Real-Time Analysis of the Transient Response Improvement of Fixed-Speed Wind Farms by Using a Reduced-Scale STATCOM Prototype

As the total number of installed wind farms is far from being negligible, an upgrading of their technology is essential to fulfil new interconnection requirements. Power electronics are considered to be a key technology to accomplish this task. In this paper the use of a STATCOM for the improvement of the ride-through capability of fixed-speed wind farms is analyzed. Critical aspects like STATCOM rating and control are analyzed. A modified STATCOM controller is proposed, based on the series combination of a power factor control loop and a voltage regulation loop, which permits an optimized behavior of the wind farm both in normal and fault conditions. The contribution of the STATCOM is analyzed by means of Hybrid real-time tests (with a reduced-scale physical prototype) and offline (full scale) simulations in PSCAD/EMTDC. The study highlights the great contribution of STATCOMs to the transient behavior of fixed-speed wind farms and the importance of an appropriate control strategy choice on the performance and rating of the device