Grid-Forming Inverter-based Wind Turbine Generators: Comprehensive Review, Comparative Analysis, and Recommendations

High penetration of wind power with conventional grid following controls for inverter-based wind turbine generators (WTGs) weakens the power grid, challenging the power system stability. Grid-forming (GFM) controls are emerging technologies that can address such stability issues. Numerous methodologies of GFM inverters have been developed in the literature; however, their applications for WTGs have not been thoroughly explored. As WTGs need to incorporate multiple control functions to operate reliably in different operational regions, the GFM control should be appropriately developed for the WTGs. This paper presents a review of GFM controls for WTGs, which covers the latest developments in GFM controls and includes multi-loop and single-loop GFM, virtual synchronous machine-based GFM, and virtual inertia control-based GFM. A comparison study for these GFM-based WTGs regarding normal and abnormal operating conditions together with black-start capability is then performed. The control parameters of these GFM types are properly designed and optimized to enable a fair comparison. In addition, the challenges of applying these GFM controls to wind turbines are discussed, which include the impact of DC-link voltage control strategy and the current saturation algorithm on the GFM control performance, black-start capability, and autonomous operation capability. Finally, recommendations and future developments of GFM-based wind turbines to increase the power system reliability are presented

Design and Control of Virtual Synchronous Machine Based Energy Systems

Conventionally, the operation and stability of power systems have been governed by the dynamics of large synchronous generators (SGs) which provide the inertial support required to maintain the resilience and stability of the power system. How-ever, the commitment of the UK to drive a zero-carbon economy is accelerating the integration of renewable energy sources (RESs) into the power system. Since the dynamics and operation of RESs differs from SGs, the large-scale integration of RESs will significantly impact the control and stability of the power system.This thesis focuses on the design of grid-friendly control algorithms termed virtual synchronous machines (VSMs), which mimic the desirable characteristics of SGs. Although several VSM topologies have been proposed in literature, most of them require further modifications before they can be integrated into the grid. Hence, a novel VSM algorithm for permanent magnet synchronous generator based wind turbines has been proposed in this thesis.The proposed VSM performs seamlessly in all operating modes and enables maxi-mum power point tracking in grid-connected operation (assuming strong grid), load following power generation in islanded mode and fault ride-through during faults. To ensure optimal performance of the VSM in all operating modes, a comprehensive stability analysis of the VSM was performed in the event of small and large per-turbations. The result of the analysis was used to establish design guidelines and operational limits of the VSM.This thesis further evaluates the impact of VSMs on the power systems low-frequency oscillations (LFOs). A detailed two-machine test-bed was developed to analyze the LFOs which exists when VSMs replace SGs. The characteristics of the LFO modes and the dominant states was comprehensively analyzed. The LFO modes which exists in an all-VSM grid was also analyzed. Further, the role of the power system stabilizers in an all-VSM grid was comprehensively evaluated. An IEEE benchmark two-area four-machine system was employed to validate the results of the small-signal analysis.The analysis and time-domain simulations in this thesis were performed in the MAT-LAB/SIMULINK environment

Stability analysis of a PMSG based Virtual Synchronous Machine

This paper proposes a Virtual Synchronous Machine (VSM) strategy for Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator based wind turbines which enables seamless operation in all operating modes. It guarantees Maximum Power Point Tracking in grid-connected operation, Load Following Power Generation in islanded operation and Low Voltage Ride Through capability during faults. To achieve optimal performance in all operating modes, the stability of the VSM is investigated in the event of small and large perturbations. The small-signal stability analysis of the VSM is conducted using a linearized state space model and the impact of the controllers on the dominant modes are derived using participation factor analysis. The transient stability and dynamic performance of the VSM are analyzed using a non-linear model. Based on this analysis, design guidelines and operational limits of the VSM are established. The results of this analysis are validated using time-domain simulations in MATLAB/SIMULINK

A Review on Grid Integration Challenges of Wind Energy Systems

In recent decades, the strengthening of electric energy security and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions acquired great traction. The integration of large-scale intermittent renewable energy resources (RER) such as wind energy into existing electrical systems has risen dramatically in recent years. In the last few years, however, this integration creates several operational and control issues that impede the process. Grid functioning must be reliable and stable. This article will look at the problems that have been documented as a result of the recommended solutions techniques and the integration of wind energy Among the many difficulties, Generation uncertainty, power quality difficulties, angular and voltage stability, and reactive power support are all factors to consider. The ability to ride through faults is examined and explored. Aside from that, there are financial, environmental, and political factors to consider

Grid-forming wind power plants

With growing concerns over climate change, the power system is witnessing an unprecedented growth in electricity generation from intermittent renewable energy sources (RES) such as wind and solar, which are commonly interfaced to the grid by power-electronic converters. However, increasing the penetration level of converter-interfaced generation units reduces the number of synchronous generators (SGs) in the grid that provide system services to support voltage and frequency, either inherently or through mandatory requirements and market products. This brings several challenges for the grid operators, which include increasing risk of harmonic interactions, decreasing system inertia and reduction in the short-circuit power of the grid, which all together might jeopardize the security and availability of the power systems. As a countermeasure, it is necessary that the power-electronic-based generation units not only provide grid support services that are originally provided by the SGs, but also operate in harmony with other generation units in all kinds of grid conditions. As a result, the concept of grid-forming (GFM) control, which mimics the beneficial properties of the SGs in converter systems, has emerged as a viable solution to allow effective and secured operation of power systems with increased penetration of converter-based resources.\ua0\ua0 This thesis investigates the application of GFM control strategies in wind power plants (WPPs). In particular, the focus of the work will be on developing an effective GFM control strategy for the energy storage systems (ESS) in WPPs that not only supports the operation of the WPP in various grid conditions, but also offers a certain degree of GFM properties to the overall WPP. To start with, the selection of the most suitable GFM control strategy for wind power applications is made by evaluating and comparing various control strategies available in the literature. The comparison is based on their influence on the frequency characteristics of the converter and robustness of the controller in varying grid strength. To address the transient stability problem of GFM converters during current limitation, a novel strategy based on the limitation of converter\u27s internal voltage vector is developed, which effectively limits the converter current to a desired value and retains the GFM properties of the converter at all times. An experimental setup is used to validate the effectiveness of the proposed limitation strategy in case of various grid disturbances. By implementing the proposed GFM control strategy for the ESS in a test WPP model, it is shown using detailed time-domain simulation results that the GFM behaviour can be offered to the overall WPP. The Network Frequency Perturbation (NFP) plots are used to verify the GFM behaviour of the considered WPP. Furthermore, an overview of various energy storage technologies (ESTs) suitable for providing ancillary services from WPPs is presented. With a focus on the two most suitable ESTs, i.e., batteries and supercapacitors, recommendations are given for design and sizing of the ESS for a given application. Finally, a coordinated control strategy between the WPP and SGs is developed, which facilitates the provision of frequency support from the WPP and at the same time reduces the energy storage requirements for the converter system