Wind Energy Systems and Grid Integration
Although the world relies heavily on fossil fuel (coal, oil, and natural
gas) for its ever-growing appetite for energy, the negative
environmental impact of burning fossil fuel have encouraged engineers
and scientists to develop reliable alternative energy resources. The
efforts were accelerated in the 1970s when oil prices soared and many
countries began investing in renewable energy, especially wind, through
various programs that encourage the development and test of reliable
systems. Tax credits, investments in research and development,
subsidies, and developing favorable regulations are some of the various
supports by governments to accelerate the development of wind energy
technologies.
Wind is one of the oldest forms of energy known to man; it dates back
more than 5,000 years when wind was used for transportation, irrigation,
grinding and pumping of water. Nowadays, windmills are mostly used to
generate electricity by converting the kinetic energy in the wind into
electrical energy. The first wind turbine was built by the American
inventor Charles F. Brush in 1888. It was just 12kW machine with
enormous structure, but lasted for several years. The designs of wind
turbines have improved substantially in the last two decades making them
viable energy resources. The size of wind turbines has increased from
just a few kW machines in the 1980ies to up to 8MW single unit system.
The wind energy systems have seen a
substantial growth in European and the USA. This growth have led to a rapid change in the generation
landscape because of the increasing penetration of wind energy systems
and the emerging of several microgrids. These fundamental changes
require the power grid to become more vibrant and interactive which will
demand significant changes in the grid operation, protection and
control.
This course covers the operation and
modelling of the main types of wind energy systems. Several types of
generators and converters used in energy systems are discussed and
evaluated. The course also covers the main challenges to wind energy
integration from the utility point of view. The impacts of wind energy
on the power grid are discussed in details. Existing, as well as
potential, solutions are presented. Field data are used to evaluate the
current performance of the wind systems, and to identify the challenges,
opportunities and solutions in this vibrant field.
Target Audience:
Utilities’ engineers
System operators
Maintenance staff
Wind power producers
Consultants and researchers in wind energy.
Course Outline:
Basic Power Electronic Converters for Wind Turbines
Types of Converters
Circuits Architectures
Control Parameters
Basic Wind Speed Statistics
Wind speed characteristics
Frequency, Probability, Probability Density, Variance
Wind distribution functions
Energy of Wind
KE of wind
Air power density
Tip Speed ratio
Coefficient of performance
Variable Pitch and Betz limit
Wind Turbines and Systems
Main components
Power flow
Power-speed characteristics
On-shore and off-shore systems
Types of wind turbines
Wind Generators
Induction Generators
Synchronous Generators
Wind Energy Penetration
Definitions
Wind energy worldwide
Wind energy in USA
Wind Energy Integration
Grid Code
Time Scales for Wind Integration Issues
Voltage and Reactive Power
System Frequency
Ramp Rate
Low Voltage Ride-Through (LVRT)
Variability of Wind
Farm vs Garden
Wind Uncertainty and Wind Forecasting
Scheduling of Wind power and Balancing Areas
Control
Transmission Infrastructures
Stability
Wind Energy and the environment
Environmental impact of on-shore wind systems
Environmental impact of off-shore wind systems