Wind Power Development in India and Related Grid Connectivity

Basanta Dash and Haraprasad Biswas

Lahmeyer International (India) Pvt. Ltd.

I : Abstract

Wind Power is one of the clean substitute of fossil fuel based polluting power plants in India.
Traditional wind turbines are equipped with induction generators. Unfortunately, induction
generators require reactive power from the grid to operate. Sometimes weaker grids are not
capable of supplying required reactive power and some capacitor compensation is often used.
Variable speed wind turbines with synchronous generators directly coupled with the grids are also
having some inherent demerits and are not grid friendly.

This paper compare numerous types of generators of wind farms, namely, squirrel cage induction,
wound rotor induction, synchronous with permanent magnet and synchronous with wired field
and analyses grid integration aspects of these wind generators. Of the four generator types
mentioned above, the first two types offer advantages to wind farm power plants. Comparing
these two, synchronous generators with permanent magnet are found to be significantly superior
to the squirrel cage induction generator.

II : Introduction

Growing concern for the environmental degradation has led to the world's interest in renewable
energy resources. Wind is commercially and operationally, one of the viable renewable energy
resource and accordingly, emerging as one of the largest source in terms of the renewable energy
sector which is a clean substitute of the fossil fuel base polluting power plants.

Wind Energy is witnessing abundant opportunities in the developing economies, such as India,
where the power supply situation and infrastructure development efforts provide a huge market
for active investment.

In India, as on 30th September 2010, total installed power generation capacity was 166,561
MW, out of which a major part 106,518 (around 64%) was fossil fuel base thermal power plants.
Share of renewable energy sources was 18,155 MW (around 10.90%), out of which contribution
from wind farms was 12,809 MW (around 70.5% of renewable energy sources) [1].

Brief comparison between generation of power using Fossil Fuel based energy and Wind Energy is
given in the following table, which establish the advantages of power generation using Wind
Energy over Fossil Fuel based power generation:

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 Description Power Generation Using Fossil Fuel
Power Generation Using Wind
Energy
Availability Have to be procured and made Usable as it exists.
usable through laborious and
environmentally damaging
processes.

Transportation Have to be transported from the Used where it is available.

place of availability to site of
power generation plant.

Limitation on Limited in reserves, expected to Inexhaustible resource.

availability get completely exhausted in the
coming 60 years.

Effects on Emissions from fossil fuel based Environment friendly.

Environment power generating plants are No gaseous or particulate
damaging for the Environment. emission.

III : Wind Power Development in India

The importance of renewable energy sources in the transition to a sustainable energy base was
recognized in early 1970s. At the Government level, political commitment to renewable energy
manifested itself in the establishment of the first Department of Non-Conventional Energy Sources
in 1982, which was then upgraded to a full-fledged Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources
(MNES) in 1992 subsequently renamed as Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). This is
the only such Ministry in the world.

The Wind power program of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is the fastest growing
renewable energy program in India. India has a potential of around 48,500 MW wind power. With
a capacity addition of 12,800 MW, it contributes to around 75% of grid connected renewable
energy based power generation plant installed capacity. The major wind power capacity is in the
states of Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Rajasthan. Wind electric generators of
unit sizes between 225 kW and 2.10 MW have been deployed across the Country.
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A market-oriented strategy was adopted from inception, which has led to the successful
commercial development of the technology. The broad based National program includes wind
resource assessment activities, research and development support, implementation of
demonstration projects to create awareness and opening up of new sites, involvement of utilities
and industry, development of infrastructure capability and capacity for manufacture, installation,
operation and maintenance of wind electric generators and policy support.

The program aims at catalyzing commercialization of wind power generation in the country. India
is among the top five countries in Wind Power Installations in the world.

IV : Technology of Wind power Generation [2]

In a wind turbine its blades and the generator are generally designed for mounting on the top of
the tower. A power transmission shaft can be used to have the generator installed on the ground
level, which is not popularly used in commercial power generation. Generators of wind farms can
produce direct or alternating currents. The frequency of alternating current produced by AC
Generators is directly proportional with the rotational speed (RPM) of the generator and it is
required to be fixed at 50 Hz in India.

For small wind farm power stations, the cost of mechanism for keeping RPM at the constant level
may be prohibitive. Synchronous generators output AC power but are required to meet the
voltage and frequency standards. This further complicates the design of turbine blades to operate
under varying wind velocities. Today’s technology provides generators that are electronically
regulated to produce electricity with constant frequency under the variable conditions of wind.
This may be achieved in the following ways.

• Output of DC generators are extracted via commutator and brush and further inverted to AC
with proper control on voltage and frequency.

• Generators AC output is converted to DC via rectifier diodes, hence brushes and

commutations are not used. DC power is further inverted to AC with proper control on voltage
and frequency.

Before going into the comparative analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of various kinds
of generators, each type of generator is briefly described.

Off grid Connected Generator

The wind turbines that were originally designed for use in rural areas for off grid use were directly
connected to the generators, that is, the generator and turbine had the same revolution per
minute. The generators were permanent magnet type synchronous generators.

Grid connected Induction Generator

When the concept of grid connected wind power was developed, the turbine was connected to
the generator via a gearbox that allows variable generator speeds, up to 4 to 5 times the speed of
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the turbine, or even more to have frequency of generated power same as grid frequency. This
technology utilizes the induction generator for power generation.

Following types of induction generators are available for use in wind farm based power plants.
• Squirrel cage type induction generator
• Wound rotor type induction generator

Further development of Direct Drive Synchronous Generators

At present synchronous generators used as wind energy converters based on direct drive principle
without gearbox is available.

In direct rive wind energy convertor; the rotor hub and annular generator are directly connected to
each other as a fixed unit without gears. The rotor unit is mounted on a fixed axle. Compared to
conventional geared systems that have a large number of bearing points in a moving drive train,
this drive system has only two slow-moving roller bearings. The reason for this is the low speed
of the direct drive.

Following types of synchronous generators are available for use in wind farm based power plants.
• Permanent magnet type synchronous generator
• Wired field type synchronous generator

DC Generator

In a different technology, the generator produces DC current that an inverter converts it to AC

and the power fed to grid after synchronization. Generator's DC output is extracted via brushes
that contact the commutator of the generator.

However, this method is not viable as it is not cost effective and it calls for lot maintenance
particularly for commutator and brush to remain operative. Therefore, this DC generator is not
further considered for further analysis.

V : Comparison of Some Characteristics of Synchronous and Induction Generators [2]

As discussed above following four types of generator technologies are available for use in wind
power generation plants.

• Squirrel cage type induction generator

• Wound rotor type induction generator
• Permanent magnet type synchronous generator
• Wired field type synchronous generator

Out of the above four types of generators, there are some inherent construction, operation &
Maintenance limitations of Wound rotor type induction generator and Wired field type
synchronous generator and these generators are not popularly used in wind farm power plants.
Therefore these two types of generators are not considered for further study.
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Both Squirrel cage type induction generator and Permanent magnet based synchronous generator
are suitable for wind farm power plants and manufactured in India. However, before selecting
generators for proper grid connectivity, it is mandatory to study the operation and other
characteristics of generators. Following is a comparison of the characteristics of Squirrel cage
type induction generator and Permanent magnet type synchronous generator, with a view on the
case that the generators operates in parallel with the grid.

Sr.No Description Permanent Magnet type Squirrel Cage type Induction

1 Capacity
Synchronous Generator
Higher capacities available.
Generator
Induction generators consume
more reactive power. Hence,
they are suitable for smaller
capacities.

2 Speed Higher speed creates no problem Normally high speed.

rather than difficulties in
manufacturing high speed for
higher capacity.

3 Excitation Synchronous generator with Squirrel cage induction

permanent magnet does not need generators do not need any
any coils for excitation. coils for excitation.

4 Independent Synchronous generators can be Induction generator need to be

Operation utilized independently fed with an exciting current.
Therefore, it cannot operate
without support from the grid.

5 Voltage Output voltage can controlled Voltage of the induction

Regulation generators is always the same
as grid voltage.

6 Power Factor Power factor can be lead or lag Power factor is always lag and
Control and can be controlled condenser is required for any
correction of the power factor.

7 Paralleling With This is a complex control that Paralleling is simpler as it is

Power Network requires regulation of the voltage, done only at the synch speed
frequency and phase

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 Sr.No Description Permanent Magnet type Squirrel Cage type Induction
Synchronous Generator Generator
8 Impact on Power For synchronous generators, as it Induction generator produce no
Network during produces voltage before voltage before it is connected
Paralleling paralleling, no impact is to the power network.
generated during connection to Therefore, some additional
the network current will flow during
paralleling of induction
generator, which may cause
voltage drop on the network.

9 Reactive Power Consumption is Marginal. Consumption is high

VI : Typical Requirements for Wind Power Plants for exporting power to Transmission Grids

For successful operation of generators of wind farms operating in parallel with the grid and
exporting power to the grid, following requirements to be fulfilled.

• If necessary, wind farms should be able to contribute in maintaining voltage stability in the
grid by supplying or accepting reactive power.

• Wind farms should be able to remain connected to the grid without power reduction even if
considerable voltage and frequency deviations occur.

• If voltage dips occur due to grid problems, wind farms should remain connected to the grid for
a defined period.

• Short circuit current feeding may be demanded during a grid fault. After a fault has been
cleared, a wind farm should resume power feed as quickly as possible within a specified
maximum time range.

• Wind farms should be able to operate with reduced power output without any time restrictions

• For coordinated load distribution in the grid, the increase in power output (power gradient), for
example when the wind farm is started up, should be able to be restricted in accordance with
the grid operator’s specifications.

• Wind farms should be able to contribute reserve energy within the grid. If grid frequency
increases, the power output of a wind farm should be reduced.

• Wind farms should be able to be integrated in the grid control system for remote monitoring
and control of all wind turbines in the grid.

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As discussed in the previous sections, conventional wind energy converters with induction
generators used in wind farms have the following limitations to achieve the above requirements of
grid connectivity.

1) Induction generator draws reactive power (kVRAh) from the grid to meet excitation power
requirement. Therefore, it is not able to contribute in maintaining voltage stability in the
grid by supplying reactive power.
2) Consumption of reactive power is very high especially when the generation is low to
medium, as well as these Turbines are strain on the Grid systems of the Transmission
Utilities. Weak grid is sometimes unable to supply such reactive power.
3) If voltage dips occur due to grid problem, induction generator fail to supply continuous
power to the grid.
4) During short circuit in the grid (grid fault), induction generator looses excitation power,
hence it is unable to feed fault current during grid fault.

To reduce excessive reactive power drawl by induction generators from the grid, the Transmission
Utilities of some states have imposed a penalty for drawl of every Unit of kVARh which is an
additional cost for the owners of the wind farms. Also the owner’s of the wind farm and
transmission utilities have to spend for additional capacitor banks to meet the requirements of
Reactive Power whenever conventional types of Wind Energy Converters i.e., with Induction
Generators are used.

On the other hand variable speed, direct drive, permanent magnet type synchronous generator
with convertor and inverter sets for control of voltage and frequency are able to mitigate the grid
connectivity issues as discussed above for induction generators. The advantages of using
permanent magnet type synchronous generator with convertor and inverter sets are as under:

1) Synchronous Generator with its power electronic (converter and inverter) are able to
contribute in maintaining voltage stability in the grid by supplying and accepting reactive
power.
2) It is able to remain connected to the grid without power reduction even if considerable
voltage and frequency deviations occur.
3) If voltage dips occur due to grid problems, it can remain connected to the grid for a defined
period.
4) During grid fault, it is able to supply short circuit current for a definite period and after a
fault has been cleared, it can resume power feed quickly within a specified maximum time
range
5) Whenever required, it is able to help grid by supplying kVARh the extent of 0.95 power
factor.

In addition, direct drive, permanent magnet synchronous generators have following merits over
high speed generator with gear box.

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1) Maintenance and service costs for direct drive wind turbine are lower.
2) Operating costs is reduced.

In July 2004, Mitsubishi started the operation of the first unit of its wind farm power plant that
utilized a synchronous generator with permanent magnet and no gearbox. Presently, Synchronous
generators for wind farms up to 3.6 MW capacity with permanent magnet are available in the
global market. It is interesting that it has a higher reliability and a lower initial cost. It is quite
significant that both the technical specifications of this generator and the wind characteristics
suitably correspond to requirements.

On the basis of the above discussion and the general global trend toward synchronous generators,
it seems that for wind farm power plants, direct drive synchronous generators with permanent
magnet with its power electronic (converter and inverter) are superior to electrically excited
induction generators from grid connectivity point of view of Grid connectivity.

VII : Grid Connectivity and Compatibly of Synchronous Generator

Energy generated in synchronous generator is fed to an inverter via a rectifier and a so-called DC
link. It ensures that output power is regulated according to grid specifications. This is where
stipulated requirements, such as voltage, frequency and reactive power for each individual turbine
in a wind farm, are implemented. The system transformer makes the conversion from low voltage
to medium voltage. Delta / Star connected transformers restrict the flow of zero sequence
harmonics and zero sequence currents from generator side to the grid and vice versa.

Modern control concept offers solutions such as reactive power management and voltage control
for normal operation as well as for critical situations resulting from network short-circuits or other
transients. Now a day’s wind turbine behavior with so called DC link is essentially comparable to
conventional power plants. Therefore, installations with synchronous generators feature a grid
feed system that meets the latest grid connection requirements and can therefore be easily
integrated in any supply and distribution structures.

Staying Connected When Grid Problems Occur

Modern wind turbines with Synchronous generators and DC link have this capability that
generators should not immediately disconnect from the grid when short circuits occur. During
voltage dips due to grid problems they are also able to remain connected to the grid. If necessary,
the turbines also support grid voltage when problems arise. This is achieved by feeding reactive
power. After the problem has been remedied and grid voltage has been restored, the wind turbine
immediately continues feeding power.

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 VIII : Conclusion

According to above discussion, it is concluded that the technology using Synchronous Generator
with permanent magnet and converter, inverter has better capability for grid connectivity. This
technology eliminates the requirements of reactive power from the grid. It supports the grid to
revive voltage profile by pumping reactive power at the time of fault. It also controls the
generation during frequency variation of the grid.

References

[1] Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India, “Renewable Energy in India :
Progress, Vision and Strategy”.

[2] Mohammad Tagi Ameli, Saeid Moslehpour and Amin Mirzaie, “Feasibility Study for
Replacing Asynchronous Generators with Synchronous Generators in Wind Farm Power
Stations”.