Aspects of Wind Power Plant Collector Network

Layout and Control Architecture

M. Altin, R. Teodorescu, B. Bak-Jensen, P. Rodriguez and P. C. Kjær

regulations, WPP designers should design internal electrical

ABSTRACT system, as well as control structure of the WPP.
The main function of the internal electrical system is to
R ecent developments in wind turbine technology go
towards the installation of larger Wind Power Plants
(WPPs) both onshore and offshore. As wind power
collect power from each Wind Turbine Generator (WTG)
spread over the entire WPP and to transmit it to the power
penetration level increases, power system operators are system. Electrical collector systems can be designed using
challenged by the penetration impacts to maintain reliability different topologies depending on the size, location (onshore
and stability of power system. Therefore, connection topology or offshore), and terrain of the WPP [3], [4]. Because of the
and control concepts of large WPPs should be carefully practical limitations, collector system design must be
investigated to improve the overall performance of both the evaluated from economic and reliability point of view [5], [6].
WPP and the power systems. This paper aims to present a Furthermore, the WPP control structure, which consists of
general overview of the design considerations for the centralized controller and individual WTG controllers,
electrical layout of WPPs and the WPP control strategy for regulates the WPP power production [7]. WPP operators are
optimum power generation while fulfilling the power system able to control entire power plant by a centralized controller
operators’ requirements. which is an interface between the power system operator and
the WPP. The centralized controller should be implemented to
I. INTRODUCTION satisfy the requirements of the power system operator in
coordination with the WTG controllers [8], [9].
As fossil fuel energy sources have dwindled and global
In this paper considerations for the collector system design
warming increases, renewable energy sources attract more
regarding power loss optimization, reliability and economics
attention. Wind energy is one of the leading alternatives
are presented. Additionally, a hierarchical WPP control
among these sources. The rapid growth of wind industry over
structure for optimum active and reactive power generation is
the last decades brings along a lot of study and research for
introduced. Thereby, the overall WPP should be able to satisfy
integration of wind energy to conventional power systems. In
the power system operators’ requirements.
addition to technological and economical developments in
In Section II, an overview of the grid codes of Germany
wind turbine technology, governments have granted funds for
and Denmark is briefly introduced as a general instance of
research and support in renewable energy sources.
common requirements. The collector system design
The important benefits of wind energy are reduced CO2
considerations including optimization of power losses,
emission, reduced operational cost (as no fuel is required) and
economic and reliability evaluations are presented in Section
adding capacity value to a power system (ability to contribute
III. Section IV introduces WPP control strategies in a
to peak demands). However, these advantages are available
coordinated and hierarchical structure. In the closing section,
only when WPPs operate according to the regulations that are
future work and milestones of the work is provided.
prescribed by power system operators for the stability and
reliability of the system [1], [2]. Considering these
II. GRID CODE REQUIREMENTS
This work was supported by Vestas Wind Systems A/S. The transmission system operators (TSOs) are responsible
M.A. is a PhD student at Department of Energy Technology, Aalborg for network operations in steady-state and transient
University, 9220 Aalborg, Denmark (e-mail: [email protected], phone no. +45 conditions. According to TSOs’ perspective, it must be proven
9940 9283).
for the power plants connected to transmission network that
R.T. is with Department of Energy Technology, Aalborg University, 9220
Aalborg, Denmark (e-mail: [email protected]) the reliability and stability of the grid should not be adversely
B.B-J. is with Department of Energy Technology, Aalborg University, 9220 affected. Thus the technical requirements, which are
Aalborg, Denmark (e-mail: [email protected],). commonly referred to as grid codes, must clearly define the
P. Rodriguez is with the Technical University of Catalonia, Spain. (e-mail:
[email protected]).
connection criteria of the WPPs into the transmission network.
P.C.K. is with the Vestas Wind Systems A/S, 8200 Århus, Denmark Recently there has been a lot of research and study on revising
([email protected]) grid codes. However, it has to be considered, that every
Paper submitted to the PhD Seminar on Detailed Modelling and country has different connection criteria for the wind power
Validation of Electrical Components and Systems 2010 in Fredericia,
Denmark, February 8th, 2010
and national regulatory frameworks require continuous
changes due to the developments in the wind turbine

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technology. The grid code defines the following FRT requirements:
The new grid codes treat the WPPs in such a way that they
should contribute power system control similar to  Above the borderline 1, voltage drops should not
conventional power plants [1]. In the literature, technical lead to WPP disconnection.
analysis and overview of technical requirements regarding the  The voltage dips within the shaded area between the
connection of large WPPs to the transmission system are borderline 1 and borderline 2 should not lead to
provided [10], [11]. In [11], the grid codes of several countries instability or disconnection of the WPP. However, in
and comparison of their most recent available editions are case of WPP instability, short-time disconnection is
presented. This paper narrows down the overview to Germany allowed. The resynchronization must be completed at
and Denmark grid codes, just to give an idea of the common most 2 s and after fault clearance active power feed-
requirements. in must be increased with a gradient of 10% of the
According to the grid codes, the technical requirements are nominal capacity per second.
defined for the connection and operation of WPPs connected
to transmission system [1], [2]. These requirements cover:
 FRT requirements,
 Active power and frequency control,
 Reactive power control,
 Frequency and voltage operating range.

The FRT or low voltage ride through (LVRT) requirements

are described in such a way that WPPs must withstand voltage
dips to a certain percentage of the voltage level for a specified
duration in the grid codes. These voltage characteristics
depend on protection system of the network and fault location.
The FRT requirements also include fast active and reactive
output power restoration after a fault clearance. Fig. 1. Limit curve for the FRT requirements of the Transmission Code 2007
[1]
The active power and frequency control requirements
define the regulation of WPP active power output and the
 Below the borderline 2, disconnection of the WPP is
frequency response to control their active power outputs with
allowed and also a short-time disconnection of the
respect to frequency deviations. Moreover, WPPs can actively
WPP from the network is always permitted
participate in active power regulation using various control
(Resynchronization period may be more than 2 s and
strategies [2]. This control should require ancillary services
the active power gradient may be less than 10%).
such as participation in primary and secondary frequency
 For all WPPs which are not disconnected during the
control.
fault, active power must be maintained immediately
Reactive power control capabilities are also required by the
after the fault clearance and increased to the original
grid codes. It is performed either by setting a reactive power
value with a gradient of at least 20% of the nominal
value or power factor value. Further, reactive power control
capacity per second.
should be extended for controlling voltage at the WPP grid
 For reactive current feed-in for voltage backup, in the
connection point or at the distant node (secondary voltage
case of network voltage above the borderline 1, the
control).
requirements are shown in Fig. 2. K value should be
In addition to control and response capabilities, grid codes
in the range of 0 and 10 and it must be adjustable.
stated that WPPs must operate over an extended range of
Additionally, WPP disconnection time delays
system voltages and frequency deviations from the nominal
associated with voltage level are specified in
operating values. For these operating ranges, limited period of
Transmission Code 2007.
continuous operation and active power reduction is allowed.
A. Germany
1) FRT RequirementsFejl! Henvisningskilde ikke fundet.
According to the Transmission Code 2007 [1], the FRT
requirements are given in Fig. 1 for single, dual, and triple
pole short circuits (with and without earth contact) or fault
induced symmetrical and asymmetrical voltage dips. The
curve characteristic represents the voltage magnitude
associated with the time duration during which the WPP must
remain connected.

47
 operating limits. Fig. 5 shows the operating voltage (at the
grid connection point) and frequency limits for WPPs.

Fig. 2. Reactive output current during disturbances [1] Fig. 5. Operating frequency and voltage limits for WPPs [1]
2) Active power and frequency control
The active power reduction must be satisfied with at least B. Denmark
10% of the network connection capacity per minute. And
The Danish requirements which are presented in this paper
frequency response of the WPP is shown in Fig. 3 similar to
should apply to WPPs connected to grids with voltages above
the droop characteristic of a conventional power plant for
100 kV (the transmission system) [2].
over-frequencies. However, there is no limitation for the
1) FRT RequirementsFejl! Henvisningskilde ikke fundet.
frequency band between 47.5 and 50.2 Hz. WPP is allowed to
The FRT requirements define that the WPP must remain
disconnect below 47.5 Hz and above 51.5 Hz.
connected after the faults or sequence of faults that are shown
in Table I.
TABLE I
FRT REQUIREMENTS OF DANISH GRID CODE FOR WPPS CONNECTED TO THE
GRIDS ABOVE 100 KV [2]

Fig. 3. Active power reduction of WPPs in the case of over-frequency [1] Type of the fault Duration of the fault
Three-phase short circuit Short circuit in 100 ms
3) Reactive power control At least two three-phase short circuits Shorts circuits within 2 mins
Two-phase short circuit Short circuit in 100 ms
The reactive power control requirements are defined for
(with/without earth contact) followed by new short circuit
various ranges of reactive power or power factor at rated 300-500 ms later, also with a
active power. Each WPP must meet the requirements at the duration of 100 ms
grid connection point to one of the variants of Fig. 4. The At least two two-phase short circuits Shorts circuits within 2 mins
TSO shall select one variant with respect to the relevant Single-phase short circuit to earth Single-phase earth fault 300-
network conditions. The reactive power output of the WPP (earth fault) 500ms later, also with a
duration of 100 ms
must be able to reach the set value within 4 minutes.
At least two single-phase earth faults Shorts circuits within 2 mins

According to Danish grid code, behavior of the grid during

a three-phase fault is illustrated in Fig. 6 for simulation
purposes. Technical details are defined in the grid code [2].

Fig. 6. Voltage profile for simulation of three-phase faults in Danish grid

code [2]
Fig. 4. WPP reactive power (or power factor) requirements at the grid
connection point (Variants 1-3) [1]
Additionally, WPPs must have sufficient energy reserves in
terms of emergency power, hydraulics and pneumatics for the
4) Frequency and voltage operating range
following three independent sequences:
WPP must operate continuously within certain voltage and
 At least six three-phase short circuits with 5-min
frequency variation limits during the normal operation of the
intervals
system. Further, they must remain in operation even in case of
 At least six two-phase short circuits with 5-min
voltage and frequency disturbances outside the normal
intervals

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  At least six single-phase earth faults with 5-min
intervals

2) Active power and frequency control

The grid code [2] demands WPPs to have ability of active
power regulation speed (both upward and downward) with a
ramp rate 10-100 % of rated power per minute.
By frequency regulation WPPs must change the active
power production with respect to the grid frequency
deviations. Fig. 7 shows two cases of frequency control. In
case 1, the frequency control can only regulate the active
power production in downward direction, whereas in case 2, it
can also make upward regulation due to the previous
Fig. 9. Operating frequency and voltage limits for WPPs [2]
downward regulation. The frequencies applied to this figure
are depicted in the grid code [2]. C. Comparison of German and Danish Grid Code
Requirements
From the grid codes presented above, it can be clearly
noticed that the interconnection requirements for WPPs have
common concepts. However, they vary from country to
country due to the inherent network structure.
In the German grid code, there are more options regarding
FRT and reactive power control requirements for the WPP
operator. In the Danish grid code, however, for the FRT
requirement point of view, fault types and duration of the
faults, which may occur in the transmission system, are clearly
described. On the other hand, WPP operational voltage and
frequency ranges are much flexible in Danish grid code.
Fig. 7. Active power-frequency response [2]
Active power control and frequency control requirements are
3) Reactive power control very similar in both transmission codes, but they leave WPP
WPP must control its reactive power output that as a mean primary and secondary frequency control issues to the
value over 10 seconds must be kept within the control band, as bilateral agreements between the TSO and WPP operator.
shown in Fig. 8.
III. WPP COLLECTOR SYSTEM DESIGN
The WPP collector system generally consists of WTGs,
step-up transformers, network of cables which collect the
power from each WTG, switching equipments, protection
relays and collector substation where the collected power is
transmitted to the transmission system. If WPP capacity
increases, collector system performance becomes particularly
important.
WPP location (onshore or onshore) and terrain are
significant factors for designing collector system. Terrain
characteristics determine whether the collector system consists
of overhead lines, underground or subsea cables. Furthermore,
WTG locations in the wind farm are optimized with respect to
wind regime and site [12], [13]. Collector substation location
Fig. 8. Requirements concerning the WPP’s exchange of reactive power at
and grid connection point can also be constrained by the
the grid connection point [2]
terrain.
4) Frequency and voltage operating range Once the WTG locations and grid connection point are
WPP must continue power production at voltages and decided, collector system layout, which is also referred to as
frequencies that deviate from normal operating conditions. feeder topology, must be configured by selecting and routing
Fig. 9 indicates normal and time-limited operating conditions the cables. The number of WTGs located on a collection
of the WPP. Abnormal voltages and frequencies will occur in feeder is limited by the cable ampacity and the voltage level of
less than ten hours per year. the collector system. System reliability is another design
consideration to maintain sustainable power. The reliability

49
aspect covers redundancy, protection system, fault location,
and service restoration systems. Typical configurations that
have different levels of redundancy are illustrated in Fig. 10
[3]:
 Radial designed and radial operated feeder structure
Fig. 10a ,
 Ring designed and radial operated feeder structure
Fig. 10b and Fig. 10c,
 Star designed and radial operated feeder structure
Fig. 10d.

The solutions that provide adequate reliability will

increase capital investments and can increase power losses. A
technique that translates power losses (fixed, variable losses
and losses due to unavailability of the system) into initial
capital investment should be used for economic evaluation of
the collector system. By using expected financial return
investment in the economic evaluation for WPP economic
factors (fixed losses factor, variable losses factor, and system
unavailability losses factor), design alternatives are shown to
be favorable [5].
On the other hand, collector layout affects protection
system design such that in some cases, it may be difficult to
distinguish faults and make selective coordination of the
layout. Therefore, in the early stage of the collector system
design, protection scheme should be considered and protection
evaluation factor may be introduced such as reliability
assessment factor [14]. Short circuit current capacity, types
and numbers of protection relays, additional switching Fig. 9. Typical feeder configurations of WPPs.
equipment and relay cost, and selective coordination level
(numbers of relays, which can be coordinated) can be the
protection evaluation factors. IV. WPP CONTROL
The grid code specifications mentioned in Section II force
the WPPs to participate in power system control similar to
conventional power plants. WPP control structure should be
designed including control of output power fluctuations
(because of the intermittent nature of wind), primary
frequency control, secondary frequency control, reactive
power regulation, and secondary voltage control. To perform
these control functions, the WPP must have a hierarchical
structure such as a centralized (main) controller and WTG
controllers. The main controller determines active and reactive
power set points, which are ordered by the TSO, for each
WTG. At the local control level, WTG controller ensures that
the received set points are reached. In this scheme the main
controller is responsible for the overall optimum power
production of the plant considering the collector system power
losses and availability of wind power [15]. In Fig. 10, an
overall diagram of the centralized controller is shown [8].
The control functions mentioned above should be
distributed among the main and WTG controllers in the
following manner:
 Main controller functions:
o Active power control of WPP,
o Secondary frequency control,

50
 Reactive power control of WPP,
o
Voltage control of WPP (at the grid
o In 2-level control structure, the centralized controller sends
connection point and a distance point). out set points, WPP operator commands to WTGs and gets
o Wind Prediction related measurement data from the WTGs. All data should be
 WTG control functions: processed in the centralized controller, thus there is a lot of
o Active power control of WTG, network traffic in the WPP. However, the cluster controllers
o Reactive power control of WTG, in 3-level control structure manage the network traffic and
o Primary frequency control, optimize the bandwidth of the network for faster
o FRT control. communication. 3-level control structure is more reliable due
to redundant control that during a communication failure
between the cluster and centralized controller, the cluster
control can perform the centralized controller’s functions. In
3-level control structure, protection scheme will also have
additional features such as group tripping of WTGs, faster
fault detection and service restoration concerning a sub-area
of the WPP not the whole WPP.

V. CONCLUSION
In this paper, an overview of German and Danish grid
code requirements, the WPP collector system design
considerations and the WPP control structure were presented.
Fig. 10. WPP main controller [8]. The objective of the grid codes is to specify WPPs’ regulation
and control capabilities for safe, reliable and economic
Furthermore, the centralized controller should operate in operation of the power system. Grid codes may also be used
coordination with each WTG controller to satisfy stability and for the modelling of the transmission system.
robustness of the WPP, thus it is operated as a conventional WPP collection system design decisions have been playing
plant. A cluster controller shown in Fig. 11 can be a novel a critical role to efficient operation of the WPP. There are
option to satisfy this coordination. It can be basically many challenges regarding power losses, economics,
described as a control level between the main controller and a protection system and reliability. The tradeoffs between these
group (cluster) of WTG controllers. The centralized controller challenges point out the importance of the design
shares its responsibilities with the distributed cluster considerations and evaluation techniques to decide optimum
controllers. These controllers are responsible for a group of configuration. Further study can integrate economic
WTGs (with respect to the collector layout) in a decentralized evaluation, steady state analysis (load-flow, loss calculation,
way. The cluster controller should include fault location and short-circuit calculation), reliability assessment, protection
service restoration functions, which are automated processes, and generation automation system analysis to develop an
for the collector system, short-term wind forecasting function optimization platform.
for optimum generation, and redundant control in case of To fulfill grid code requirements, the WPP control
emergency. Hereafter the centralized and WTG controller structure should have the functions presented in Section IV.
hierarchy is defined as 2-level control, and the centralized, The control strategy is similar to the Automatic Generation
cluster and WTG controller hierarchy is named as 3-level Control (AGC) concept of centralized dispatch centre in
control structure. transmission system. For future study AGC experiences can
be used to improve WPP control algorithm including
optimization active and reactive power control due to the
collector system layout and availability of the generation. Fast
communication and redundant control are the primary drivers
for the 3-level control structure. This structure should be
required for redundancy, reliability, fault detection and service
restoration functions in the WPP. To compare 2-level and 3-
level control structure, communication time sensitivity and
economic evaluation analyses should be required.

VI. REFERENCES
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Transmission System Operators’ (VDN, Verband der Netzbetreiber
Fig. 11. WPP cluster controller concept. August 2007).

51
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