Wind Farm Frequency Control via Distributed Energy Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Wind farms face challenges in maintaining precise frequency control of the power grid due to fluctuations in wind speed and load, leading to revenue losses and additional costs from current frequency response techniques, which are insufficient and costly.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for controlling wind farms that computes errors between power forecasts and measurements, generates aggregated active power set points, and transmits these to wind turbines and energy storage elements to adjust aero and storage power set points, enabling precise frequency regulation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If wind turbines operate in curtailed mode during normal operational modes to provide frequency response, then frequency control capability is improved, but revenue losses occur due to reduced power generation
Solution Approach 1:
Energy storage elements are charged in advance during periods of excess wind generation or low grid demand, creating a reservoir of stored energy that can be rapidly discharged when frequency regulation is needed. This preliminary charging action allows the system to provide frequency response without curtailment during normal operation, as the stored energy serves as a pre-prepared resource for future regulation needs.
Solution Approach 2:
Energy storage elements act as an intermediary between the wind turbines and the power grid, decoupling the wind generation from the grid frequency requirements. The storage system absorbs excess energy when production exceeds demand and releases energy when frequency support is needed, eliminating the need to curtail wind turbines and thereby preserving revenue while maintaining frequency control capability.
2Measurement precision
If a centralized wind farm battery is used for secondary frequency response, then frequency control precision is improved, but operational costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using a single centralized battery system, the invention distributes energy storage elements across multiple wind turbine locations within the wind farm. Each turbine or small group of turbines has its own localized storage capacity, allowing for decentralized frequency response. This segmentation reduces the need for large centralized infrastructure, lowering capital and operational costs while maintaining precise frequency control through coordinated operation of distributed storage units.
Solution Approach 2:
Each wind turbine equipped with energy storage elements can independently provide frequency response services to the grid without requiring a centralized control system or external battery infrastructure. The local storage systems self-manage their charge/discharge cycles based on grid frequency signals, enabling individual turbines to contribute to frequency regulation and share in the revenue from ancillary services, thereby reducing overall operational costs.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method 700 for controlling a wind farm including a plurality of wind turbines is provided. The method includes computing 710 an error between a farm-level base point power and a measured wind farm power, generating 720 an aggregated farm-level active power set point for the wind farm based on the error and a frequency response set point, generating 730 aggregated turbine-level active power set points based on the aggregated farm-level active power set point, transmitting 740 the aggregated turbine-level active power set points, determining 750 aero power set points and storage power set points for the respective wind turbines and energy storage elements of the respective wind turbines from the aggregated turbine-level active power set points, and controlling 760 the plurality of wind turbines for delivering aero power based on the respective aero power set points and controlling the energy storage elements to provide storage power based on the respective storage power set points.