Researchers Coordinate Wind Power Generation to Minimize Disruptions

A wind power plant at Izu, Japan.
A wind power plant at Izu, Japan. (Credit: Flickr @ Seiichi Ariga

Researchers from North Carolina State University and Johns Hopkins University have devised a technique to coordinate wind power generation and energy storage in order to minimize the potential for power disruptions.

Typically, the power flowing through the transmission lines of a power grid suffers from small “oscillations,” or deviations from the norm, after a disturbance. Generally, these oscillations are mitigated by means of controllers inside the power generators. However, if the controls are not strong enough, the oscillations may be “sustained,” reducing the efficiency of power transfer and posing a threat to the stability of the grid. If not controlled properly, these oscillations can even lead to widespread power outages—such as the 1996 blackout that hit the West Coast of the U.S.

The researchers found that, under certain circumstances, wind power generators can make these oscillations worse. This is because wind farms produce power erratically. After all, the amount of power being produced by wind farms depends on how hard the wind is blowing. Furthermore, the nature of these oscillations strongly depends on where the wind farms are located in the grid.

“To counteract this problem, we have designed a technique that coordinates the activity of controllers inside the wind turbines and battery management systems to even out the flow of power from wind farms into the grid,” says Dr. Aranya Chakrabortty, an assistant professor of electrical engineering at NC State and senior author of a paper describing the work.

Specifically, the research team developed several algorithms that match control efforts between wind farms and energy storage facilities. If the power output for the wind farm increases, the surplus can be siphoned off to charge batteries at the storage facility, instead of being dumped directly onto the power grid. Similarly, if the power output at a wind farm declines, the batteries can compensate for the loss and provide power to the grid.



Chandra S., Gayme D.F., Chakrabortty, A (2013). Coordinating Wind Farms and Battery Management Systems for Inter-Area Oscillation Damping: A Frequency-Domain Approach IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, PP (99), 1-9 DOI: 10.1109/TPWRS.2013.2282367

The above story is based on or reprinted from materials provided by North Carolina State University. Original article by Matt Shipman.
