Wind Farm Controller for Distributed Energy Storage Frequency Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Wind farms face challenges in effectively managing frequency variations in power grids due to fluctuations in wind speed and load, leading to inefficiencies in power control and increased costs with existing centralized battery solutions and distributed storage approaches.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for automatic generation control in wind farms, utilizing a wind farm controller to receive an automatic generation control set point, generate farm-level and individual storage power set points based on energy storage elements' states of charge, and control these elements for dispatching storage power, thereby addressing frequency variations and optimizing energy distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a centralized wind farm battery is used to provide additional power to the power grid, then the power control capability is improved, but the system complexity increases and the risk of single-point failure increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the centralized battery system into multiple distributed energy storage elements integrated with individual wind turbines. Each wind turbine has its own energy storage element that can independently provide power control capability, eliminating the single-point failure risk of a centralized battery while maintaining the required power control function through coordinated operation of multiple segmented units
2Reliability
If wind farms provide additional power control capability to maintain frequency, then the frequency stability is improved, but the cost increases due to reserve resources and payment mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables wind farms to self-regulate frequency by utilizing their own integrated energy storage elements rather than relying on external reserve resources. The energy storage elements automatically respond to frequency deviations through controller coordination, allowing the wind farm to serve its own frequency control needs without incurring additional costs for separate reserve resources or complex payment mechanisms
3Reliability
If distributed storage wind farm is deployed with independent control of energy storage elements, then the reliability is improved by eliminating single-point failure, but the control complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the control functions by having the wind farm controller coordinate the operation of multiple distributed energy storage elements. This unified control approach simplifies the overall control complexity compared to completely independent control of each element, while still maintaining the reliability benefits of distributed architecture through centralized optimization and coordination
Data Source
AI summary
A system for automatic generation control in a wind farm is provided. The system includes a wind farm controller for controlling the plurality of energy storage elements. The wind farm controller receives an automatic generation control set point from an independent system operator, generates a farm-level storage power set point for the wind farm based on the automatic generation control set point, generates individual storage power set points for the plurality of energy storage elements based on states of charge of the respective energy storage elements, and controls the plurality of energy storage elements based on the individual storage power set points for dispatching storage power to perform automatic generation control.