Flicker level mitigation of weak grid connected wind turbine with DFIG by injecting optimum reactive power using STATCOM

Abstract

Now-a-days, power system cannot be thought of as a standalone system, rather it is integrated with numerous renewable power sources such as wind energy, solar energy etc. With the development of high capacity electric power generation from wind energy, large number of wind turbines are being installed and connected to power systems. Consequently, stoic operation of wind turbine system is very important for power system stability. Flicker is an inevitable but undesired behaviour especially in wind turbine connected weak grid where the penetration level of wind power is significant high so as to affect the power system operation and control. This is mainly caused by fluctuations in the output power due to wind speed variations, the wind gradient and the tower shadow effect. This conspicuous phenomenon is a limiting factor for integrating wind turbines into weak grid network. This paper studies the effect of injecting optimum reactive power using Static Synchronous Compensator (STATCOM) on flicker mitigation of weak grid connected wind turbine with Doubly Fed Induction Generator (DFIG). Details of performance appraisal with inter parameter dependency has also been demonstrated convincingly.