ABSTRACT

Nowadays, it is well-understoodthat theburningof fossil fuels inelectric power sta-

tion has asignicant inuenceon theglobal climatedueto greenhousegases. In many
countries, the use of cost-effectiveand reliable low-carbon electricity energy sources is
becominganimportant energy policy. Amongdifferent kinds of cleanenergy resources-
suchassolar power, hydro-power, oceanwavepower andsoon, windpower isthefastest-
growingformof renewableenergyat thepresent time.
Theadjustablespeed generator wind turbine(ASGWT) has key advantages over the
xed-speedgenerator windturbine(FSGWT) interms of reducedmechanical stress, im-
provedpower quality, highsystemefciency, andreducedacoustic noise. Oneimportant
classof ASGWT isthedoubly-fedinductiongenerator (DFIG), whichhasbecomepopular
withtheelectricpower industryduetoitscost advantageover theother classof ASGWT,
i.e. fully ratedconverter-basedwindturbines. Becauseof increasedintegrationof DFIG-
basedwindfarmsintoelectricpower grids, it isnecessarytotransmit thegeneratedpower
fromwindfarmstotheexistinggridsviatransmissionnetworkswithout congestion.
Seriescapacitivecompensationof DFIG-basedwindfarmisaneconomical way toin-
creasethepower transfer capability of thetransmissionlineconnectingwindfarmto the
grid. For example, a study performed by ABB reveals that increasing the power trans-
fer capability of an existingtransmissionlinefrom1300 MW to 2000 MW usingseries
compensationis90%lessexpensivethanbuildinganewtransmissionline.
However, afactor hinderingtheextensiveuseof seriescapacitivecompensationisthe
potential riskof sub- synchronousresonance(SSR). TheSSRisaconditionwherethewind
farmexchangesenergy withtheelectricnetwork, towhichit isconnected, at oneor more
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natural frequenciesof theelectricor mechanical part of thecombinedsystem, comprising
thewindfarmandthenetwork, andthefrequency of theexchangedenergy is belowthe
fundamental frequency of thesystem. Thisphenomenonmay causeseveredamageinthe
windfarm, if not prevented.
Therefore, thisdissertationdealswiththeSSR phenomenainacapacitiveseriescom-
pensatedwindfarm. A DFIG-basedwindfarm, whichisconnectedtoaseriescompensated
transmissionline, is consideredas acasestudy. Thesmall-signal stability analysisof the
systemis presented, and theeigenvalues of thesystemareobtained. Using both modal
analysis and time-domain simulation, it is shown that thesystemis potentially unstable
duetotheSSR mode.
Then, threedifferent possibilitiesfor theadditionof SSR dampingcontroller (SSRDC)
areinvestigated. TheSSRDC canbeaddedto(1) gate-controlledseriescapacitor (GCSC),
(2) thyristor-controlledseries capacitor (TCSC), or (3) DFIG rotor-sideconverter (RSC)
and grid-sideconverter (GSC) controllers. Therst and second cases are related to the
seriesexibleAC transmissionsystems(FACTS) family, andthethirdcaseusestheDFIG
back-to-back converters to damp theSSR. TheSSRDC is designed using residue-based
analysisandroot locusdiagrams. Usingresidue-basedanalysis, theoptimal input control
signal (ICS) totheSSRDC isidentiedthat candamptheSSR modewithoutdestabilizing
other modes, andusingroot-locusanalysis, therequiredgainfor theSSRDCisdetermined.
Sincetheoptimumcontrol signal cannot beeasilymeasureddirectly, twomethodsaredis-
cussedtocreateanestimateof theoptimuminput signal totheSSRDC, whichcanbeused
intheSSRDC. Inthisdissertation, MATLAB/Simulinkisusedasatool for modelingand
designof theSSRDC, andPSCAD/EMTDC isusedtoperformtime-domainsimulationin
order toprovidelarge-signal validationof thedesignprocess.
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