Operating Wind Turbine as Synchronous Generator: Modeling and Power-Hardware-in-the-Loop Demonstration
- National Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO (United States)
- Idaho National Laboratory
- Dominion Energy; Idaho National Laboratory
Grid-forming (GFM) control of Type 3 and Type 4 wind turbine generators (WTGs) has attracted substantial attention in power systems research; however, the limited overcurrent capability of power electronics converters continues to deteriorate the grid strength of the evolving power systems. Synchronous wind, also referred to as a Type 5 WTG, offers a unique GFM solution to address grid integration and grid strength issues by keeping the grid largely synchronous at very high integration levels of renewable generation. A Type 5 WTG interfaces with the power system via a synchronous generator driven by a variable-speed hydraulic torque converter; hence, the wind rotor operates in variable-speed mode for maximum power generation, and the generator shaft remains synchronous to the grid. This paper develops and tests a high-fidelity model of a Type 5 WTG in a power-hardware-in-the-loop testing environment, and it presents its operation characteristics under different grid contingencies. The power-hardware-in-the-loop demonstration shows that a Type 5 WTG inherently behaves as a GFM unit and can obtain similar performance in terms of power response, wind rotor dynamics, and stability enhancement compared to a Type 3 WTG in GFM control mode. The paper provides further insight into how Type 5 WTGs can support the smooth transition to power systems with high integration levels of inverter-based resources.
- Research Organization:
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Wind Energy Technologies Office
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC36-08GO28308
- OSTI ID:
- 3011822
- Report Number(s):
- NREL/JA-5D00-92643
- Journal Information:
- IEEE Transactions on Sustainable Energy, Journal Name: IEEE Transactions on Sustainable Energy
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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