Abstract
The occurrence of system separations in the power system of Continental Europe has been observed in recent decades as a critical event which might cause power imbalances higher than the reference incident specified per system design, representing an actual challenge for the stability and safe operation of the system. This work presents an analysis and simulations of the primary frequency control in the Continental Europe synchronous area in conditions of system separation. The adopted approach is based on fundamental aspects of the frequency-containment reserve process. The analysis takes an actual event into consideration, which determined the separation of the system in January 2021. The main purpose of the work is the development of specific models and simulations able to reproduce the actual split event. Due to specific arrangements discussed in detail, it is possible to obtain a substantial match between the simulations and the frequencies registered after the system split. The work also provides insight into the importance of the temporal sequence of power imbalances and defensive actions in the primary frequency control process. The models developed in the work are finally used to investigate the separation event under different operating conditions, such as missing defensive actions and low inertia scenarios.
Highlights
In recent years, the power system of the Continental Europe (CE) synchronous area has experienced major incidents leading to the separation of the system into two or more parts
Model parameters are derived from statistics, power data and initial dynamic model of Continental Europe provided by ENTSO-E
The results of the simulations demonstrate a reasonable match with the frequencies reported for the actual split event, showing the relevance of considering a proper temporal sequence for the power imbalances and defensive disconnections which are involved in the process and representation of the frequency-containment reserve
Summary
The power system of the Continental Europe (CE) synchronous area has experienced major incidents leading to the separation of the system into two or more parts. The rest of the paper is divided as follows: Section 2 provides an overview of relevant aspects of the primary frequency control in the CE system, focusing in particular on the frequency-containment reserve process and the use and computation of the power-frequency characteristic; Section 3 describes the specific details of dynamic modelling and simulation of the CE power system, discussing the required extensions and adaptations of the dynamic model made by the authors for the development of an accurate simulation of the separation event; analysis and simulations of the system split in the CE synchronous area are reported, pointing out the importance of a proper temporal distribution of power imbalances and defensive actions; Section 4 reports the results of extended analyses done with the validated models, examining variant scenarios of missing defensive actions, reduced system inertia and comparison with the reference incident; in Section 5, the main results of the work are summarized with conclusive comments and remarks The rest of the paper is divided as follows: Section 2 provides an overview of relevant aspects of the primary frequency control in the CE system, focusing in particular on the frequency-containment reserve process and the use and computation of the power-frequency characteristic; Section 3 describes the specific details of dynamic modelling and simulation of the CE power system, discussing the required extensions and adaptations of the dynamic model made by the authors for the development of an accurate simulation of the separation event; analysis and simulations of the system split in the CE synchronous area are reported in Section 4, pointing out the importance of a proper temporal distribution of power imbalances and defensive actions; Section 4 reports the results of extended analyses done with the validated models, examining variant scenarios of missing defensive actions, reduced system inertia and comparison with the reference incident; in Section 5, the main results of the work are summarized with conclusive comments and remarks
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