Integrating power systems for remote island energy supply: Lessons from Mykines,Faroe Islands

This study investigates the challenges and opportunities facing the installation of a hybrid hydrogen-renewable energy system in a remote island area disconnected from any main power grid. Islands with strong wind energy potential have the potential to become self-sufficient energy generating hubs that may even export electricity or hydrogen. This study has tested whether the combination of wind and hydrogen can replace a diesel generator on one of the Faroe Islands, Mykines. The comparison is based on an evaluation of each power system's costs, efficiency, environmental impact and suitability for the Mykines. The findings from this research can help inform those seeking to design 100% renewable energy systems for remote areas, and in particular islands. Furthermore, our comparison has value for those seeking to optimize the integration of wind turbines with hydrogen energy systems.     

Utility scale wind turbines on a grid-connected island: A feasibility study

This paper analyzes the technical and economic feasibility of installing utility-scale wind turbines on the Fox Islands, located 12 miles from the coast of Maine in the United States. Three locations on the islands, as well as a near offshore site, are analyzed in detail as potential sites for wind turbine installations. As discussed in this work, the logistic problems of transporting and installing wind turbines on the island require innovative solutions. These include locally available amphibious vessels, which can land turbine components at suitable shallow spots on the island, self-erecting towers, which allow use of a smaller crane for installation, and a special turbine foundation suitable for the local ground conditions. In the economic analysis, in addition to standard life-cycle parameters, renewable energy credits (REC) were also included. This work concludes that the installation of sub-megawatt wind turbines on the island is logistically possible and will lead to a reduction in the cost of electricity to the customers.     

Techno-economic feasibility of photovoltaic,wind, diesel and hybrid electrification systems for off-grid rural electrification in Colombia

Electrification to rural and remote areas with limited or no access to grid connection is one of the most challenging issues in developing countries like Colombia. Due to the recent concerns about the global climatic change and diminishing fuel prices, searching for reliable, environmental friendly and renewable energy sources to satisfy the rising electrical energy demand has become vital. This study aims at analyzing the application of photovoltaic (PV) panels, wind turbines and diesel generators in a stand-alone hybrid power generation system for rural electrification in three off-grid villages in Colombia with different climatic characteristics. The areas have been selected according to the “Colombia’s development plan 2011–2030 for non-conventional sources of energy”. First, different combinations of wind turbine, PV, and diesel generator are modeled and optimized to determine the most energy-efficient and cost-effective configuration for each location. HOMER software has been used to perform a techno-economic feasibility of the proposed hybrid systems, taking into account net present cost, initial capital cost, and cost of energy as economic indicators.     

Comparative study on the performance of control systems for doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) wind turbines operating with power regulation

As a result of the increasing wind power penetration on power systems, the wind farms are today required to participate actively in grid operation by an appropriate generation control. This paper presents a comparative study on the performance of three control strategies for DFIG wind turbines. The study focuses on the regulation of the active and reactive power to a set point ordered by the wind farm control system. Two of them (control systems 1 and 2) are based on existing strategies, whereas the third control system (control system 3) presents a novel control strategy, which is actually a variation of the control system 2. The control strategies are evaluated through simulations of DFIG wind turbines, under normal operating conditions, integrated in a wind farm with centralized control system controlling the wind farm generation at the connection point and computing the power reference for each wind turbine according to a proportional distribution of the available power. The three control systems present similar performance when they operate with power optimization and power limitation strategies. However, the control system 3 with down power regulation presents a better response with respect to the reactive power production, achieving a higher available reactive power as compared with the other two. This is a very important aspect to maintain an appropriate voltage control at the wind farm bus.     

Research on a power quality monitoring technique for individual wind turbines

The extensive deployment of megawatt-scale wind turbines is bringing more challenges to the safety and stability of electric grid than ever before. This is not only because of the unstable wind over time but the increased risk of power quality pollution by defective wind turbines particularly when the turbines today are still experiencing various reliability issues. To prevent the power quality pollution by defective turbines, a new power quality monitoring technique dedicated for individual wind turbines is developed in this paper, so that the quality of the power generated by an individual turbine can be monitored by the wind turbine condition monitoring system. Through simulated and physical experiments on a specially designed test rig, some encouraging results have been achieved. It has been shown that the proposed technique is not only valid for monitoring the power quality of an individual wind turbine, but helpful in detecting the mechanical and electrical faults occurring in the wind turbines.     

Feasibility study of harnessing wind energy for turbine installation in province of Yazd in Iran

This paper analyses the wind speed of some major cities in province of Yazd which is located in central part of Iran. Also, the feasibility study of implementing wind turbines to take advantage of wind power is reviewed and then the subject of wind speed and wind potential at different stations is considered. This paper utilized wind speed data over a period of almost 13 years between 1992 and 2005 from 11 stations, to assess the wind power potential at these sites. In this paper, the hourly measured wind speed data at 10 m, 20 m and 40 m height for Yazd province have been statically analyzed to determine the potential of wind power generation. Extrapolation of the 10 m data, using the Power Law, has been used to determine the wind data at heights of 20 m and 40 m. The results showed that most of the stations have annual average wind speed of less than 4.5 m/s which is considered as unacceptable for installation of the wind turbines. City of Herat has higher wind energy potential with annual wind speed average of 5.05 m/s and 6.86 m/s, respectively, at height of 10 m and 40 m above ground level (AGL). This site is a good candidate for remote area wind energy applications. But some more information is required, because the collected data for Herat is only for 2004. Cities of Aghda with 3.96 m/s, Gariz with 3.95 m/s, and Maybod with 3.83 m/s annual wind speed average at height of 10 m above ground level are also able to harness wind by installing small wind turbines. The Tabas and Bafgh sites wind speed data indicated that the two sites have lower annual wind speed averages between 1.56 m/s and 2.22 m/s at 10 m height. The monthly and annual wind speeds at different heights have been studied to ensure optimum selection of wind turbine installation for different stations in Yazd.     

Aggregated dynamic model for wind farms with doubly fed induction generator wind turbines

As a result of increasing wind farms penetration in power systems, the wind farms begin to influence power system, and thus the modelling of wind farms has become an interesting research topic. Nowadays, doubly fed induction generator based on wind turbine is the most widely used technology for wind farms due to its main advantages such as high-energy efficiency and controllability, and improved power quality. When the impact of a wind farm on power systems is studied, the behavior of the wind farm at the point common coupling to grid can be represented by an equivalent model derived from the aggregation of wind turbines into an equivalent wind turbine, instead of the complete model including the modelling of all the wind turbines. In this paper, a new equivalent model of wind farms with doubly fed induction generator wind turbines is proposed to represent the collective response of the wind farm by one single equivalent wind turbine, even although the aggregated wind turbines operate receiving different incoming winds. The effectiveness of the equivalent model to represent the collective response of the wind farm is demonstrated by comparing the simulation results of equivalent and complete models both during normal operation and grid disturbances.     

WIND DIESEL SYSTEM SIMULATION:A SCREENING LEVEL MODEL

This paper describes a screening level simulation model for wind/diesel systems. It is intended for use to give a quick overview of the possible appropriateness of a wind/diesel system and indicate whether more detailed analysis would be of use. The model was developed for use on personal computers and to trade complexity for ease of operation. The wind/diesel system modeled may include: 1) Wind regime, 2) One or more wind turbines, 3) System electrical load 4) One or more diesel generators, 5) Dump load, 6) Short term storage, and 7) System controller. The model does not consider storage explicitly, but does distinguish between the no storage and minimal storage (power smoothing) systems.

This work is based on the more detailed simulation models previously developed at the University of Massachusetts, but uses probabilistic methods rather than time series data inputs. As such it requires only mean and standard deviation of wind speed and load for each month or season. The model functions by assuming that occurrences of wind speed can be modelled by a Weibull distribution and that the lead follows either a Weibull or normal distribution, In addition, both the wind speed and load are assumed to be uncorrelated within each month or season. The paper also includes a comparison of the model with the more detailed UMass model, HYBRID1.     

轻型燃气轮机长寿命动力涡轮的结构设计

本文介绍一种长寿命动力涡轮结构的设计方法和研制结果。这种结构代替了原设计,生产制造了两台,并进行了１５０小时运行考核。测得的主要部件温度,应力数值与设计计算值基本一致,运行参数和拆检结果都表明产品达到了设计要求。该结构适用于各种固定式和移动式燃气轮机,特别是航空发动机改装的动力涡轮设计。     

Distributed control system for frequency control in a isolated wind system

High wind penetration wind diesel hybrid systems (WDHS) have three modes of operation: diesel only (DO), wind diesel (WD) and wind only (WO). The control requirements for frequency control in WO mode are analysed and a distributed control system (DCS) is proposed for this frequency control, describing the actuation of its sensor and actuator nodes. A power system for WO mode consisting of a wind turbine generator (WTG), a synchronous machine (SM), the consumer load, a battery based energy storage system (ESS) and a discrete dump load (DL) along with the associated DCS have been simulated. By means of a 400 Hz reference power message that establishes the active power necessary for frequency regulation and a prescribed active power sharing between the ESS and DL actuators, graphs for frequency, voltage and active powers for consumer load and wind speed changes are presented. The results of the simulation show maximum settling times and frequency per unit variation of 1.5 s and 0.16% respectively, for the previous input changes. The DCS solution presented could constitute a proposal for the standardization of the control for WO mode in high wind penetration WDHS which rely on a SM to generate the voltage waveform in that mode.     

Dynamic modeling and simulation of a small wind–fuel cell hybrid energy system

This paper describes dynamic modeling and simulation results of a small wind–fuel cell hybrid energy system. The system consists of a 400 W wind turbine, a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), ultracapacitors, an electrolyzer, and a power converter. The output fluctuation of the wind turbine due to wind speed variation is reduced using a fuel cell stack. The load is supplied from the wind turbine with a fuel cell working in parallel. Excess wind energy when available is converted to hydrogen using an electrolyzer for later use in the fuel cell. Ultracapacitors and a power converter unit are proposed to minimize voltage fluctuations in the system and generate AC voltage. Dynamic modeling of various components of this small isolated system is presented. Dynamic aspects of temperature variation and double layer capacitance of the fuel cell are also included. PID type controllers are used to control the fuel cell system. SIMULINK^TM is used for the simulation of this highly nonlinear hybrid energy system. System dynamics are studied to determine the voltage variation throughout the system. Transient responses of the system to step changes in the load current and wind speed in a number of possible situations are presented. Analysis of simulation results and limitations of the wind–fuel cell hybrid energy system are discussed. The voltage variation at the output was found to be within the acceptable range. The proposed system does not need conventional battery storage. It may be used for off-grid power generation in remote communities.     

Performance and viability analysis of small wind turbines in the European Union

Nowadays, wind energy plays a key role as a sustainable source of energy and wind turbines are a relevant source of power for many countries world-wide. In such a context, this paper investigates the technical and economic feasibility of small wind turbines for five of the main European Union countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and The Netherlands). Ten commercial turbines with rated power from 2.5 kW to 200 kW are evaluated considering their installation and operative conditions. Several parameters most affecting wind turbine performances are evaluated and the estimation of the annual cash flows during the expected plant life-time are determined as a function of both the installation location (wind speed probability distribution, national incentive scheme and tax level) and the wind turbine characteristics (rated power curve, maintenance, installation and shipping costs). The obtained data are presented and discussed through a parametric analysis based on the Net Present Value capital budget approach, showing the conditions making these systems profitable or non-profitable and explaining the relative motivations. Moreover, the analysis outcomes are further investigated highlighting the dependence of the turbine profitability from the considered parameters, including a comparative analysis among the five analyzed European countries.     

Wind energy development and its environmental impact: A review

Wind energy, commonly recognized to be a clean and environmentally friendly renewable energy resource that can reduce our dependency on fossil fuels, has developed rapidly in recent years. Its mature technology and comparatively low cost make it promising as an important primary energy source in the future. However, there are potential environmental impacts due to the installation and operation of the wind turbines that cannot be ignored. This paper aims to provide an overview of world wind energy scenarios, the current status of wind turbine development, development trends of offshore wind farms, and the environmental and climatic impact of wind farms. The wake effect of wind turbines and modeling studies regarding this effect are also reviewed.     

A study of the performance benefits of closely-spaced lateral wind farm configurations

Scaled wind turbine experiments were conducted in order to evaluate the beneficial effect of closely-spaced lateral wind turbine configurations on the performance of a wind farm. Two outer wind turbines were spaced apart with a particular gap distance and the longitudinal setback of a central rotor was varied at each gap width. The turbine placement resulted in tip-to-tip separation distances that ranged from 1 diameter (D) to 0.25D. Additionally, the performance of a wind farm layout in rough and smooth boundary layers, designed to mimic onshore and offshore conditions, respectively, was evaluated. It was observed that a narrow gap between several laterally-aligned rotors creates an in-field blockage effect that results in beneficial flow acceleration through the gap. This increase in speed increases the power output of the central turbine when its longitudinal setback is between 0D and 2.5D. A cumulative increase in power output of 17% was observed when 3 rotors were aligned in a lateral plane with a blade tip separation of 0.5D or 0.25D, compared to the same number of rotors in isolation. While the benefits of closely-spaced wind turbines were observed in both of the tested boundary layers, the performance benefits with a smooth boundary layer were smaller than with a rough boundary layer. These results may lead to new wind farm design methodologies for certain topology- and wind distribution-specific sites and suggest that wind turbines can be closely-spaced in the lateral direction in order to obtain substantial increases in power.     

Coordinated control of a hybrid type 3 wind turbine and hydrogen energy storage model to provide efficient frequency control

The growing share of generation from wind farms is becoming one of the challenges in maintaining the sustainability of electric power systems. System operators approve requirements for the participation of such plants in frequency and power regulation, but they do not contain requirements for specific technologies in the control of wind turbines. There are several methods of frequency and power control, which are implemented by additional control systems, the implementation of underload mode, extraction of hidden inertia, the use of energy storage devices, etc. Each of these methods has both advantages and disadvantages. In this paper we consider the combined coordinated control of type 3 wind turbines using kinetic energy and energy from hydrogen storage to provide the best frequency response in order to minimize the negative factors. A digital-analog-physical model of type 3 wind turbine is used as a model, which allows to reproduce the whole range of transients most accurately and avoid the limitations of strictly numerical simulation.     

Availability,operation and maintenance costs of offshore wind turbines with different drive train configurations

Different configurations of gearbox, generator and power converter exist for offshore wind turbines. This paper investigated the performance of four prominent drive train configurations over a range of sites distinguished by their distance to shore. Failure rate data from onshore and offshore wind turbine populations was used where available or systematically estimated where no data was available. This was inputted along with repair resource requirements to an offshore accessibility and operation and maintenance model to calculate availability and operation and maintenance costs for a baseline wind farm consisting of 100 turbines. The results predicted that turbines with a permanent magnet generator and a fully rated power converter will have a higher availability and lower operation and maintenance costs than turbines with doubly fed induction generators. This held true for all sites in this analysis. It was also predicted that in turbines with a permanent magnet generator, the direct drive configuration has the highest availability and lowest operation and maintenance costs followed by the turbines with two‐stage and three‐stage gearboxes. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Design of a wind turbine pitch angle controller for power system stabilisation

The design of a PID pitch angle controller for a fixed speed active-stall wind turbine, using the root locus method is described in this paper. The purpose of this controller is to enable an active-stall wind turbine to perform power system stabilisation. For the purpose of controller design, the transfer function of the wind turbine is derived from the wind turbine's step response. The performance of this controller is tested by simulation, where the wind turbine model with its pitch angle controller is connected to a power system model. The power system model employed here is a realistic model of the North European power system. A short circuit fault on a busbar close to the wind turbine generator is simulated, and the dynamic responses of the system with and without the power system stabilisation of the wind turbines are presented. Simulations show that in most operating points the pitch controller can effectively contribute to power system stabilisation.     

Assessment of flicker limits compliance for wind energy conversion system in the frequency domain

Fixed-speed wind turbines produce voltage flicker during switching operations and they also produce flicker during continuous operation. In order to avoid power quality problems to consumers, it would be important to predict flicker emission from wind turbines at a certain site previously to installation. This paper focuses on a method to perform a fast flicker analysis caused by grid-connected fixed-speed wind turbines in continuous operation. The method has been developed completely in the frequency domain, including wind turbines. This method predicts the P_st value for each node system. Applying this method there would be no need to perform measurements in every node, which would be nearly impossible or to simulate the whole model in the time domain, demanding an enormous computational effort and storage capacity. The performance of the frequency domain method is applied to analyze different wind energy generation scenarios to assess their influence in a real power system.     

New architecture and SCADA for stand‐alone hybrid (medium‐sized asynchronous wind turbine + UPS with battery + photovoltaic array) power system without diesel generator

In general, the commercialized medium‐sized asynchronous wind turbines are fully automated facilities designed to operate in parallel connection to the grid; in case of isolated operation, they need to be combined with diesel generator. This paper aims at studying the method of producing electricity of maximal quality with the wind, by constructing a new stand‐alone hybrid (medium‐sized asynchronous wind turbines, UPS with battery, and photovoltaic array) power system without diesel generator. This paper proposes a new architecture of stand‐alone hybrid power system that consists of medium‐sized asynchronous wind turbine, UPS, current limiter (reactor), photovoltaic array, and consumer and dump loads; accordingly, a supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) for this system is suggested along with the operation strategies depending on the output power of the UPS and wind turbine, consumer load, and the battery voltage of UPS. The case study was confirmed through the simulation results of the operation of a new stand‐alone hybrid (two 110 kW of asynchronous wind turbines, 250 kVA of UPS with battery, reactor, 36 kW of photovoltaic array, and consumer and dump loads) power system. The results of the simulation showed that the system frequency change of the new stand‐alone hybrid power system was 60 ± 0.5 Hz, and the one of the wind + diesel stand‐alone hybrid system was 60 ± 1 Hz, for the sudden change of consumer load and gust. This new system can be eligible as a standardizing option for the architecture of nondiesel stand‐alone hybrid system and its SCADA system.     

Modelling of turbulent wind flow using the embedded Markov chain method

Small wind turbines are usually installed to provide off-grid power and as such can be situated close to the load in a less-than-ideal wind resource. These wind regimes are often governed by low mean speeds and high wind turbulence. This can result in energy production less than that specified by the manufacturer's power curve. Wind turbulence is detrimental to the fatigue life of key components and overall turbine reliability and therefore must be considered in the design stage of small wind turbines. Consequently it is important to accurately simulate wind speed data at highly turbulent sites to quantify loading on turbine components. Here we simulate wind speed data using the Markov chain Monte Carlo process and incorporate long term effects using an embedded Markov chain. First, second and third order Markov chain predictions were found to be in good agreement with measured wind data acquired at 1 Hz. The embedded Markov chain was able to predict site turbulent intensity with a reasonable degree of accuracy. The site exhibited distinctive peaks in wind speed possibly caused by diurnal heating and cooling of the earth's surface. The embedded Markov chain method was able to simulate these peaks albeit with a time offset.