Reactive Power Capability Model of Wind Power Plant Using Aggregated Wind Power Collection System

This article presents the development of a reactive power capability model for a wind power plant (WPP) based on an aggregated wind power collection system. The voltage and active power dependent reactive power capability are thus calculated by using aggregated WPP collection system parameters and considering losses in the WPP collection system.

The strength of this proposed reactive power capability model is that it not only requires less parameters and substantially less computational time compared to typical detailed models of WPPs, but it also provides an accurate estimation of the available reactive power. The proposed model is based on a set of analytical equations which represent converter voltage and current limitations.

Aggregated impedance and susceptance of the WPP collection system are also included in the analytical equations, thereby incorporating losses in the collection system in the WPP reactive power capability calculation. The proposed WPP reactive power capability model is compared to available methodologies from literature and for different WPP topologies, namely, Horns Rev 2 WPP and Burbo Bank WPP.

Performance of the proposed model is assessed and discussed by means of simulations of various case studies demonstrating that the error between the calculated reactive power using the proposed model and the detailed model is below 4% as compared to an 11% error in the available method from literature.

The efficacy of the proposed method is further exemplified through an application of the proposed method in power system integration studies. The article provides new insights and better understanding of the WPPs’ limits to deliver reactive power support that can be used for power system stability assessment, particularly long-term voltage stability.