Grid challenges on high penetration levels of wind power

Abstract

Wind Power at Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Inc. (ERCOT) has growth to over 9 GW capacity installed and it is expected that an additional 7 to 10 GW can be added in the next 2 to 4 years. This high penetration of wind energy comes with new challenges and potential new operational practices to continuously operate reliably the grid. Under restructured market, old conventional generation being replaced by new generation, mostly wind power, as a result, dynamic reactive capability, inertia and dynamic response to frequency and voltage events will decrease. New transmission lines bringing power from west Texas will be series compensated with relative large amount of reactor shunts and SVC-like devices to manage reactive power needs. Sub-synchronous resonance related to wind turbine control interaction and voltage oscillations due to too-fast uncoordinated reactive control have occurred in practice. Simulation of networks with very low short-circuit ratios resulted in unexpected oscillations. ERCOT planners and operators are working together to provide sound solutions to each and all of these challenges.