust the rotor speed for the required operation points. A small wind park is used to illustrate the effectiveness of the developed approach.

The increasing penetration of variable-speed wind turbines in the electricity grid will result in a reduction of the number of connected conventional power plants. This will require changes in the way the grid frequency is controlled. In this letter, a method is proposed to let variable-speed wind turbines emulate inertia and support primary frequency control. The required power is obtained from the kinetic energy stored in the rotating mass of the turbine blades.

An assessment on the capability of a doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) wind turbine for frequency regulation is presented. Detailed aerodynamic, structural and electrical dynamic models were used in this study. A control loop acting on the frequency deviation was added to the inertia contributing loop in order to enhance the inertia support from the DFIG wind turbine. The possibility of de-loading a wind turbine to provide primary and secondary frequency response was discussed. A frequency droop controller was examined where the droop is operating on the electronic torque set point below its maximum speed and is operating on the pitch demand at maximum speed. It is also shown that by reducing the generator torque set point the DFIG wind turbine can provide high frequency response.