Wind power is one of the most popular renewable energy solutions for the future. Because of its stochastic characteristics, wind power is constantly fluctuating and this can result in power system instability if large amounts of wind power are directly integrated into the grid. One method to smooth the energy inflow is to incorporate energy storage devices into modern Wind Power Plants (WPPs). Judging from the relatively high cost of existing storage mediums (usually batteries) this does not seem to be a very economical solution. Instead of solely relying on storage, an alternative coordinated control approach is proposed, which can either be adopted as a stand-alone solution or complementing energy storage to form a more robust and cost-effective solution.
The proposed approach recognizes the growing expansion of renewable energy with a number of large-scale WPPs expected to be dispersed throughout the grid. Coordinated control between them to make appropriate usages of their individual merits, is therefore a possibility that currently has not been addressed thoroughly, and is now recommended for investigation.
The objective of this control framework is to coordinate the operation of WPPs and energy storage systems to reduce the fluctuation of wind power production and utilize the reactive power capabilities of wind power plants to improve the stability of the whole system.
DTU funding I To be completed: 2014