Optimized Dynamic Operation of Fixed-Speed Wind Farms Using Classical and Advanced Controllers

Abstract Electric power systems are allowing higher penetration levels of renewable energy resources, mainly due to their environmental benefits. The majority of electrical energy generated by renewable energy resources is contributed by wind farms. However, the stochastic nature of these resources does not allow the installed generation capacities to be entirely utilized. In this context, this paper attempts to improve the performance of fixed-speed wind turbines. Turbines of this type have been already installed in some classical wind farms and it is not feasible to replace them with variable-speed ones before their lifetime ends. A fixed-speed turbine is typically connected to the electric grid with a Static VAR Compensator (SVC) across its terminal. For a better dynamic voltage response, the controller gains of a Proportional-Integral (PI) voltage regulator within the SVC will be tuned using a variety of optimization techniques to minimize the integrated square of error for the wind farm terminal voltage. Similarly, the controller gains of the turbine’s pitch angle may be tuned to enhance its dynamic output power performance. Simulation results, in this paper, show that the pitch angle controller causes a significant minimization in the integrated square of error for the wind farm output power. Finally, an advanced Proportional-Integral-Acceleration (PIA) voltage regulator controller has been proposed for the SVC. When the PIA control gains are optimized, they result in a better performance than the classical PI controller.