Control and grid integration of MW-range wind and solar energy conversion systems

Solar-based energy generation has increased by more than ten times over the same period. In total, worldwide electrical energy consumption increased by approximately 6340 TWh from 2003 to 2013. To meet the challenges created by intermittent energy generation sources, grid operators have increasingly demanded more stringent technical requirements for the connection and operation of grid-connected intermittent energy systems, for instance concerning fault ride through capability, voltage and frequency support, and inertia emulation. Ongoing developments include new or improved high-voltage converters, power converters with higher power density, control systems to provide ride-through capability, implementation of redundancy schemes to provide more reliable generation systems, and the use of high-voltage direct current (HVdc) links for the connection of large off-shore intermittent energy systems

Advanced control schemes for wind power plants and renewable energy-based islanded microgrids

Renewable energy sources are increasingly integrated in power grids, creating significant challenges for control and system operation. Among various renewable energy sources, wind power is one of the dominant forms, mainly generated from large-scale transmission-connected wind power plants (WPPs). The grid-connected WPPs are required to follow grid codes to maintain a predefined power factor range under normal operation and supply required reactive power under faulty conditions. To meet grid code requirements, a WPP control architecture is developed in this thesis. The control system consists of a central WPP controller and a local wind turbine generator (WTG) controller, both operate in the voltage control mode. Therefore, the controller can respond faster and is robust to communication failures. Under normal operating conditions, the proposed controller regulates the WPP’s operation within its steady-state reactive power capability and meets the power factor limits. Under faulty conditions, the controller forces the WPP to its maximum capability to contribute more reactive power support to the grid. Two mathematical models representing the steady-state and maximum reactive power capability of the WPP are developed through regression and analytic approaches, respectively. In the second part of the thesis, a model predictive control (MPC)-based distributed generation (DG) controller is proposed to regulate the voltage and frequency at the point of common coupling (PCC) in an islanded microgrid. A data-driven input-output Box-Jenkins polynomial predictive model for DG control is developed using the Gauss-Newton-based nonlinear least square method with the prediction optimization focus. The model inputs are direct- and quadrature-axis components of the control signal, and the model outputs are deviations of the voltage and frequency from their nominal values at the PCC. The proposed MPC controller operates using the PCC data and does not require the microgrid’s central controllers or DG-to-DG communication networks. It can effectively compensate voltage and frequency deviations at the PCC and ensure proportional reactive power sharing among DGs without a secondary controller and a virtual impedance loop. The integrated Kalman filter in the MPC structure enables a robust controller design when subjected to impedance variations and measurement noises

特大型新能源基地面临挑战及未来形态演化分析

在推动中国新能源高质量跃升式发展背景下，大规模新能源开发、汇集和远距离输送成为新能源建设的重要路径之一，特大型新能源基地成为未来的重要形态。由于缺少常规交流同步发电机组和可靠备用容量，特大型新能源基地稳定性挑战、新能源利用率与供电充裕性矛盾凸显，其形态结构及演化路径成为当前关切的热点问题。系统梳理了当前最新学术研究成果，研判特大型新能源基地未来可能的源网形态并做特征分析；进一步，面向特大型新能源基地系统强度弱、灵活性不足、源网协调运行矛盾突出等挑战，针对性提出源网协调规划、灵活性专项规划和系统强度提升措施的优化配置技术等规划支撑技术和关键场景运行技术；最后以张北特大型新能源汇集区为例，结合其资源禀赋分析新能源基地现状并研判未来源网形态发展趋势，提出适应张北特大型新能源基地未来发展的关键支撑技术体系，为张北特大型新能源基地近中期规划和可靠运行提供参考