Developing a Novel Co-Simulation Framework for Modelling the Grid Connection and Analyzing the Voltage Stability of a Virtual Wind Farm

Abstract

The integration of wind energy has been improved rapidly over the years throughout Europe, resulting in increasing challenges faced by grid operators in maintaining the required grid connection conditions. As a the solution, digitalized approaches have been integrated into power systems with the ability to simulate and predict system behavior for improving system performances. In this thesis, the application of co-simulation is introduced with the aim of developing a virtual wind park. The main focus of the thesis is based on developing a novel co-simulation framework to evaluate the grid connection of the "Wind Validation Platform" (WiValdi) research rind farm with the public grid. The proposed digital framework involves two software platforms namely; DIgSILENT PowerFactory and Remote Component Environment (RCE) for developing the co-simulation framework by integrating through Python Application Programming Interface (API). In the initial phase of the project, the grid connection of the WiValdi research wind farm is modeled through PowerFactory. To assess the behavior of the public grid, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 14-bus system power grid model is connected to the wind farm. The Object-oriented programming (OOP) of Python is implemented to develop simulators for static and dynamic modeling which includes Load Flow, Quasi-Dynamic, Root Mean Square (RMS), and Electro-Magnetic Transients (EMT) simulations. The requirements and requisites for coupling the software platforms to develop the framework are investigated in this phase. The co-simulation framework is then developed in RCE integrating the simulators and tools. For the validation of the framework, the voltage analysis of the wind farm is implemented for events occurring within the wind farm and in the public grid. The events are focused on relating to a loss of generation, an increase in load, and a ground circuit fault. The impact of these events is analyzed under the operating conditions with and without plant controllers in the system.