Wind Turbine Generator Interaction With Diesel Generators on an Isolated Power System

Abstract

The Block Island Power Company (BIPCO), on Block Island, Rhode Island, operates an isolated electric power system consisting of diesel generation and an experimental wind turbine. The 150-kW wind turbine, designated MOD-OA by the U.S. Department of Energy is typically operated in parallel with two diesel generators to serve an average winter load of 350 kW. As part of an experimental program to evaluate wind turbine generator performance on the isolated diesel power system, the recordings from an extensive data measurement effort were reviewed and analyzed to define the nature of the dynamic interaction effects. The data were collected over a three-month period on the system to which the DOE/NASA experimental wind turbine was connected. During this time, the diesel units were lightly loaded resulting in up to 60% of the total load demand being supplied by the MOD-OA in periods of severely gusting winds. In three of the modes of normal MOD-OA operation -- startup-synchronization, shutdown/cutout, and continuous fixed pitch running -- power, frequency and voltage transients were comparable with those produced by typical load changes on the diesel system alone. In the fourth mode, variable pitch (constant power) control, a significant reduction in system damping sometimes occurred which gave rise to increased frequency and voltage perturbations under gusty wind conditions. Based on a linear model of the system it is shown that changes in control system settings could be made to improve damping.