Short-term frequency support utilizing inertial response of DFIG wind turbines

Abstract

The increasing penetration of modern wind plants may cause primary frequency regulation to fall below acceptable levels, especially in isolated grids. This paper investigates the contribution of variable speed wind generators to short-term frequency support. First, the extractable inertial power from a DFIG wind turbine is quantified. Based on that, a controller is designed to transiently release part of the stored kinetic energy in the rotating masses. This can be very helpful in the critical few seconds following a load-generation mismatch. Through time-domain simulations, performance of the proposed controller is examined against earlier implementations of inertial response. Results show that the proposed controller is effective in arresting the initial frequency dip and capable of bringing together the advantages of earlier implementations for better integration of wind generators.