Maintaining the power balance in an ‘empty network’

Abstract

AbstractThis paper presents the concept of an ‘empty network’ and shows how the power balance can be maintained in such a system. In this study, an ‘empty network’ is defined as a power system in which no rotating mass is present; all generators are grid‐connected via power electronic interfaces. One generator creates a neat 50 Hz voltage that serves as a frequency reference for the other generators. Consequently, a power unbalance cannot be detected in the classical way, as an altered system frequency. Therefore, in this paper, voltage deviations are used to detect the power unbalances. Simple test systems that consist of 1, 2 and 3 buses are applied on a real time digital simulator (RTDS). A load jump is simulated to cause a power unbalance in the system. The study shows that by using voltage deviations as control signals, the power balance can be maintained in an empty network. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.