Optimal Inertial Support from the Variable Speed Wind Turbines using Particle Swarm Optimization

Abstract

Variable Speed Wind Turbines (VSWT) are usually devoid of inertial response, a natural phenomenon observed in Synchronous Generators (SG). With increased generation share from wind energy, most of which employ VSWTs, the major concern for the utility operators is the reduction in grid inertia. Recently, various modifications in the outer control loop of VSWTs are suggested, which usually establish a link between the grid frequency deviations and the generator torque/active power to mimic the inertial response observed in SGs. Since the inertial support is synthetic and is the result of additional control loop, the parameters of the auxiliary control loop has profound effect on the emulated inertial response. In this work, a simple parameter selection approach based on Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) is proposed. The objective is to enable the optimum extraction of stored kinetic energy while limiting the effects of consequent under-production period. The proposed approach for parameter setting is compared to two different approaches and found to be more effective in both limiting the frequency nadir and post-support disturbances.