Effect of Wind-Energy Power Injection into Weak Grids
Soenke Grunau and Friedrich W. Fuchs
Institute for Power Electronics and Electrical Drives
Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel
D-24143 Kiel, Germany
Email: sgr@tf.uni-kiel.de and fwf@tf.uni-kiel.de
Abstract
Frequency converter control can be challenging in re-
gard to the connection of wind turbines to and the
power injection into a weak grid due to uncertainty of
grid parameters. This paper reviews the basic prin-
ciples about weak grids in order to describe effects of
power injection of wind turbines regarding the voltage
level and grid stability. The occurrence of these ef-
fects differs significantly with variations of the grid para-
meters and can be influenced and partly controlled
by the fed in power. The boundaries and require-
ments of this injection to realize a stable and controlled
operation are investigated analytically and validated by
means of simulations. A PI based control structure
regulating the voltage at the point of common coupling
is proposed. For weak grids an energy storage system
is proposed to smooth the output power and to disbur-
den the grid side converter while it needs to provide
voltage regulation functionality.
Keywords: weak grid, wind power injection, PCC
voltage control, energy storage systems.
1 Introduction
The amount of injected power from regenerative ener-
gy sources like wind turbines (WTs) to the mains is in-
creasing steadily. The share of power attained from
wind energy was growing with some 10% worldwide
per year in the last time [1]. It can be foreseen that the
main part of injected energy into the grid in some re-
gions, especially near the coasts, will come from WTs
in the future. These decentralized feeders normally
supply their energy by means of frequency converters
to the grid. As a consequence the grid is exposed to
negative effects, such as high harmonics, but also fa-
vorable ones, as controllability of the injected power for
example. Especially the reactive power can be regu-
lated to stabilize the grid voltage. By the use of energy
storage systems (ESS) the active power can be fed in
independently from fluctuations of the wind, as far as
the ESS and the converter rating allows. A main prob-
lem of the decentralized generation is that the points of
common coupling (PCC) are located far away from the
energy consumption centers. At these locations weak
grids can often be found, which typically are character-
ized by a high grid impedance [2].
Today many challenges still occur regarding the control
of the grid side converters due to uncertainty of grid
parameters in such conditions. Solutions for this prob-
lem are discussed in literature. In [2] controllers for WT
converters are designed and optimized regarding ro-
bustness due to grid parameter variations for the use in
weak grids with a short circuit ratio of approximately 4.
In [3] investigations about a control structure for a per-
manent magnet synchronous generator in weak grids
are carried out. Here the DC-link control is performed
by the rotor side converter. Also energy storage sys-
tems gain increasing importance. In [4] and [5] stor-
age technologies are studied and in [6] an ESS is in-
vestigated for the operation in a doubly fed induction
generator system. The enhancement of stabilization of
such a system connected to a weak grid was studied in
[7]. But the concept of using an ESS to enhance sta-
bility by output power smoothing and ramp control are
not yet widely reported and discussed.
In this contribution basic principles of weak grids are
reviewed and effects of power injection in regard to
voltage deviations and system stability are considered
theoretically and by means of simulations.
In chapter 2 weak grids are characterized and an ana-
lytical model is developed to study the impact of power
injection on voltage level and a stable grid operation.
The simulation model is explained. In chapter 3 a
method based on a PI control is proposed to regulate
the grid connection voltage for a stable operation and
requirements and limitations are investigated. In chap-
ter 4 it is proposed to use ESSs to smooth the output
power and to disburden the grid connected frequency
converter while injecting reactive power for grid sta-
bilization purposes. Simulations are done to demon-
strate the proposed control to regulate the connection
voltage and to validate analytical calculations. Finally
chapter 5 finishes with a conclusion.
2 Weak Grids of the grid impedance can be calculated in (2).
Z Z
X=q , R= q (2)
2.1 Characterization 1+ 1 2


1 + (xrr)
2
xrr

Electrical grids can be separated into two parts: trans-
mission lines and distribution lines. Historically this
structure was necessary because nearly the whole
amount of energy was produced in huge power plants
and then transported via transmission lines with high
voltage to the consumption centers and distributed via
the distribution lines with medium and low voltage to
households and industry. Today, with the increase
of decentralized power generation from regenerative
energy sources, this structure changes. A steadily
growing amount of energy is produced directly at the
consumption centers (e.g. photovoltaic) or in decen-
tralized areas. Especially WTs are located in coastal
regions, because of stronger and steadier wind condi-
tions than in the countryside. One big problem arises
since electrical grids often are not constructed to trans-
port big amounts of energy in these regions.
A grid can be characterized by different parameters.
Beneath its voltage level and its total power capability
the short circuit capacity SCC can be defined. The
SCC is the amount of power flowing at a given point
in case of a short circuit. It is mainly dependent on
the rated voltage UG and the absolute value of grid
impedance Zgrid , which can be measured at this point.
The grid impedance is the sum of impedances of many
grid components and typically differs from region to
region. One part of it consists of the impedance of the
transmission line itself which mainly depends on mate-
rial, diameter and length of the line. Transformers are
used to connect lines with different voltage levels. They
are typically high inductive. To disburden the grid from
reactive power flows and to stabilize it, special compen-
sation devices are installed. They are typically capa-
citive. Also loads make a big contribution towards the
grid impedance. They can change during the day and
can have ohmic, inductive or capacitive character.
If an active load such as a WT with a rated power of
SN,W T is connected to the grid, a short circuit ratio
SCR can be defined in (1).
2
SCC UG
SCR = = (1)
SN,W T Zweak SN,W T
If the SCR is smaller than 10 the grid is considered as
weak [2].
Another important factor to characterize the grid is the
ratio of reactive and ohmic parts of the grid impedance
Z, called the X/R-ratio (xrr). With the values of Z and
xrr the inductive amount X and the ohmic amount R
Weak grids typically have a low xrr, such as 0.5, so
they have an ohmic character.
2.2 Analytical Model
To study the effects of power injection into a weak grid
a simplified grid model can be utilized. Therefore the
whole grid with all impedances and power sources and
sinks can be described by means of Thvenins theo-
rem as one voltage source and one grid impedance.
When it is considered that this equivalent impedance
Z grid is much smaller than the weak grid impedance
Z weak , Z grid can be neglected and the equivalent cir-
cuit model in figure 1 can be used for analytical inves-
tigations [8]. The voltage level UG at the connection
point of the weak grid to the strong main grid is con-
sidered to remain constant. The WT is connected to
Zweak IWT
PCC
UZ
UG UPCC
Figure 1: Equivalent circuit of the weak grid model
this weak grid at the PCC with a voltage UP CC . It in-
jects the current I W T to the system. For the following
calculations UP CC is chosen as the reference voltage,
so each phase angle of other voltages and currents are
referred to UP CC .
With the WT as the only connected load the complex
power at the PCC can be described by (3).


UP CC U G
S P CC = UP CC I W T = UP CC
Z weak
= P + jQ (3)
Thus it can be derived (4).

2
UP2 CC UP2 CC UG 2


+ 2RP + 2XQ +
(4)
P 2 + Q2 R2 + X 2 = 0



There are two solutions for UP CC , one describing a
possible (stable) and the other an impossible (un-
stable) grid operation. Possible means that UP CC still
exists as a voltage with a definable frequency and am-
plitude, which is not the case for the impossible grid
operation. Furthermore it will be defined in this paper was increased.
that UP CC needs to have a possible solution and a
Id SCR
value of 1 p.u. for the intended static operation.
P
When the WT injects full power SW T = 1 p.u. to the
weak grid, UP CC changes for different combinations
t
of P and Q as shown in figure 2. The WT always
feeds in active power, so P and cos() always remain Iq
positive while reactive power can be inductive or capa- Q SCR

citive. The plots only contain the possible solutions

from (4). Mainly two conclusions can be made. Firstly, t
for very weak grids a stable operation without the help intended
of additional compensation or oversized grid side con- UPCC,d SCR operation point

verters is not possible and secondly, if power injec- UPCC,q 1 p.u.

tion is possible, there is always one combination of

P and Q to receive a constant voltage at PCC and t
thus the intended operation point. From (4) several
SWT
SCR

t
1.6

1.5 SCR = 1

1.4 Figure 3: Outline of a process of grid instabilization for

a weak grid with a low SCR and a low xrr
1.3 SCR = 2
[p.u.]

1.2
PCC

SCR = 5
U

1.1 2.3 Simulation Model

1
The simulation model consists of a simplified represen-
0.9 tation of a strong grid with a SCR of 200 and a xrr of
10. To this strong main grid a weak grid is connected
0.8 (SCR = 2, xrr = 0.5). At its end a WT feeds in power.
The WT is modeled by a filter and a voltage source,
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 representing the grid connected frequency converter.
cos() The switching of the inverter is not part of the model.
At the PCC a load with the impedance Z load can be
Figure 2: UP CC at power injection of SW T = 1 p.u. and connected. In figure 4 the model with its components
xrr = 0.5 is illustrated. Here the grid voltage level at the PCC is

methods can be derived, like dQ/dV- or dV/dE- cri- PCC

IWT
teria by Venikov and Weedy [8], [9], to calculate the
boundaries of stable and unstable operation points. Zgrid Zweak Zfilter
VN UG
In figure 3 a possible grid instabilization process is UWT
shown, also derived from (4). A constant increase Zload
of the active current Id leads to an increase of active UPCC
power P , which is equal to total power SW T , and so
to an increase of UP CC . By means of injecting a reac- Figure 4: Scheme of the simulation model
tive current Iq the PCC voltage can be decreased until
the intended operation point can be reached. If the in- regulated by controlling injected reactive current. With
jection of Iq is further increased, the operation of this UP CC as reference all other voltages and currents can
system becomes impossible when UP CC falls down to be transformed into rotating reference frame values
zero volts. The grey arrows in figure 3 indicate where (d- and q- components with Park transformation). So
the maxima of the single curves would move if SCR the injected currents are separated in Id , representing
an active current, and Iq , representing a reactive cur- and the disturbance variables Id and the phase angle
rent. Each component is controlled with a PI controller, between UP CC and U G .
as shown in figure 5. The PI controllers are tuned
equally by means of symmetrical optimum method with UP CC,d Id UG j
a slightly reduced time constant. So the controllers = 2fG Lweak + Rweak + e (5)
Iq | {z } Iq Iq
are slowed down, overshoot is decreased and the grid plant | {z }
disturbance
voltage repercussion effects can be reduced. The fic-

Id Hence for the controller design process the knowledge

Id* - Ud* of the weak grid impedance, especially of Lweak , is im-
PI
portant. For these investigations the known parameter
dq UWT*
Iq PT1 values are used for the design process. As a result
abc
Iq* - Uq* of a robustness test of the control for different values
PI of Lweak it can be concluded that the controller perfor-
mance decreases with a poor impedance estimation.
Figure 5: Current control structure If Lweak is estimated as too high in the control design
process, the controller stays stable but works slowly,
if Lweak is considered as too small, the controller gets
tive switching frequency is fs = 4950 Hz. A PT1 de-
faster but starts to oscillate. For too small estimations
lay unit with a time delay of Ts = 1/fs is included in
the system becomes unstable. Relating to chapter 2.2
the control loop to represent the time lag of the con-
verter. The d- and q- components of the current are
decoupled by a decoupling network. An output limita- 0.2
tion with anti-windup is implemented, but not shown in
xrr = 10
the figure. The simulation model does neither contain a
0
controlled ESS nor a power management. The power
is calculated with instantaneous power theory by Akagi
xrr = 2
[10]. 0.2
Q [p.u.]

xrr = 1
0.4
3 Power Injection into Weak Grids

3.1 Voltage Regulation 0.6 xrr = 0.5

A WT should always feed in as much active power as 0.8

possible to optimize its profit. So this current compo-
SWT = 1 p.u.
nent Id cannot be used for voltage control purposes.
Hence the independently controllable reactive current 1
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
must be used to regulate the PCC voltage if no other
P [p.u.]
compensation devices are available. Since the control
system of the WT is referred to the PCC voltage, its
Figure 7: Reactive power Q demand for different active
quadrature component UP CC,q is always equal to zero
power injection and SCR = 2
in steady state and a PI controller can be used to reg-
ulate UP CC,d , as shown in figure 6. When UG is con-
the demand of reactive power for PCC voltage regula-
UPCC,d tion depends on the amount of injected active current
UPCC,d* - Iq*
PI Id and on the weak grid parameters. This demand de-
pending on the active power injection is illustrated in
figure 7.
Figure 6: UP CC control structure In the case of a small xrr a big amount of inductive re-
active power is necessary to cover the demand. With
sidered to be constant, the relationship of UP CC,d and an increasing inductive part of the grid impedance the
Iq can be described in (5) with the grid frequency fG demand for reactive power decreases.
3.2 Effects of Power Injection
From the previous chapters it can be concluded that
UP CC significantly changes without a reactive power
compensation. In this case the voltage drop over the
grid impedance can be described by (6).
U Z = RId + j XId , Iq = 0 (6)
U Z = (RId XIq ) + j (XId + RIq ), Iq 6= 0 (7)
For a small xrr and a small SCR the PCC voltage am-
plitude increases excessively. Therefore only a small
phase angle occurs. To regulate the PCC voltage
down to 1 p.u. a huge amount of inductive reactive
power is needed (see (7)), increases.
If there is a big xrr and a small SCR and no reactive
power compensation, UP CC increases only slightly or
even decreases, is big. For UP CC regulation only a
small amount of reactive power is needed, Q can also
be capacitive and decreases.
3.3 Limitations
In figure 7 also the boundary for maximal power injec-
tion is displayed. On and above this blue circle each
operation point can be reached with a converter ra-
ting of SW T = 1 p.u.. If there are no further com-
pensation devices, like flexible AC transmission sys-
tems (FACTS), or an oversized grid side converter
(some possibilities are discussed in the next chapter)
the operation points below this boundary line cannot
be realized. In this case active power injection has to
be limited down to the value that the converter rating
allows. These values are shown in figure 8.
4 Wind Turbines in Weak Grids
For voltage stabilization purposes reactive power injec-
tion is required. The amount of this demand depends
on the SCR and the xrr. This demand rises especially
for small xrr. The sources of reactive power can be
realized in several ways:
The active power output can be curtailed in order
to provide the required reactive power by the con-
verter. This is the easiest but the less profitable
solution.
FACTS, like the Static Compensator (StatCom),
can be operated as reactive power sources [11].
The StatCom can absorb or deliver reactive power
xrr = 10
1
xrr = 2
0.9
0.8
P [p.u.]
xrr = 1
0.7
0.6
xrr = 0.5
0.5
2 4 6 8 10
SCR
Figure 8: Maximum active power injection with voltage
regulation and SW T = 1 p.u. for different
SCR and xrr
with high dynamics due to its full scale frequency
converter. It can also operate as active filter to en-
hance the power quality. It is shunt connected to a
load.
The grid-side converter of the WT can be over-
sized to meet the required reactive power demand.
An ESS to disburden the grid-side converter can
be used. This solution is discussed in the next
chapter.
Because the reactive power demand decreases with
a higher xrr, the inductive part of the grid impedance
can be expanded. This can be realized for example by
utilizing a transformer or upgrading the power lines.
4.1 Proposed Topology
Apparently the utilization of a secondary reactive power
source like FACTS or an oversized grid-side converter
seems to be obvious to regulate the PCC voltage. But
with this configuration the total rated power SN of the
whole power source increases and the SCR is reduced
further. In very weak grids with an SCR between 1 and
2 this can lead to an impossible operation, as shown
in chapter 2.2. In these cases a solution without an in-
crease of the total power should be prioritized.
To achieve this, the usage of an ESS is proposed. The
aim of this system is to smooth the output power with-
out a peak power curtailment and to implement a ramp 500 500

uPCC in V
control to prevent rapid changes of the output current. 0 0
It consists of a bidirectional buck-boost converter and a 500 500

storage. The storage needs to be dynamic and can be 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6
realized by double layer capacitors (EDLC). Its capacity 800 800

UPCC, dq in V
has to be dimensioned depending on the average wind 600 600
400 400
conditions. The ESS is connected to the DC link of 200 200
the full power converter in parallel, as shown in figure 0 0
0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6
9. This paper does not investigate the dimensioning

P, Q, S in p.u.

P, Q, S in p.u.
1 1
WT RSC GSC
0.5 0.5
PCC
0 0
0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6
time in s time in s
DC/DC
Figure 10: Simulation results of UP CC control, without
(left) and with (right) reactive power com-
pensation. 2nd column: UP CC,d (green),
UP CC,q (red), 3rd column: P (green), Q
Figure 9: Proposed system: Wind energy conversion
(red) and SW T (blue)
system with ESS at the DC bus with rotor-
side converter (RSC) and grid-side converter
(GSC) analysis the PCC voltage rises. Figure 2 indicates a
rise of UP CC up to 1.32 p.u. for P = SW T = 1 p.u..
of the storage and the control strategy of the ESS. The simulation confirms this behavior, UP CC rises up to
The integration of the DC/DC converter into the full 745.2 V. On the right side the voltage regulation is ac-
scale converter system may be challenging. A power tivated. At an active power injection of P = 1 p.u. a re-
management would be needed to regulate the power active power of Q = 0.94 p.u. is injected to keep UP CC
flows. Possible control structures are investigated in constant. This behavior confirms the results from an-
[12] and [13], approaches for the dimensioning of the alytical analysis in figure 7. In the second simulation
EDLCs are presented in [5] and [12]. Because this
565 565
paper concentrates on the effects of the power injec-
UPCC, d in V

564 564
tion into a weak grid, the simulations are done with a
563 563
fluctuating power injection (as without an implementa- 562 562
tion of an ESS) and with a constant power flow without 5 10 15 20 5 10 15 20

rapid changes (as if an ESS was implemented). In or-

IWT, dq in A

2000 2000
der to illustrate this, reference values for power flows
1000 1000
were calculated based on the investigations of [5], [6]
and [13]. 0
5 10 15 20
0
5 10 15 20
6 6
x 10 x 10
SWT in VA

4.2 Simulation Results
A rated phase-to-phase voltage of VN = 690 V with
a grid frequency of fG = 50 Hz and a WT with
rated power of SN = 2 MVA is used in the simula-
tion. The main grid parameters are SCR = 200 and
xrr = 10, the weak grid parameters are SCR = 2
and xrr = 0.5. All simulations are performed with
MATLAB/Simulink/PLECS.
The first simulation results in figure 10 show the be-
havior of the PCC voltage regulation. The plots on the
left side demonstrate the grid behavior with just an ac-
tive power injection. As already shown in the analytical
2 2
1 1
0 0
5 10 15 20 5 10 15 20
time in s time in s
Figure 11: Simulation results of power injection, with-
out (left) and (with) ESS. 2nd column: IW T,d
(green), IW T,q (red), 3rd column: SW T
(green), SW T,max (red)
a possible operation of a WT without (left) and with
(right) an ESS is demonstrated in figure 11. In the
left simulation wind fluctuations cause an unsteady out-
put current. SW T would outrun its operation range two
times because of the high reactive power demand for
voltage regulation purposes. Without an active power
curtailment this operation would not be possible due
to overloading the converter system. But if the to-
tal power produced in average is below or equal to
SW T,max = 1 p.u., the ESS could smooth the power
output as shown on the right side. An active power
curtailment could be prevented. Because of the static
current gradient the PCC voltage differs during power
ramp controlled injection (Uf ilter = Lf ilter diW T /dt).
These effects can be reduced with power smoothing as
well.
5 Conclusion
In this paper some aspects about the power injection of
WTs into weak grids are investigated. Therefore fun-
damentals about weak grids are reviewed and used
for an analysis of the effects of power injection in re-
gard to voltage level and grid stability depending on
the grid strength. In very weak grids with a SCR be-
tween 1 and 2 and a low xrr the operation of a WT
can be challenging or even impossible. The reactive
power demand for the intended operation can be cal-
culated and depends on grid and WT parameters. A
simulation model is presented. It contains a PI con-
trol structure to maintain a stable operation by regulat-
ing the PCC voltage with a reactive power injection. In
very weak grids the total rated power of WTs may not
be increased by secondary reactive power sources, so
it is proposed to use an ESS to smooth output power
and to disburden the grid side converter while it needs
to provide FACTS functionality. Simulations are done to
validate the results from analytical investigations and to
demonstrate the operation of a WT with ESS in weak
grids.
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