Wind power plant control: an overview

Abstract

Recent developments in wind turbine technology go towards installation of larger Wind Power Plants (WPPs). Therefore, power system operators have been challenged by the WPP penetration impacts in order to maintain reliabillity and stability of the power system. The revised grid codes have concentrated on the WPP connection point and as a result a WPP is considered as a single power plant. Nevertheless, compared to conventional power plants, WPPs have different inherent features such as converter-based grid interface technology, internal electrical layout, and asynchronous operation of turbines. Talking these into account, a WPP controller is the key factor in order to satisfy the grid code requirements. This paper presents a comprehensive overview of various WPP controller strategies comprising active power, reactive power, voltage, frequency, and emulated inertia control. The WPP control architecture composed of WPP control level and wind turbine control level is also discussed considering the hierearchy and coordination of these levels.