Fast Frequency Response From Smart Induction Motor Variable Speed Drives

Using their fast power reduction capabilities, the induction motor variable speed drives can successfully participate in the power system primary frequency control. A new control strategy for fast frequency support from the diode front-end induction motor variable speed drive is presented in this paper. By this, practical restrictions are considered. In this context, an existing conventional scheme presented in literature is firstly modified by deploying an estimated motor's power losses for a more exactly control design. Next, a novel control scheme is proposed. It attains the fastest frequency support from the drive and simultaneously restricts its minimum power consumption to a given positive value to prevent regeneration mode during the frequency support process. The frequency of applied voltage to the motor is adjusted through a proportional-integrator compensator with deviation of the drive's consumption power from its reference power as input. The reference power is synthesized by permanent and temporary components, which are determined based on deviation and time derivative of the power system's frequency, respectively. The effectiveness of the proposed smart drive for the primary frequency control is investigated using the New England 39 bus and a more realistic Great Britain 36 zone test networks. It improves system frequency response in terms of the rate of change of frequency and the frequency nadir. Furthermore, the new control scheme can contribute to quickly damping inter-area oscillations in multi-machine power systems.