Method of operating a wind turbine plant

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9556853-B2
Application number	US-201314765938-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 15, 2013
Priority date	Feb 15, 2013
Publication date	Jan 31, 2017
Grant date	Jan 31, 2017

Abstract

A method of operating a wind turbine plant is provided. Such a wind turbine plant comprises at least one transmission branch comprising a plurality of wind turbine generators and coupled to an electrical grid at a point of common coupling through at least one circuit breaker comprising a breaking capacity. The method comprises monitoring the electrical grid for a low voltage fault event; and if a low voltage fault event is detected: calculating a grid short circuit strength, determining a short circuit current limit if the grid short circuit strength requires an initial fault current contribution which exceeds the breaking capacity of the circuit breaker to be passed through the circuit breaker, determining a maximum fault current contribution based on the short circuit current limit and operating the wind turbine generators to provide to the electrical grid the maximum fault current contribution.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of operating a wind turbine plant comprising at least one transmission branch comprising a plurality of wind turbine generators, the transmission branch coupled to an electrical grid at a point of common coupling through at least one circuit breaker comprising a breaking capacity, the method comprising:
monitoring the wind turbine plant for a low voltage fault event; and
if a low voltage fault event is detected:
calculating a grid short circuit strength,
determining a short circuit current limit if the grid short circuit strength requires an initial fault current contribution which exceeds the breaking capacity of the circuit breaker to be passed through the circuit breaker,
determining a maximum fault current contribution based on the short circuit current limit, and
operating the wind turbine generators to provide to the electrical grid the maximum fault current contribution.

2. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
determining a corresponding maximum fault current contribution for each wind turbine generator, based on the short circuit current limit and an output capability of each wind turbine generator.

3. The method according to claim 2 , wherein determining the corresponding maximum fault current contribution further comprises analyzing an operational status of the wind turbine generator.

4. The method according to claim 3 , wherein determining the corresponding maximum fault current contribution further comprises analyzing an operational status of a power converter in the wind turbine generator.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein calculating a grid short circuit strength comprises:
injecting a predetermined amount of reactive power into the electrical grid at a defined location within the wind turbine plant,
measuring a change in a voltage level of the grid, and
determining a grid short circuit strength by comparing the change in voltage level of the grid with the amount of injected reactive power.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the short circuit current limit is determined to be the breaking capacity of the circuit breaker.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein determining the maximum fault current contribution comprises:
implementing the use of a weak grid fault injection profile in place of a conventional fault injection profile.

8. The method according to claim 7 , wherein the weak grid fault injection profile is obtained by:
determining the maximum fault current contribution based on the grid short circuit strength, a present grid voltage and the breaking capacities of the circuit breakers in the wind turbine plant, and
lowering the reactive current injection gain in the weak grid fault injection profile, such that the output of the wind turbine plant matches the maximum fault current contribution.

9. The method according to claim 1 , wherein determining the maximum fault current contribution comprises:
lowering a power reference to be provided to the wind turbine generators such that the amount of fault current to be produced by the wind turbine generators drops below the short circuit current limit.

10. The method according to claim 1 wherein the low voltage fault event is any one of an electrical grid short circuit, an electrical grid fault, and a plant transmission circuit short circuit fault.

11. A wind turbine plant comprising:
at least one transmission branch comprising a plurality of wind turbine generators, the transmission branch coupled to an electrical grid at a point of common coupling through at least one circuit breaker comprising a breaking capacity;
and a wind turbine plant power control system comprising:
a monitoring circuit configured to detect a low voltage fault event,
a short circuit strength calculation unit configured to calculate a grid short circuit strength,
a determination unit configured to determine a short circuit current limit if the grid short circuit strength requires an initial fault current contribution which exceeds the breaking capacity of the circuit breaker to be passed through the circuit breaker,
a fault current determination unit configured to determine a maximum fault current contribution based on the short circuit current limit, and
a power controller configured to send reference signals to the wind turbine generators to provide to the electrical grid the maximum fault current contribution.

12. The wind turbine plant according to claim 11 , wherein the determination unit is configured to determine a corresponding maximum fault current contribution for each wind turbine generator, based on the short circuit current limit and an output capability of each wind turbine generator.

13. The wind turbine plant according to claim 11 , wherein the fault current determination unit comprises a weak grid fault injection profile for use in place of a conventional fault injection profile.

14. The wind turbine plant according to claim 13 , further comprising a fault injection profile determination unit configured to determine the maximum fault current contribution based on the grid short circuit strength, a present grid voltage and the breaking capacities of the circuit breakers in the wind turbine plant, and lowering the reactive current injection gain in the weak grid fault injection profile, such that the output of the wind turbine plant matches the maximum fault current contribution.

15. The wind turbine plant according to claim 13 , wherein the weak grid fault injection profile is provided to and stored in a wind turbine power converter control unit for operating the wind turbine generator.

Assignees

• Vestas Wind Sys As

Inventors

• Gupta Manoj
• Guru Dilip Kumar
• Gupta Amit Kumar

Classifications

• H02J3/16

  by adjustment of reactive power · CPC title

• F03D9/257

  the wind motor being part of a wind farm · CPC title

• H01H81/00

  Protective switches in which contacts are normally closed but are repeatedly opened and reclosed as long as a condition causing excess current persists, e.g. for current limiting · CPC title

• H02J3/381

  Dispersed generators · CPC title

• G05B23/0235

  based on a comparison with predetermined threshold or range, e.g. "classical methods", carried out during normal operation; threshold adaptation or choice; when or how to compare with the threshold · CPC title