International White Book on DER Protection : Review and Testing Procedures

This white book provides an insight into the issues surrounding the impact of increasing levels of DER on the generator and network protection and the resulting necessary improvements in protection testing practices. Particular focus is placed on ever increasing inverter-interfaced DER installations and the challenges of utility network integration. This white book should also serve as a starting point for specifying DER protection testing requirements and procedures. A comprehensive review of international DER protection practices, standards and recommendations is presented. This is accompanied by the identifi cation of the main performance challenges related to these protection schemes under varied network operational conditions and the nature of DER generator and interface technologies. Emphasis is placed on the importance of dynamic testing that can only be delivered through laboratory-based platforms such as real-time simulators, integrated substation automation infrastructure and fl exible, inverter-equipped testing microgrids. To this end, the combination of fl exible network operation and new DER technologies underlines the importance of utilising the laboratory testing facilities available within the DERlab Network of Excellence. This not only informs the shaping of new protection testing and network integration practices by end users but also enables the process of de-risking new DER protection technologies. In order to support the issues discussed in the white paper, a comparative case study between UK and German DER protection and scheme testing practices is presented. This also highlights the level of complexity associated with standardisation and approval mechanisms adopted by different countries

Online coherency identification and stability condition for large interconnected power systems using an unsupervised data mining technique

Identification of coherent generators and the determination of the stability system condition in large interconnected power system is one of the key steps to carry out different control system strategies to avoid a partial or complete blackout of a power system. However, the oscillatory trends, the larger amount data available and the non-linear dynamic behaviour of the frequency measurements often mislead the appropriate knowledge of the actual coherent groups, making wide-area coherency monitoring a challenging task. This paper presents a novel online unsupervised data mining technique to identify coherent groups, to detect the power system disturbance event and determine status stability condition of the system. The innovative part of the proposed approach resides on combining traditional plain algorithms such as singular value decomposition (SVD) and K -means for clustering together with new concept based on clustering slopes. The proposed combination provides an added value to other applications relying on similar algorithms available in the literature. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed method, two case studies are presented, where data is extracted from the large and comprehensive initial dynamic model of ENTSO-E and the results compared to other alternative methods available in the literature

Frequency support characteristics of grid-interactive power converters based on the synchronous power controller

Grid-interactive converters with primary frequency control and inertia emulation have emerged and are promising for future renewable generation plants because of the contribution in power system stabilization. This paper gives a synchronous active power control solution for gridinteractive converters , as a way to emulate synchronous generators for inerita characteristics and load sharing. As design considerations, the virtual angle stability and transient response are both analyzed, and the detailed implementation structure is also given without entailing any difficulty in practice. The analytical and experimental validation of frequency support characteristics differentiates the work from other publications on generator emulation control. The 10 kW simulation and experimental frequency sweep tests on a regenerative source test bed present good performance of the proposed control in showing inertia and droop characteristics, as well as the controllable transient response.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Increasing security of supply by the use of a local power controller during large system disturbances

This paper describes intelligent ways in which distributed generation and local loads can be controlled during large system disturbances, using Local Power Controllers. When distributed generation is available, and a system disturbance is detected early enough, the generation can be dispatched, and its output power can be matched as closely as possible to local microgrid demand levels. Priority-based load shedding can be implemented to aid this process. In this state, the local microgrid supports the wider network by relieving the wider network of the micro-grid load. Should grid performance degrade further, the local microgrid can separate itself from the network and maintain power to the most important local loads, re-synchronising to the grid only after more normal performance is regained. Such an intelligent system would be a suitable for hospitals, data centres, or any other industrial facility where there are critical loads. The paper demonstrates the actions of such Local Power Controllers using laboratory experiments at the 10kVA scale

Management of Islanded Operation of Microgirds

Distributed generations with continuously growing penetration levels offer potential solutions to energy security and reliability with minimum environmental impacts. Distributed Generations when connected to the area electric power systems provide numerous advantages. However, grid integration of distributed generations presents several technical challenges which has forced the systems planners and operators to account for the repercussions on the distribution feeders which are no longer passive in the presence of distributed generations. Grid integration of distributed generations requires accurate and reliable islanding detection methodology for secure system operation. Two distributed generation islanding detection methodologies are proposed in this dissertation. First, a passive islanding detection technique for grid-connected distributed generations based on parallel decision trees is proposed. The proposed approach relies on capturing the underlying signature of a wide variety of system events on a set of critical system parameters and utilizes multiple optimal decision tress in a parallel network for classification of system events. Second, a hybrid islanding detection method for grid-connected inverter based distributed generations combining decision trees and Sandia frequency shift method is also proposed. The proposed method combines passive and active islanding detection techniques to aggregate their individual advantages and reduce or eliminate their drawbacks. In smart grid paradigm, microgrids are the enabling engine for systematic integration of distributed generations with the utility grid. A systematic approach for controlled islanding of grid-connected microgrids is also proposed in this dissertation. The objective of the proposed approach is to develop an adaptive controlled islanding methodology to be implemented as a preventive control component in emergency control strategy for microgrid operations. An emergency power management strategy for microgrid autonomous operation subsequent to inadvertent islanding events is also proposed in this dissertation. The proposed approach integrates microgrid resources such as energy storage systems, demand response resources, and controllable micro-sources to layout a comprehensive power management strategy for ensuring secure and stable microgrid operation following an unplanned islanding event. In this dissertation, various case studies are presented to validate the proposed methods. The simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methodologies

Islanding issues associated with photovoltaic inverters

One of the main barriers for the proliferation of photovoltaic (PV) systems in power distribution networks is the concern over possible islanding, i.e., when a disconnected part of the power network remains energized by the connected PV systems for a significant time interval. Islanding is undesirable for a number of reasons including safety hazards to utility personnel; and potential damage to equipment. Numerous anti-islanding techniques have been proposed and implemented in present-day grid-tie inverters. This thesis reviews some of the pros and cons of different anti-islanding techniques, and offers a solution to the Multiple Inverter Islanding Issue and also presents some experimental results conducted on two local grid-tie inverters

Adaptive Energy Storage System Control for Microgrid Stability Enhancement

Microgrids are local power systems of different sizes located inside the distribution systems. Each microgrid contains a group of interconnected loads and distributed energy resources that acts as a single controllable entity with respect to the grid. Their islanding operation capabilities during emergencies improve the resiliency and reliability of the electric energy supply. Due to its low kinetic energy storage capacity, maintaining microgrid stability is challenging under system contingencies and unpredictable power generation from renewable resources. This dissertation highlights the potential benefits of flexibly utilizing the battery energy storage systems to enhance the stability of microgrids. The main contribution of this research consists in the development of a storage converter controller with an additional stability margin that enables it to improve microgrid frequency and voltage regulation as well as its induction motor post-fault speed recovery. This new autonomous control technique is implemented by adaptively setting the converter controller parameters based on its estimated phase-locked loop frequency deviation and terminal voltage magnitude measurement. This work also assists in the microgrid design process by determining the normalized minimum storage converter sizing under a wide range of microgrid motor inertia, loading and fault clearing time with both symmetrical and asymmetrical fault types. This study evaluates the expandability of the proposed control methodologies under an unbalanced meshed microgrid with fault-induced feeder switching and multiple contingencies in addition to random power output from renewable generators. The favorable results demonstrate the robust storage converter controller performance under a dynamic changing microgrid environment

Enhancing reliability in passive anti-islanding protection schemes for distribution systems with distributed generation

This thesis introduces a new approach to enhance the reliability of conventional passive anti-islanding protection scheme in distribution systems embedding distributed generation. This approach uses an Islanding-Dedicated System (IDS) per phase which will be logically combined with the conventional scheme, either in blocking or permissive modes. Each phase IDS is designed based on data mining techniques. The use of Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) enables to reach higher accuracy and speed among other data mining techniques. The proposed scheme is trained and tested on a practical radial distribution system with six-1.67 MW Doubly-Fed Induction Generators (DFIG-DGs) wind turbines. Various scenarios of DFIG-DG operating conditions with different types of disturbances for critical breakers are simulated. Conventional passive anti-islanding relays incorrectly detected 67.3% of non-islanding scenarios. In other words, the security is as low as 32.3%. The obtained results indicate that the proposed approach can be used to theoretically increase the security to 100%. Therefore, the overall reliability of the system is substantially increased

Control and operation of multiple distributed generators in a microgrid

Small sized synchronous generator based distributed generators (DG) often have low start-up times, and can serve as dispatchable generators in a microgrid environment. The advantage is that it allows the power network to operate in a true smart grid environment. The disadvantage is that such DGs typically tend to have low inertia and the prime movers driving these resources need to be controlled in real time for them to operate effectively in islanded, grid-connected modes and during transition from grid-connected mode to islanded mode and vice versa. When multiple DGs are present in the microgrid, the overall control can become complicated because of the need for sharing the resources. A smart grid environment is then necessary to control all dispersed generation sources in the microgrid. The most common control strategy adopted for multiple DGs connected to a network is droop control. Droop control ensures that the load needed to be served is shared by all the generators in the network in proportion to their generating capability. When DGs operate in a microgrid environment, there is a need for coordinated operation between the DGs, the utility grid and the loads. A MicroGrid Central Controller (MGCC) can keep track of the status from the system standpoint and command the local Microsource Controllers (MC) to ensure system stability. In various modes of operation like grid connected, islanding and during transition, the MGCC can support the MCs by giving them necessary information to contribute towards stable operation --Abstract, page iii