Electricity Grid Connection of a Tidal Farm: An Active Power Control Framework Constrained to Grid Code Requirements

Sofiane Ben Chabane,Mirko Fiacchini,Seddik Bacha,Rachid Riah,Mazen Alamir,Thibaut Kovaltchouk

doi:10.1109/tste.2018.2820029

Abstract

This paper focuses on connecting tidal turbine farms to the French electrical grid. One tidal farm is considered, which is the commercial farm. The connection state is defined by the active power and the voltage at the common coupling point (PCC, also called the delivery point), and is constrained to respect the grid code requirements. In order to ensure this connection, this paper develops an active power control framework constrained to the requirements of the grid code. This framework is based on the solution of a quadratic programming problem to meet the power demand at the PCC while respecting the requirements of the grid code in different plans. As the farm will be installed at the ocean depths, several kilometers of cables will be used to transport the electricity up to the PCC. Then, the power losses are also taken into account in this framework. This framework is applied to a commercial farm with realistic data to show its relevance and effectiveness.

Highlights

M ARINE energy refers to the energy carried by the ocean waves, tides, salinity and ocean temperature differences
The kinetic energy stored in oceans, that is created by the movement of the water, can be exploited to generate electricity for homes, transports and industries. 70% of earth surface is covered by oceans, the marine energy can be the most important clean energy
The present paper extends the results obtained in [21] by considering, in addition to the Grid Code in the active/reactive power plan, the Grid Code requirements in the voltage/reactive power plan including a primary control of the voltage and the active/reactive power losses of the farm

Summary

Introduction

M ARINE energy refers to the energy carried by the ocean waves, tides, salinity and ocean temperature differences. Related to the advanced technologies and the current developments on the tidal conversion systems, tidal turbines are considered fully grown to be installed in Manuscript received 05-Sep-2017, Revised and Resubmitted 19-Jan-2018, Accepted for publication 14-Mar-2018 a pre-commercial tidal farms [4], [5], [6]. These tidal farms are considered to be a promising format for industrialization, are similar to offshore wind farms and my benefit from the extensive research and development experience of the wind power industry. A review of the current state of research beyond technology on wave and tidal energies is given in [7]

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