Wind power connection to the grid

Aalto University 30.10.2015

Sanna Uski
 30.10.2015 2

Content

The Nordic power system and transmission grid in Finland

Connecting wind power production units to the network
Wind turbine generators
Network impacts
Requirements for wind turbines / wind power plants for grid connection
Grid connection of offshore wind power plants
 30.10.2015 3

Glossary

Wind turbine – individual wind power production unit structure

Wind power plant – a group of multiple wind turbines at a location
(wind farm)
Voltage, the unit is volt V kV
Power (active power), the unit is watt W (J/s) MW, i.e. the rate at
which energy used/produced/transmitted
Reactive power, the unit is Var – imaginary component of apparent
power, whereas active power is the real component
 30.10.2015 4

The Nordic power system

The Nordic synchronous power system

consists of Finland, Sweden, Norway,
east part of Denmark
Alternating current 3-phase transmission
system with 50 Hz frequency
Fingrid is the transmission system
operator (TSO) of the Finnish system
AC-connections (alternating current) from
Finland to
Sweden
Norway
DC-connections (direct current) from
Finland to
Sweden
Russia (IPS/UPS-system)
Estonia (IPS/UPS-system)
Fingrid is a member of ENTSO-E,
organization of the European (EU) TSOs
 30.10.2015 5

The Finnish transmission system

National transmission system (“kantaverkko”)
High-voltage transmission system
Meshed structure, as well as operation practice
400 kV, 220 kV and meshed (operated) 110 kV lines
Local high voltage networks (“alueverkot”)
Usually radial structure and operation
Radially operated 110 kV power lines
Distribution networks (“jakeluverkot”)
<110 kV networks of the local network companies
Medium-voltage network (typically 20 kV or 10 kV)
Low-voltage networks (typically 400 V)
Radial or meshed structure, radial operation
Lines
High-voltage lines > 20 000 km
Medium-voltage lines > 130 000 km
Low-voltage lines > 220 000 km
Source: Fingrid
 30.10.2015 6

General overview of grid connection Neighbouring

locations (before wind power): transmission grid

Transmission
400 kV
G

grid
Nuclear power plant
voltage
High-

voltage network
(”Alue-verkko”)
110 kV

Local high
Industrial plant

G Medium-size production unit

Medium-
voltage

20 kV

Distribution
network
400 V
voltage

G Small production
Low-

consumers unit
 30.10.2015 7

Connecting wind turbines and wind power plants to the

Questions: network 1/2
Voltage level
Small-scale production unit in low-voltage network
Own or joint connection line with others?
One or multiple units connected by one
line?
Wind turbines and power plants in medium-
voltage network
Step-up transformers for individual turbines
or groups of turbines?
Own radial connection line (medium-
voltage) for the wind farm?
Own 110 kV/20 kV substation for the wind
power plant?
Large wind power plants
Transmission grid / local high voltage
network (”alueverkko”)?
110 or 220 or 400 kV?
Connection to line or existing substation or
own/new substation?
The wind turbine or power plant capacity and
location may determine the connection
Cheaper to connect at lower voltage level
The network impacts of the wind turbine / power
E.g. connection to Fingrid grid at different plant and the thermal loading of the connection
voltage levels 0.5…2 M€ network components set the limits to the capacity
Medium and low voltage grid connections possible to be connected
are usually determined case-by-case
 30.10.2015 8

Connecting wind turbines to the network 2/2

= transformer
~ = wind turbine Indicative issues
• Distances
• Conductor features
• Developing technology
~ 5 MW
Medium-voltage •No rules of thumb – actual
network decisions are made case by
case

~ 1 MW
Weak medium-
voltage network

~100 MW
No other connections

~ 20 MW at the substation

Own connection line

for the wind power
plant, other radial
~ 100 kW low-voltage network connections at the
with consumption substation
 30.10.2015 9

Used generator and electrical drive concepts in the

wind turbines
three MW-class basic concepts (+ several variations)
Type 1: Fixed speed, induction generator connected directly to the
network
Type 3: Variable speed, doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG) (or rotor
resistance control, OptiSlip, Type 2)
Type 4: Variable speed, full power converter equipped generator
Rotor speed slow (~25 rpm 1 MW unit), power system frequency 50 Hz
(3 000 rpm). There’s needed
gear
or more poles in the generator
or power converter
or combination of these
 30.10.2015 10

Type 1: Directly connected, fixed speed induction

generator (SCIG)
SCIG = squirrel cage induction generator, with
short-circuited rotor
”Traditional” wind turbine concept
Older, smaller WTs are often of this type, but
also e.g. the 2.3 MW turbines at 165 MW
Nysted WF in Denmark put in operation in
2003
E.g. Bonus WTs
Always with a gear
Generator use induction machine speed slightly
above synchronous speed
Short-circuited rotor e.g. 1500 - 1515 rpm Source: ABB
Short-circuited rotor dual-windings two
speed-areas e.g. 1000 and 1500 rpm
Requires reactive power for excitation AN BONUS 2 MW / 76
(“magnetointi”) – thus equipped with capacitor
banks (“kondensaattoriparistoilla”)

P [MW]
Start-ip current taken from the grid is limited by
e.g. soft-starter (“pehmokäynnistimellä”) GB
“From wind to the grid” (“Tuulesta verkkoon”) –
connection is very direct (and vice versa), so 0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
phenomena will transfer easily v [m /s]
 30.10.2015 11

Variable speed generators - Common introduction of

Type 3 and Type 4 concepts
At first a modification of induction machine in fixed
speed WT; slip-ring machine with controllable rotor
resistance, speed are e.g. 1500-1650 rpm (smaller
WTs by Vestas)
25
(Type 3) Double-fed (or doubly-fed) induction
generator (DFIG) (“kaksoissyötetty generaattori”)

rpm[rpm]
(Type 4) Full power converter equipped generator 20
Speed control at power levels below the nominal

speed
power 15

Roottori
Constant speed and pitch control
(“lapakulmansäätö”) at nominal power 10

Rotor
Features
Converter enables speed control of the turbine 5
Operating range even 20 – 100 % of nominal speed
Reactive power is controllable
Causes harmonics (“yliaaltoja”) to the grid 0
Benefits compared to the fixed speed turbines 0 5 10 15 20 25
Better aerodynamics efficiency at larger wind speed
area Wind Tuuli
speed m/s[m/s]
Reduction of turbine loads and stresses, especially at
nominal speed
Reduction of aerodynamic noise
Better possibilities for supporting the grid
 30.10.2015 12

Type 3: Double-fed induction generator (DFIG)

Most of the WTs installed today are

DFIGs
E.g. Nordex (some Vestas) WTs
Wound rotor induction generator rotor
circuit is fed via a converter
Converter size about 1/3 of the
turbine rated power
Always with a gear
In case of grid faults converter must be
protected
Due to the double-feed, via the
stator winding large currents
could be induced, which may
brake the converter Source: ABB
Converter is protected by short-
circuiting the rotor circuit in case Nordex N-80 2.5 M W

of grid faults
GB

P [MW]
control
system ~
~ 0
0 5 10 15 20

v [m /s]
 30.10.2015 13

Type 4: Full power converter equipped generator

Turbine type becoming more popular

E.g. Enercon, Winwind
Generator connected to the grid completely
via a converter
Generator can be asynchronous (induction
gen.) or synchronous generator, with
permanent magnets or wound rotor
With or without a gear
Very large number of pole-pairs in the
rotor slow rotational speed of the
rotor no gear needed
Source: ABB
Converter decouples the generator and
turbine rather well – but not completely –
from the grid converter enables
Ene rcon E-66 1.8 M W
smoother power feed to the grid and filters
the grid phenomena propagating to the
turbine GB ~
~

P [MW]
control
system 0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 1
v [m /s]
 30.10.2015 14

Active power, reactive power and apparent power

What are MW, MVAr & MVA?

Im U – voltage
I – current
Q [VAr] S [VA]
cos – power factor
S – apparent power
P – active power (power that ”does work”)
Q – reactive power
P [W] Re
S=UI*
P=Scos
Reactive power: Considering active power (P), the power that ”does work”, as real, reactive power
(Q) is the imaginary part of total power, i.e. the apparent power (S). Reactive power is produced
and/or consumed on power lines and cables, as well as electric machines. It can be produced e.g.
by capacitors and consumed by shunts reactors (coils). Reactive power transmission must be
avoided, because it causes losses whereas active power transmission does. By reactive power, the
voltage can be controlled, which in some cases may be needed.
 30.10.2015 15

Reactive power / voltage control capabilities of wind turbines

Wind turbines (Type 3 and Type

4) have different possibilities to
control reactive power / voltage
in more sophisticated way than
conventional generators

EXAMPLE :
Type 4 (ENERCON) Source: Fingrid VJV2013 (27 September 2013)

Normal PQ-operation
range

Extended PQ-operation
range if desired

Extended PQ-operation
Source: ENERCON range as STATCOM if
required
 30.10.2015 16

Energy metering and tariffs

Produced electricity can be sold

freely to anybody in Finland or to the Electricity Wind
network turbine
electricity market (“sähköpörssiin”) Grid metering
connection
Electricity transmission is charged by point
the local grid company Electricity Wind
When production is smaller than own- network power plant
metering
use, the needed electricity is bought
from somebody or the market
Certain amount of reactive power
(“loisteho”) is usually free, but P Power production
generally reactive power is expensive
Own-use
P

Different tariff structures by different Reactive power taken from

network companies, tariffs may be Q the grid e.g. for excitation
comprised of different components Reactive power fed to the
(fixed or energy/power based, Q grid
seasonal differences…)
 30.10.2015 17

Protection (“suojaus”) 1/2

Generally & roughly about network and production unit protection

Background: There occur faults (e.g. short circuits) in electricity

networks at times. The faulted part of the network must be
disconnected and the fault needs to be cleared. Large fault
currents could brake equipment, and the operation at a low voltage
during the fault could be difficult.
Solution: Network protection could be based on detecting the large
fault currents to locate the fault in order separate the faulted part of
the network and attempt to clear the fault (e.g. disconnect and
reconnect very soon). False disconnections need to be avoided.
Protection implemented by relays and breakers

Other features: There are also other quantities (e.g. frequency)

related to protection issues and different use of, and protection
settings of voltages, currents, rates of changes in quantities… in
order to identify abnormal operation and implement the protection.
 30.10.2015 18

Protection (“suojaus”) 2/2

Network and production unit protection related to wind power

The goal is to guarantee operation of relay protection – this is a challenge

especially in the distribution networks, where there’s normally only power
consumption, no production
Generally the protection is based on over-currents (i.e. short-circuit currents)
In protection planning it is important to know electrical properties of the production
unit, which depend on the generator / electrical drive type of the unit
There are differences especially in the units’ abilities to feed short-circuit current
Full power converter equipped turbines
Converters (with power electronic devices) ability to feed short-circuit current
is limited (approximately up to the nominal current or slightly above)
Protection cannot thus be based on over-currents

Wind turbine / power plant protection:

Must disconnect sufficiently fast from the grid in case of grid fault (the fault is
on the same radial line the unit is connected to, in case the fault is on different
line, the units should not disconnect), i.e. during the high-speed auto-reclosure
(HSAR, “pikajälleenkytkentä”, PJK)
Island operation must be avoided
But there may be requirements for the unit to remain connected during a fault
that is cleared (a short duration, low voltage dip), i.e. to ride-through the fault
 30.10.2015 19

A BREAK

?
 30.10.2015 20

Possible network impacts caused by wind power

Voltage level (rise or variations around the nominal/typical value
compared to values without wind power production)
Voltage fluctuations may become more common or increase
Production variations
There’s more windy up or a gust covers only part of the
turbine sweeping area
Possible flicker
In case of induction machine, start-up causes momentary voltage
reduction
Voltage transients caused by switching (connection/disconnection)
Harmonics (“yliaaltoja”) from converters (depends on the WT
concept)
Grid losses will decrease/increase
At distribution network level, the protection gets more complicated

Not all network impacts of wind power are negative!

 30.10.2015 21

Voltage change

Current flowing on a conductor decreases voltage on the line

Absolute value of the voltage is what we look at
Decrease in voltage Vh = Vs - Vr I R cos + I X sin
Sufficient assumption when X/R is reasonable and cos is close to 1, i.e. there is
only little reactive power transmitted
 30.10.2015 22

Limiting features of wind power connections to

distribution networks

Voltage rise should not be too large

EXAMPLE: Maximum
Tarkasteltu 20 capacity possible to be
kV jakeluverkkoja
Quick voltage changes ought to be connected at different points of the network (calculated
<3% at potential locations on coastal area of Finland) in 20 kV
Flicker (”välkyntä”) distribution networks
An old rule of thumb: nominal
power < 1/20 of short circuit power
(Sk) at the connection point
Requirements by distribution
network companies, but also
Fingrid requirements apply (> 10
MVA wind power behind the
connection point of the
transmission grid)

Distance from substation [km]

 30.10.2015 23

Fixed speed wind turbine (Type 1)

I.e. power production influence in general

Increase in voltage

233 V
250 kW

226 V
0 kW

Connection point voltage Wind turbine power production

Measurements from Pyhätunturi. WT nominal power 225 kW.

 30.10.2015 24

Power production connected to the network – impact on voltage levels

Applies only to fixed speed WTs and other wind turbines in case the voltage control is NOT used!

Small load at the

end of the line

Large load at the

end of the line

Distance from substation [km]

• Power production connected on the same line with consumption

increases the voltage at the end of the line (at the consumption
point)
• Voltage decrease during high load is mitigated if there is also
power production
• During low load and high power production, the voltage at the
end of the lines (at the consumption point) could be even higher
than at substation
 30.10.2015 25

Power production connected to the network – impact on voltage fluctuations

Applies only to fixed speed WTs and other wind turbines in case the voltage control is NOT used!

Voltage fluctuations caused by wind calculated voltage

turbines based on production
measured voltage
Largest near the turbines
measured production
Difficult to extract from other general
voltage fluctuations
Voltage changes are caused by other
reasons also e.g.:
Loads connecting/disconnecting
Other production units
connect/disconnect
Transformer tap-changers stepping
Lines are connected/disconnected
Voltage fluctuations due to changing
loads and production
Time period 1 day 8 hours
 30.10.2015 26

Full power converter equipped wind turbine influence on network

voltage (level and fluctuations) ? These can be handled!
405

400

395
L1 [V]
U [V]

390 L2 [V]
L3 [V]

385

380

375
1600000
24.9. 25.9. 26.9. 27.9. 28.9. 29.9. 30.9. 1.10. 2.10. 3.10. 4.10. 5.10.
1400000

1200000

1000000
kW

800000 P [W]

600000 -Q [VAr]

400000

200000

0
24.9. 25.9. 26.9. 27.9. 28.9. 29.9. 30.9. 1.10. 2.10. 3.10. 4.10. 5.10.
-200000

Measured phase voltages and WT active and reactive power, sampling 10min, plotted period
of 11 days.
• reactive power control reduces voltage rise
 30.10.2015 27

Distributed production influence on network losses

Depending on the location of consumption and (wind power) production,

the production units either increase or decrease the transmission losses
Reactive power transmission also causes losses
Transmission losses are: Ph= 3 I2 R
500

Example: kulutusta ja tuotantoa

Production & consumption
400 vain kulutusta
Only consumption
Only
vain production
tuotantoa
Consumption:

häviöt (MWh/vuosi)
300
• peak load 2 MW
• yearly cons. 9090 MWh 200

Production:
• full load hours 100

(huipunkäyttöaika) 2000 h
0
0 1000 2000 3000 4000

tuotannon nimellisteho (kW)

Nominal power production [kW]

Power production closer to the consumption reduces power transmission losses

 30.10.2015 28

Wind power in transmission grid in Finland

Requirements set by the Power system
System stability
System operational security
Fingrid
Prepared to make sure that by 2020 it is possible to
connect up to 2500 MW of wind power which is
sufficiently geographically distributed in the power
system
Mainly it is possible to connect to Fingrid grid
250 MVA wind farms in 400 kV level
100…250 MVA wind farms in 110 kV level
<100 MVA wind farms in 110 kV level by
consideration in case the best solution
Fingrid determines the grid connection and connection
point with the client
Multiple clients / one client 400 kV or 100 kV ?
Connection will be planned considering the final
capacity/extent of the WF or WFs
Grid connection requirements by Fingrid: “yleiset
liittymisehdot” (YLE2013) and “voimalaitosten
järjestelmätekniset vaatimukset” (VJV2013)
 30.10.2015 29

Development of the Grid

Codes and requirements
The requirements (Grid Code) set for conventional
production units were/are expanded to apply to
wind power production
As wind power increases, the stricter the
requirements get
Requirements vary from country to country
Harmonization of the Grid Codes in progress
Terminology
Structure
Defined parameters
Ways of presenting things
E.g. EWEA recommendations (a few years
ago)
ENTSO-E “Requirements for Grid
Connection Applicable to all Generators”
passed EU parliament comitology summer
2015 & to become an EU law
Easier to interpret the Grid Codes
Parameter values will not be harmonized –
different power systems use their own values
due to individual qualities and needs
ENTSO-E NfG sets the “frame” for national
Grid Codes – National GCs to be set within
the coming 2…3 years
Source: Jauch et al. International Comparison of Requirements for Connection of Wind
Turbines to Power Systems. Wind Energy, Vol.8, No.3, July 2005.
 30.10.2015 30

VJV2013 requirements
in Finland
VJV2013 in force since Nov. 2013
prepared by Fingrid, approved by
Energy authority (“Energiavirasto”)
Official and binding requirements in the
Finnish version
English translation available
(non-binding/unofficial) support
documentation (“VJV-tukidokumentti”)
available
Update going on for ENTSO-E compliance
will be a consultation with stakeholders
there will be changes to VJV2013
 30.10.2015 31

Standards and recommendations related to

production units’ grid connection in Finland
Energiateollisuus ry (ET) recommendation: Sähköntuotannon
liittymisehdot TLE05 – Apply to production connected to the distribution
networks (<110 kV) and define issues related to the agreements and technical
connection issues (does not define operational requirements)
Fingrid YLE2013 – Apply to production connected to the transmission grid
Distribution grid companies may have own requirements e.g. Helen
Sähköverkko Oy:n ohje
Standard EN 50438 – small units
Standard IEEE 1547 – distributed generation grid connection
Fingrid VJV2013 as of 1.11.2013 (previous requirements VJV
2007, Nordic Grid Code by former Nordel), ENTSO-E requirements
NC RfG (Network Code for Grid Connection Applicable to all
Generators – will become an EU law)
On transmission system level, but these DO apply also to wind
power connected to distribution networks
 30.10.2015 32

ENTSO-E
Network Codes
EU

In Finland:

Network Code Status - July 2015 Production facilities

 30.10.2015 33

Fingrid VJV2013 (1/3)

Why?

Requirements are set in order to guaratee that

the production unit can handle the occuring voltage and
frequency variations
the production unit supports the power system in the case of
disturbances and abnormal situations, and operates reliably
during and after these situations
the production unit does not disturb or cause harm to other
equipment connected to the grid
the owner of the connection grid and Fingrid has all necessary
information of the production unit for power system planning
and operation planning purposes.
 30.10.2015 34

Fingrid VJV2013 (2/3)

VJV is based on the Nordic Grid Code & considers
the ENTSO-E RfG
Requirements specified separately for Connection point
synchronous (conventional) generation units and
for wind power units, and different requirements for
different sizes of wind power plants
Technical requirements must be fulfilled at the
VJV-reference point (grid connection point)
Requirement to prove the fulfillment of the
requirements (”vaatimusten täyttymisen
todentaminen”) and implementation tests
(“käyttöönottokokeet”)
Documentation of the unit
Requirement to exchange information with Fingrid
Requirement to provide simulation models and
some simulation results for Fingrid
 30.10.2015 35

Fingrid VJV2013 (3/3)

Examples of technical requirements

Requirements for operation on different voltage and

frequency ranges
Requirements for the control of
frequency and active power
voltage and reactive power
Operation during voltage dips
Requirement to remain connected to the grid, i.e.
”fault-ride-through” (FRT), when voltage above the
FRT-voltage requirement curve (may disconnect in
case voltage goes below the envelope curve at any
point)

Source: Fingrid VJV2013 (27 September 2013)

 30.10.2015 36

Offshore wind power plants 1/2

Grid connection at sea is expensive
Distances may be long
Sea cable
Possibly separate transformer platform at
sea
Back-up connections?
Groups/blocks of units
E.g. separate AC-connection cables for
unit blocks near the shore
In case of cable outage, not whole WF
production is lost

Group 11
blokki ...
G G G G

rantaan
To shore

blokki2 2
Group ...
G G G G

Group
blokkinn
 30.10.2015 37

Offshore wind power plants 2/2

WPPPuiston sisäinen
internal verkko
collection 36 kV 36 kV
network 36 kV / 150 kV 150 kV / 400 kV

Example from Denmark: 20 km merikaapeli

20 km sea cable
34 km maakaapeli
34 km sea cable

Horns Rev I 160 MW (80 x 2 MW DFIG)

In operation since 2002
Total construction costs of the wind power plant
approximately 278 M€, of which substation at sea
and connection cable costs appr. 40 M€
windmuuntajalla
= omalla turbine with transformer
varustettu voimala
Horns Rev II 209 MW (90 x 2.3 MW full power converter = yhteys normaalitilanteessa
connection auki state
open in normal
equipped WTs)
In operation since 2009
Total construction costs of the wind power plant
approximately 470 M €, of which grid connection
costs with grid reinforcements appr.110 M€
Estimated yearly production 800 GWh

www.hornsrev.dk
 30.10.2015 38

Offshore-wind power plants in the future

Using HVDC connections to connect the wind AC m
ACerikaapeli
sea cable
power plants to the grid at land may become G
DC sea cable
DC m erikaapeli
Over-head
ormearth
line
avojohto tai
cable
aakaapeli 110 tai
more common G ~
=
=
~
110 kV or
400 kV verkko
400 kV grid

Transformation AC DC is expensive, but .

.
tasasuuntaus
Converting AC to DC vaihtosuuntaus
Inverting DC to AC

getting cheaper .

HVDC connection is profitable if the WF is large G

enough and/or the distance to shore is long

sea land
HVDC connection is the only option in case of
long sea cables
Possibility to connects offshore wind power
plants to so-called offshore grids, i.e. the HVAC
or HVDC grid built at sea (no radial connection)
will be used for both electricity transmission
between countries/areas and for connecting
wind power plants to the power system
Studied for Kriegers Flak offshore wind
power plants; wind power plants planned
in the area by the German, Danish and
Swedish
Possibility to save in investment costs
compared to separate connection and
cross-border transmission connections Source: Joined Pre-feasibility Study by Energinet.dk, Svenska Kraftnät and Vattenfall Europe
Transmission, An analysis of Offshore Grid Connection at Kriegers Flak in the Baltic Sea.
 30.10.2015 39

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