Analysis of renewable energy integration into the transmission network

Abstract

The increasing use of renewable energy contributes to climate change mitigation. However, a massive penetration of these latter systems into the power grid creates technical challenges due to the intermittent nature of these resources. A methodology to identify and overcome these challenges is presented in this work. A detailed network analysis is performed to simulate the impact of renewable sources on the grid and accordingly suggest mitigation methods. Different case studies were carried out on the Moroccan grid taking into consideration the country actual installed and planned renewable farms including concentrated solar power (CSP), photovoltaics (PV), and wind plants with doubly-fed induction generators (DFIG). A PSS®E software simulation tool is used in this work to conduct power flow analysis on the network’s lines, bus bars, and transformers. It is also used to investigate the voltage profile and stability of the electric grid. In addition, an N-1 contingency analysis is done to identify their impact on the reliability and security of supply. Finally, this paper presents solutions to reinforce the transmission grid.