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CIGRE 2008

REACTIVE POWER CONTROL IN WIND FARMS: REAL EXPERIENCE AND RESULTS Emilio Fernndez Antn Fernando Santamara Mosquera Iberdrola Renewables Spain

SUMMARY
In order to ensure the Electric Grid stability, new technical requirements for wind farms (ie. voltage dips ride through, voltage level control, etc.) have been set by Transmission System Operators (TSOs) in different countries. Reactive power control is one of most important ones. Focusing in the Spanish situation, wind power installed capacity at the end of 2006 reached 12000 MW. Controlling reactive power at wind farms grid connection point, can contribute to maintain the grid voltage stability with the advantage of the particular wind farms locations spread in different areas and radial networks. In 2004, Royal Decree RD 436/04 was published and reviewed in 2007 as Royal Decree RD 661/07. In both cases according to the Law, an extra incentive is offered to wind farms that manage reactive power as required. Each wind power facility is asked to control its reactive power production between 0,95 leading power factor and 0,95 lagging power factor at the grid connection point. The exact power factor value to achieve in order to get the maximum bonus, depends on the time of the day with a fix calendar included in the Royal Decree. Not getting the required power means economical penalties for the wind farm according to the Law. Iberdrola Renewables as the world leader in wind energy and worldwide most important wind power developer and operator, has an extensive and valuable experience in the Spanish case. Based on this experience Iberdrola Renewables firmly believes that wind power has to be managed quite alike conventional power plants. Also, the grid must be able to feed in as much wind energy as possible. In Spain, Iberdrola Renewables owns, just considering wind power facilities in operation, over 4.000 MW. All of these wind farms have doubly-fed induction wind generators exclusively. This technology uses two back-to-back converters to excite the generator rotor windings from the grid. Both converters can be used to change the absorbed/generated reactive power of the wind turbine by controlling the converter input and output currents. This regulation is implemented by using vectorcontrol techniques. Using the capability of doubly-fed generators to regulate power factor at the grid connection point is the best solution and has several advantages:

efernandeza@iberdrola.es ; fssantamaria@iberdrola.es

It is cheaper than any other solution that requires additional equipment and changes in substation. The installation is extremely simple. Power factor control is smoother and better

During 2005 and 2006 Iberdrola Renewables has conducted a large scale project to adapt its Spanish wind power capacity to reactive power control using wind turbine generators capability. In order to achieve this goal, cooperation with manufacturers was necessary, introducing changes in the wind turbine control and communications with remote control units. As following shown in this paper, Iberdrolas wind farms are currently cooperating with the Spanish Transmission System Operators to stabilise the grid voltage when needed and getting an extra income from the Law bonus. Iberdrolas real experience with reactive power control will be further detailed in this paper as: Power factor control at grid connection point with the corresponding bonus income received. Spanish Royal Decree RD661/07 requirements fulfilment by Iberdrolas wind farms. Real situations to illustrate how wind farms cooperate with the grid stability if required.

The following results have been achieved just using wind turbine regulation capability without any extra capacitors or similar solutions at facilities substation and show that wind farms can cooperate with the grid stability in a similar way that conventional power plants do.

KEYWORDS
Reactive Power Power Factor Wind Farm Electric Grid Stability Regulation Additional Income

OUR EXPERIENCE
Iberdrola Renewables has inherited Iberdrolas 100 years utility culture. As an utility, we are aware of the importance of power system stability, for the benefit of all. This leads us to commit ourselves to grid stability. Due to this commitment, during the last four years Iberdrola Renewables have dealt with different projects to work in wind farms grid integration, such as, low voltage ride through capability, active power control, reactive power/voltage control, etc. This large experience let Iberdrola Renewables to affirm that: Wind energy is able to collaborate actively to electric grid stability, not only without getting it worse, but also significantly improving it. Grid stability cooperation should not be understood by wind energy sector as a handicap for its development, but as an opportunity to improve. Wind farms response improvement regarding to grid issues will permit increasing wind penetration in the grid, rising wind power sector.

Therefore, an environmental benefit is expected for all countries adopting those measures, making easier for the to fulfil their aims and to comply with the established environmental Laws (Kyoto protocol, National & European regulation, etc.). TSOs should consider that each technology (wind farms, nuclear plants, etc.) have specific features, which have to be taken into account for its optimum grid integration. Thus, there are no differences between wind, nuclear or hydraulic energy from the grid point of view.

With Iberdrola Renewables experience, we strongly believe that Wind Power can be a very useful energy, not only to satisfy electricity demand, but also to guarantee grid stability.

SPANISH REACTIVE POWER REQUIREMENTS

In the last four years two Royal Decrees have been published in Spain including economical bonus for reactive power control. To receive that incentive (a percentage on the total active power income), each wind farm has to set at the substation grid connection point, the power factor shown in the next table.
Bonus (%) Power Factor <0,95 <0,96 & 0,95 <0,97 & 0,96 <0,98 & 0,97 <0,91 & 0,98 1 <1 & 0,98 <0,98 & 0,97 <0,97 & 0,96 <0,96 & 0,95 <0,95 High Load -4 -3 -2 -1 0 0 0 2 4 6 8 Medium Load -4 0 0 0 2 4 2 0 0 0 -4 Low Load 8 6 4 2 0 0 0 -1 -2 -3 -4

Lagging

Leading

Table 1. Spanish economical bonus for reactive power control

Depending on day time, a certain power factor can help to the grid stability or not. Therefore, three different periods are considered according to the Spanish electricity historical consumption. High Load. When most users are demanding electricity, wind farms have to cooperate generating reactive power. Medium Load. The grid is already balanced and the wind farm has to be neutral. Power factor=1. Low Load. There is an excess of reactive power in the electric grid and wind farms should absorb it if possible.

Fig. 1: Power factor required by Spanish Law

With this bonus policy, the more the wind farm cooperates with the grid, the bigger the incentive. A real time control strategy is required to fulfil this requirement by constantly adjusting the reactive power set point at each wind turbine and the power factor output at substation.

CONTROL STRATEGY
All of Iberdrola Renewables wind turbines in Spain have doubly-fed induction generators with backto-back converters. Those converters not only are used to excite the rotor windings but also allows the wind turbine to set a specific power factor by regulating voltage and current phases through vector control techniques.

Fig. 2: Iberdrola Renewables wind turbine generators technology 3

This smooth control is better than external solutions at substation to control reactive power because uses the internal wind turbine capability. Also, due to the high switching frequency of power electronic devices, the harmonic distortion is much lower than using external capacitor banks or other costly solutions.

CASE 1 RESULTS: SPANISH REGULATION FULFILMENT

In this case, Iberdrola Renewables wind farms capacity to fulfill Spanish power factor requirements is studied. The example shown below is Bordecorex Norte wind farm (Rated Power:44,35 MW). This wind farm has 40 DFIG wind turbines installed, which are able to control the reactive power generated/absorbed depending on an external set point. The control strategy is as follows: Measured power factor at the interconnection point is compared to the required value according to Table 1. The difference between both data (error) is used to readjust the calculated set point to send to each wind turbine. New set points for the wind turbines are recalculated, trying to eliminate the mentioned error in the next iteration. Wind turbines receive new set points and modify their power factor to comply with the calculated value by the control system. This correction is performed very quickly due to the fast DFIG wind turbine converter control. Wind turbine power factor capacity is limited by its P-Q-T-V ( Active Power, Reactive Power, Ambient Temperature, Voltage) curve. Basically, this curve is defined by the generator and converter design limits. Once power factor at the interconnection point is modified, the error is recalculated and the loop is restarted.

Table 2. Bordecorex results for reactive power control. January 2007 4

Table 2 shows Bordecorex Norte wind farm obtained bonus during January 2007 (6,12%). Figures included in Table 1 are the bases to calculate this bonus. Table 2 includes every quarter of an hour, the obtained bonus during the first hours of January 1,2007 (until 04:00 a.m.). Regarding to the table field Lag/Lead, IND means lagging and Valle means Low Load (These results were obtained from DOMINA, Iberdrola Renewables Asset Management Program) Data shows that Iberdrola Renewables wind farms can follow power factor orders according to a fixed calendar which is defined to cooperate with the electric grid stability.

CASE 2 RESULTS. TSO REQUIREMENTS FULFILMENT

Regarding power factor control, Iberdrola Renewables wind farms not only have fulfilled Table 1 requirements, but also have answered, in a real time basis, to punctual and non-planned requests from the TSO, in order to keep grid voltage into admissible values. In the next situation, Pedregal wind farm response (located in the north-west of Spain) after a TSO request through a phone call is analysed. Pedregal wind farm has an installed capacity of 44,6 MW using 43 DFIG wind turbines. Power factor control behaves as describe in the previous example: CASE 1. In February 15, 2007, (01:32 a.m.), the Spanish TSO asked for a reduction in the consumed reactive power at Pedregal wind farm, in order to balance a particular low voltage level in the grid due to external causes. Thanks to its remote and centralized Renewable Energies Control Centre (CORE), Iberdrola Renewables reduced reactive power consumption in the wind farm, reaching unity power facto. PF=1. Consequently, voltage level was increased, restoring a required balanced level on the grid.

Fig. 3: Voltage level evolution

Fig. 3 shows voltage evolution at the grid inteconnection point (Pedregal Subestation) during the whole TSO request to stop absorbing reactive power. Voltage varies from 01:30 a.m. (when voltagedecrease) to 08:00 a.m. (when voltage reaches its rated value).

Fig. 4: Reactive Power evolution

Fig. 4 shows reactive power evolution at the grid inteconnection point (Pedregal Subestation) in the same period (Reactive power level reduction at Pedregal after TSO request). Reactive power reduces from 01:30 a.m. to 02:00 a.m. just after remotely sending that command to the wind farm.

Fig. 5: Active Power data

Active power remained stable during the whole process, as shown in Fig. 5. Active Power increased in 10 MW over the initial value.

CONCLUSION
Previously shown results illustrate how wind farms can cooperate with the electric grid stability in a similar way that conventional power plants do. Iberdrola Renewables experience is a proof of this favorable cooperation.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] Reactive power control in wind farms by using the capability of wind generators: real experience and results. Iberdrola Renewables. EWEA 2007. Emilio Fernndez Antn; Fernando Santamara Mosquera. Los cdigos de red y las normas de certificacin y verificacin. Iberdrola Renovables. AEE Noviembre 2007. Emilio Fernndez Antn. Resultados de regulacin de reactiva recogidos en DOMINA (Gestor de la Explotacin de Iberdrola Renovables). RD436/2004. (Ministerio de Industria. Espaa, 2004). RD661/2007. (Ministerio de Industria. Espaa, 2007).