Key facts

Name of the Principal Investigator (PI): prof. Igor Kuzle, PhD

Name of the home institution where the project will be implemented: University of Zagreb Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing

Proposal full title: WIND energy integration in Low Inertia Power System

Proposal duration in months: 36

Project proposal summary

Increase in number of wind power plants that utilize variable speed generators that substitute conventional synchronous generators has led to a decrease in system inertia. This decreases system stability in response to disturbances that causes power swings (generator and load outages, short circuit failures).
This project will be focused on investigation of renewable energy sources potential capabilities to provide initial inertia response and ancillary services. Additionally, it will be focused on establishment of regulatory and technical frameworks that will enable such potential.
The project will in its first part identify current dynamic characteristics of the Croatian power system and identify impact current wind power shares have on system inertia. Future trends of inertia characteristics will be forecasted based on future development plans and predicted future RES installed capacities. Different technical characteristics of wind power generators will be analysed alongside the requirements of current grid rules regarding the connection to the power grid.
In the second part of the project the ability of wind power plants to provide support to the system balance through the control of inertia response and active power change after disturbances occurrence. The method to enable response of wind power generators similar to conventional generators during initial and transient segments of frequency response will be suggested. Current regulatory and technical framework will be identified and suggestion for future participation of wind power plants in frequency and active power regulation which would increase the stability of power system and increase the capability to accept new RES capacities will be suggested.

Project goals

1. identifying Croatian PS static and dynamic parameters and the procedures for estimation of static and dynamic parameters in the future;

2. development of the mathematical model for the research of PS frequency stability that will have a capability to plan different generation portfolios in the system, while respecting the technical and economic constraints and experimental validation of the developed model;

3. primary frequency regulation algorithm for a PS with low inertia and high RES penetration, i.e., new strategy for system operation with virtual RES inertia;

4. defining the maximum RES share with small or negligible inertia constant that can be connected to PS with present operation principles with criteria that will indicate the need for a new strategy;

5. economic quantification of RES ancillary services offers (especially primary frequency regulation by wind power plants);

6. grid code changes recommendations for future RES capacities.

Project organization scheme

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