Grid Stability with Large Wind Power Integration

A CaseStudy
J. Sreedevi, Meera K.S, Noor Cheshma.P S. Ravichandran, R.Santhanakumar, T.Sumathi
Engineering Oftker, Joint Director, SRF Chief Engineer, Superintending Engineer, AEE
Power Systems Division System Studies Group
Central Power Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Company
Bangalore, India Tamilnadu, India
[email protected] [email protected]

Abstract- Renewable energy resourees are intermittent power system stability. Hence wind turbines were required not
energy sources whose power output ean vary widely within small to actively attempt to control voltage or frequency. In addition,
time frames resulting in grid instability. The Integration of large wind turbines were required to disconnect from the grid when
seale wind power into power systems raises several questions abnormal operating conditions occur. However, increased wind
whieh include integration with the network system, system power penetration leads to the problem that considerable
stability, system operation and extensions of the network ete. At amount of generation might disconnect in case of a transient
the earlier stage of wind power integration, there was little fault in the system or conventional generators fails to respond
eoneern about its influenee on the overall stability of apower to large wind fluctuations in time causing the system to become
system. However, with the inereasing wind power integration, it
unstable from an otherwise harmless fault situation.
may begin to have a signifieant influenee on the power system
transient stability margin. Most of the wind generators employed The main aspects why wind integration can have a possible
in wind power applieations are Induetion generators that operate impact on transient stability issues are (a) Wind resources are
asynehronously and are eharaeterized by poor reaetive power usually at different locations than conventional power stations.
eontrol eapabHity. Additionally, an aeeeptable integration level of Thus, power flows are considerably different in the presence of
wind power has not been defined and depends on the amount of a high amount of wind power and power systems are typically
wind power that ean be integrated without eausing in-stability of not optimized for wind power transport (b) Wind generators
the grid. In this paper the results of the studies earried out for
are usually connected to lower voltage levels than conventional
Tamil Nadu state, having the highest wind power integration in
power stations. Most wind farms are connected to
India with the grid has been presented. The various issues
addressed are - quantifieation of the maximum wind penetration
subtransmission (eg. 132 kV, 110 kV, 66 kV) and not directly
levels without saerificing the grid stability, the ride through to transmission levels (> I 32kV) via big step-up transformers as
eapabHity at the point of eonneetion of the wind farms, the in ca se of conventional power stations (c) Wind generators are
reaetive power requirement ete. usually based on different generator technologies than
conventional synchronous generators.
Keywords- Renewable Energy sourees, Grid integration, Low Among wind generators there are several different
Voltage Ride through capabaility, transient stability
technologies each of which will have different impacts on
power systems. There are essentially three major types ofwind
I. INTRODUCTlON turbine designs (a) Constant speed turbines (b) Variable speed
turbines and (c) Gearless turbines. Constant speed turbines
Wind power as a generation source has specific employ conventional induction generators while variable speed
characteristics, incJuding variability, geographical distribution, designs are based either on doubly-fed asynchronous
favorable economics and above all abundance and generators or conventional generators connected to the grid
environmental benefits. As wind power penetration increases, through a full back-to-back frequency converter. Gearless
concems about the stability of power systems are to be turbines typically use conventional or permanent magnet
examined. Increasing wind power penetration in apower generators connected to the grid through a full back-to-back
system means that wind turbines substitute the conventional frequency converter. The limit for wind generator capacity in a
power plants that traditionally control and stabilize the power particular region will therefore depend on the particular
system. Before the advent of wind power plants, power performance characteristics of these wind generators. Fixed
systems mainly consisted of synchronous generators for speed induction generators are provided with reactive power
electricity production. The behavior and control of these compensator to cater for the large reactive power demand. In
generators following a disturbance are weil understood by the the case of variable speed generators the power electronics
utility operators due to their experiences thereof over the years. devices provide the required reactive power to the grid.
The advent of wind power introduces induction generators Excitation system and dynamic compensation devices such as
(asynchronous machines) into the power system for electricity ST ATCOM have been used to increase the stability margin.
generation as they are cheap, robust and support variable speed
operation. Until recently, wind turbines were treated by and It is now widely accepted that for large wind farms
large as embedded generators, which were not to contribute to connected to the transmission system, it is expected that the

978-1-5090-2597-8/16/$31.00@2016 IEEE 571

wind turbines should be able to ride through a single or multi- The conventional generators in T ANGEDCO system are
phase fault that occurs at the transmission voltage level as per modeled in detail as Synchronous machines with one field
the Indian grid code requirements [I]. The exact amount of winding, one damper winding in d-axis and two damper
wind generation that may be incorporated into a system before windings in q- axis. The excitation system for generators is
the burden of operation becomes excessive (usually called modeled as IEEE-Type I exciter. The Wind generators in
maximum penetration of wind power) is highly system T ANGEDCO system are of two types - Synchronous wind
dependent. The maximum levels of penetration depend on the generators and Asynchronous wind generators (Induction
amount that can be integrated without causing problem to the generators). Synchronous wind generators are modeled
stability of the network. similar to conventional generators and Asynchronous wind
generators are modeled as Induction generators.
In this paper, a case study of Tamil Nadu state, which has
the highest amount of wind power installed in India, has been Transient Stability studies have been carried out for the
presented to study the various impacts (stability, maximum T ANGEDCO network after performing the Load flow studies.
wind penetration level, low voltage ride through and reactive Stability of the system is tested for various contingencies such
power) of increasing wind power penetration on the grid. The as outage of conventional and wind generators, line outages,
2015 year power scenario of the grid has been considered for outages of Inter-Connecting Transformer, three phase to
the study. Tamil Nadu (Fig I) has considerable amount of ground faults at various buses.
wind generation mainly in Udumalpet and Tirunelveli regions.
The total generation is 14947 MW out ofwhich 10942 MW is III. LOAD FLOW STUDIES
from conventional sources and 6827 MW from wind
Scenario 1: The load flow studies are matched to get the cIosest
generation (3191MW in Udumalpet region and 3636 MW in
initial operating condition. The total generation in the system
Tirunelveli region).
for scenario studied is 14947 MW out of which conventional
Grid Map ofTamil Nadu generation is 10942 MW and wind generation is 4005 MW
(58.66 % of the installed wind capacity). In the operating
scenario considered, around 60% of the installed wind
generation is considered (Udumalpet region: 1882 MW and
Tirunelveli region: 2123 MW). Capacitor compensation of 268
MV AR has been added at 110 kV voltage level to ensure the
bus voltages are within permissible limits. The wind capacity
penetration is given by equation (I):
Wind Gen. (MW)
Wind Capacity Penetration (%) = Total Gen. (MW) (1)

4005
= - - =26.8 %
14947

Scenario 11: The output from the wind generators is increased

from the existing levels to check the system stability with
increased levels of wind penetration. The output from the wind
generators which is limited to around 60% in the load flow
scenario is further increased keeping the same T ANGEDCO
system network configuration. It is found that if the output
from the wind generators goes beyond 67% of the installed
Tirunelveli wind capacity, the load flow solution does not converge. The
output of the wind generators for different scenarios is listed in
Table I.
4586
W ind CapacityPenetration (%) = 15652 = 29 .3 %
Fig. 1 Wind regions ofTamilnadu
T ABLE I OUTPUT OF WIND GENERATORS
11. SYSTEM MODELING

Simulation of the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Wind Region InstalIed Wind generation (MW)
capacity Scenario 1 Scenario 11
Company (T ANGEDCO) electrical system from generation to (MW)
110 kV is considered and is simulated in the SIMPOW® Udumalpet 3191 1882 2105
software. Each wind farm is modeled with individual Tirunelveli 3636 2123 2481
generators connected through generating transformer to the Total 6827 4005 4586
point of connection. These wind generators are integrated at % Installed Capacity 58.66 67.17
different voltage levels II kV, 33 kV and 110 kV in % Wind penetration 26.8 29.3
T ANGEDCO system.

572 2016 IEEE Region 10 Conference (TENCON) - Proceedings ofthe International Conference
 In the load flow results it is observed that the voltages at Udumalpet & Tirunelveli region simultaneously is simulated to
400 kV are within limits ofO.95 pu to 1.05 pu and at few ofthe find the maximum generation loss which makes the system
220 kV buses the bus voltage are below 0.9 pu. In the 110kV unstable. The loss of wind generation of 2497.76 MW makes
buses voltage violations are observed at most of the buses. So the system unstable. This corresponds to a loss of 16.71 % of
bus voltages are adjusted as per Indian Central Electricity the total generation. System instability can be seen from drop
Authority guide lines (0.92 pu to l.lpu) by providing reactive in voltages in Fig 4.
power compensation to the tune of additional 620 MV AR at TNEB PLANNINGSTUIlIES

various 110 kV buses. The actual compensation requirement SUDIlENLOSSOFWlNOINI.JDl.t.lALPETREGlON-SYNCIROHOUS&A.SYHCHROHOUS

_ NCOE 10649KANDAMA I UPOS. ~v

will be less than this if on load tap changers are enabled. _

_
_
NCOE 107&eKAOMLGDU U POS. kV
NCOE l 0267RASGA.PR l UPOS_ kV
NCOE 10449VAlGDAM U POS_ kV
_ NOOE DF_l 0990KllDMLGDWUPOS. kV

IV. STABILITY STUDIES

Transient Stability studies have been carried out for the
T ANGEDCO network for various contingencies such as -
outage of conventional and wind generators, line outages, oo.o ~
outages of Inter-Connecting Transforrner, three phase to
ground faults at various buses.

, , , I I I , ,
A. Outage of Conventional Generators 0.0 ' .0
'" 6.0 8.0
TIr.l eSECOJ<lDS
10.0 12.0 14.0

Oiag,am:lI
STRI Software
Rotor angle stability ofthe system is analyzed for Outage of
209NLC2EX41 500 MW, Mettur 210 MW generator and Fig.3 Dip in the voltage for sudden loss ofwind in Udumalpet region
Tuticom 210 MW generator. Rotor angle of the machines are
shown in Fig 2. which are plotted for duration of 15 seconds. TrtilPLAHNlHGSTI.IlIES
~LOSSOFWlNDltH.lJl"'ALPET&TI_8..VELIREGlOOSl"'ULT AI'lEOUSLY :

As seen from the plots the system is stable as the rotor angles _
_
~ ODE

~ ODE
10666C1-111'1PDR I UPOS. <v
10667PO'lPRM l U POS. <v

settles to a stable operating point. _

_
~ OOE

~ODE
10260MELKAAPT U POS. kV
10599PUDPLM I UPOS. <v

TtEBPL,o\NNlNGSTLOSS
0UT .... GEOI'2G9tf..C2EX41_D

_ SYNC9MTPS 12G_D TETA DEGREESRELATIVET0206VALLURN_D

_ SYNC411PS 12G_D TETA DEGREESRELATIVET0206VALWRJV_D
_ SYNC 118NCTPS 12G_D TETA DEGREESRELATfIIET0206VAlLURN_ D
_ SYNC 209NLC2EX41 _D TETA DEGREES RELATIVE T0206VAlWRN_D
_ SYNC l 02MTPS3G TETA DEGREESRElATIVET0206VALLURN_D

,".o ~

:: ~
_20_0

~.o ~___
~-............~~~_--

~.o

, , , , , , , ,
0.0 '.0 ' .0 '.0 '0 10.0 12.0 14.0

STRI Software Dlagra m :1

, , , , ,
0 .0 <.0 ' .0
j
6.0
j
8 .0
i
10.0 12.0 14.0 Fig.4 Drop in bus voltages for a loss of 16.71% ofthe wind generation
TlME SB::CH::IS

STRI Software

Stability studies are also carried out to find stability of the

Fig. 2 Rotor angles for Outage of conventional Generator system with increased wind penetration levels for load flow
scenario 11. Studies similar to the above are carried out and the
summary ofthe stability results are tabulated in Table 11.
B. Outage of Wind Generators
As part of stability studies, sudden loss of wind generation T ABLE 1I SUMMARY OF STABlLlTY RESULTS
is studied in Udumalpet and Tirunelveli regions individually
and simultaneously. The voltage dip experienced by the system Condition Scenario I Scenario II
for sudden loss of the wind turbines depends on the type of
wind generators. Wind Generation 4005 MW 4586MW

Sudden decrease in the output of the wind generators due to Peak Load 14947MW 15652 MW
loss of wind is simulated by disconnecting wind generators in Wind capacity penetration 26.8% 29.3 %
these regions. The sudden loss of all wind generators in
Udumalpet region is simulated to deterrnine the stability of the Sudden loss of wind in Stable - for Stable - for
Udumalpet loss of 12.6% loss of 13.45%
system. There is a generation loss of 12.6 % in Udumalpet
region by disconnecting all generators for the scenario I. For Sudden loss of wind in Stable - for Unstable - for
Tirunelveli loss of 14.2% lossof 13.41%
this case, the system is observed to be stable. This can be seen
Sudden loss ofwind in Unstable - Unstable -
from the Fig 3. Similarly in Tirunelveli region, loss of all wind
Udumalpet and for more than for more than 14.95
generation amounts to loss of 14.2 % of generation and system Tirunelveli 16.71% loss % loss
is able to sustain from instability. Sudden loss of wind in

20161EEE Region 10 Conference (TENCON) - Proceedings ofthe International Conference 573

C. Fault/ Low Voltage Ride Through (LVRT) capability
Fault ride through capability requires the generator to
remain stable and connected to the network during the 00.' -
occurrence of the fault just like conventional systems are
required to remain connected to the system during faults in the
adjacent circuits so as to avoid further loss of generation and
drop in frequency. Constant speed turbines may not be capable
offault ride through unless additional equipment is supplied for
the grid support during fault conditions. Wind turbine with
Doubly Fed Induction Generator (DFIG) and Permanent
Magnet Synchronous generators (pMSG) is capable of fault i j i j I , j i j i j i j i , I

ride through capability. STRI Software IY<TE 3 APR 20 , 4TIMEI3:54:13

TlM ESECOfClS
JOBTNEB_LVRT Slm pow l' .0.003

As per Indian Electricity Grid Code, wind farms must

remain connected when the voltage dip profile is above the line Fig.5 LVRTcapabilityat 10667 PONNAPURAM bus
shown in the Fig 4. The Wind generating machines shall have
the operating region as shown in Fig.4 during system faults. D. Load through OFF ofhighly inductive load:
Wind farms can be disconnected if the operating point falls
Load throw off is simulated at two buses. At node
below the line as shown in Fig 4.
210lNLCMINES a highly inductive load of 100 MW + j 105
MV AR was present in the system.
At 1.0 seconds this load is disconnected from the system,
the bus voltage 210lNLCMINES is plotted against the time as
shown in Fig 6. The voltage is rising to 228.98kV (l32.2kV
line to ground) and the system is stable.
(I)
Cl
lll:
o
>

VI

:::J - - - - -
o T llme (ms) 3000

Fig. 4 Fault Ride through characteristics

T: 300 ms, Vf: 15% ofNominal System voltage

Vpf: Minimum voltage (80% ofNominal System Voltage) 130_00
O~
,
1~
I
U
I
~
I
U
I
U
I
M
I
n
,
MU
I I
lM
I
1 1~
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I I
1M
,
14 ~
i
1M
TIMESECONDS

The fault clearing time for various system nominal voltage STRI Software IY<TE 3 APR20,4 TIME ,6:00:45 JOB •..,ac hing Simpow ll .0.003

levels is given in RefIl] Flg. 6 Voltage at 230 kV bus 2101NLCMINES

E. Reserve Margin measures for high Windpenetration

LVRT capability at i0667PONPRMi : At this bus six wind
generators are present contributing 90.77 MW. These Demand for electricity can change in any electrical utility in
generators are connected to grid through 22 1110 kV generating matter of time and load generation balance has to be
transformers. Three phase to ground fault is created at the bus maintained for system stability. As wind penetration increases,
10667PONPRMIand cleared after 8 cycles. For the dip in T ANGEDCO requires additional spinning reserves to
voltage for duration of eight cycles these wind generators are maintain desired level of grid reliability.
not getting disconnected from the grid and thereby able to ride
through the fault. This can be seen from the voltage plot at Reserve margin for T ANGEDCO system is calculated
ponnapuram bus shown in Fig 5. based on the concepts given in [2, 3] for both scenarios
This LVRT capability is also checked at (a) wind farm in considered in the study. Reserve capacity calculations for
Udumalpet region which is Pappampatti of l3.64 MW (b) T ANGEDCO system is tabulated in Table IV. For the case of
largest wind farm in Tirunelveli region which is Udayathur of 30 % wind penetration areserve margin of 3.7% to 4.7% is to
120.93 MW (c) wind farm in Tirunelveli Region which is be maintained based on the information available in literature.
Kadayanallur of 14.8 MW. It was observed that in all cases
studied the wind farms were able to ride through the fault and
thereby the system is stable.

574 20i6iEEE Region 10 Conference (TENCON) - Proceedings ofthe international Conference

 T ABLE IV RESERVE REQUlREMENTS FOR TANGEDCO

Reserve Scenario I Scenario 11

requirement
Based on [2] 3.7 %*14947 = 553 MW 3.70/0*15652 = 579 MW
Based on [3] 0.1 % * 14947*20 + 0.1 % *15652*20 +
0.3% * 14947*6.81 0.3% *15652*9.29
= 298.94 + 305.36 = 313.04 + 436.22
=604.30MW = 749.26 MW

V. CONCLUSIONS
Integration of large scale wind power may have severe
impacts on the power system performance and system
operation. In recent years there is an increased focus on wind
farm performance and the functional requirements they should
meet. Hence most of the countries have defined grid codes
which specify the dynamic and static requirements wind
turbines must meet in order to be connected to the grid. As per
the Grid codes, wind farms are required to remain transiently
stable and connected to the system without tripping of any of
the generators of the wind farm during three-phase faults in the
transmission system and the ride through fault capabilities must
be met.
In this paper, the results of stability studies for the
T ANGEDCO system having the highest wind generation
integrated with the Indian grid with a penetration level of
26.8 % has been discussed. The studies have shown that
maximum wind generation TANGEDCO can accommodate for
the operating scenario considered is 29.3 % without loss of
stability. The results of the study have been helpful in
quantifying the maximum wind penetration levels beyond
which grid stability will be lost. As the wind farms considered
in the study have different types of wind generators, the ride
through capability of the wind generators have also been
studied and discussed with reference to the Indian Grid code.

20161EEE Region 10 Conference (TENCON) - Proceedings ofthe International Conference 575