Abstract
Wind power is positioned as one of the fastest-growing energy sources today, while also being a mature technology with a strong capacity for creating employment and guaranteeing environmental sustainability. However, the stochastic nature of wind may affect the integration of power plants into power systems and the availability of generation capacity. In this sense, as in the case of conventional power plants, wind power installations should be able to help maintain power system stability and reliability. To help achieve this objective, a significant number of countries have developed so-called grid interconnection agreements. These are designed to define the technical and behavioral requirements that wind power installations, as well as other power plants, must comply with when seeking connection to the national network. These documents also detail the tasks that should be conducted to certify such installations, so these can be commercially exploited. These certification processes allow countries to assess wind turbine and wind power plant simulation models. These models can then be used to estimate and simulate wind power performance under a variety of scenarios. Within this framework, and with a particular focus on the new Spanish grid code, the present paper addresses the validation process of dynamic wind turbine models followed in three countries—Spain, Germany and South Africa. In these three countries, and as a novel option, it has been proposed that these models form part of the commissioning and certification processes of wind power plants.
Highlights
Of all non-dispatchable Renewable Energy Sources (RES), wind power is the most significant in terms of electricity generation in current power systems
Following the general verification procedure [30,31,32] detailed in the PVVC document [29], the dynamic Wind Turbine (WT) model to be validated should be provided by the manufacturer and should represent the model of the actual WT that formed part of the Wind Power Plants (WPP)
A number of countries include the use of dynamic WT simulation models as part of the WPPs certification process
Summary
Of all non-dispatchable Renewable Energy Sources (RES), wind power is the most significant in terms of electricity generation in current power systems. The behavioral validation of dynamic WT simulation models as part of the certification processes of wind power installations is an increasingly important aspect that has not yet been addressed in any scientific publication This is because it is a new feature not included in all grid codes. Our paper provides information on when a WT simulation model can be considered validated and ready to be used as part of the WPP certification process in those countries, in addition to reviewing the most important international guidelines defining dynamic. The paper is structured as follows: Section 2 presents the Spanish grid code, describing, with a particular focus on the validation criteria of dynamic WT simulation models, the previous guidelines and the new ones issued for such purpose.
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