Strategies for Minimizing Operational Impacts of Large Wind Turbine Arrays on Automatic Generation Control Systems

Abstract

A primary application of wind electric generation is expected to be large clusters or arrays of MW-size wind turbines connected to the utility transmission network. Array output power variations due to the uncontrolled nature of the wind resource can cause undesirable dynamic impacts on the utility system, such as excessive frequency and/or tie-line power flow deviations. As a consequence, spinning reserve, unloadable generation, and load following requirements and their associated economic penalties tend to increase as wind electric generation is added to the system. However, if array power variations are limited and/or anticipated, the associated operation and economic penalties can be significantly reduced. In this paper, a number of operational concepts are considered which have the potential to enhance the effectiveness of wind turbine arrays in the utility system.