One of the major concerns for the stability of power systems including large amount of wind turbine generators is how to improve the Low-Voltage Ride-Through (LVRT) capability of wind turbine generators during voltage dip occurring in power networks. In order to achieve LVRT improvement, this paper proposes a new method of pitch angle control for induction-generator-type of wind turbine. If the turbine rotor speed can be reduced quickly during voltage dip so as not to rise over the maximum speed, then the sudden disconnection of wind turbine generator can be avoided. The proposed pitch control system can modify the pitch angle in the short response time by the coordination of protective relay for wind turbine. The simulation study shows that the proposed pitch control system is effective to enhance LVRT capability of induction-generator type of wind turbine.

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For the stability of power systems including large‐scale generation of wind power, wind farms are expected to fulfill the requirement with the capability to remain connected to the systems during a momentary voltage dip occurring in power networks. This has prompted many utilities to adopt the low‐voltage ride‐through (LVRT) of wind turbine generators (WTGs) as one of the requirements in interconnection of large wind farms. This paper presents a new method of pitch angle control for fixed‐speed wind turbine (FSWT) to achieve LVRT capability improvement. The FSWT is equipped with directly grid‐coupled squirrel‐cage induction generator and the LVRT behavior of such wind turbine is closely related to the overspeeding of wind turbine rotor during voltage dip. If the turbine rotor speed can be reduced quickly during voltage dip so as not to rise over the maximum speed, then the sudden disconnection of WTG can be avoided. The proposed pitch control system can modify the pitch angle in the short response time by the coordination of protective relay. Then the pitch angle is adjusted by a feedback proportional integral controller based on the measurement of induction generator terminal voltage. Simulation study shows that the application of the proposed pitch control system can improve the LVRT performance of a wind farm equipped with FSWTs. © 2011 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

As the penetration ratio of renewable energy sources becomes larger, the fluctuations of grid load also become larger and larger because of the intermittent generation of wind power and photovoltaic power. These fluctuations cause instability of voltage and frequency in the power grid. Recently, there has been considerable research into solving these challenges, leading to development such as batteries, flywheels, and improved flexibility of thermal power plants. The batteries and the flywheels are confronted with the challenge of high initial cost for the Mega-Watt class. Improving flexibility for the thermal power plants is effective, but this improvement has several limitations such as load-follow operation capability under mechanical constraints and frequency regulation within governor-free regulating capacity. To overcome these problems, we propose a new gas turbine system named Motor-assisted Gas Turbine (MAGT). MAGT is composed of a two-shaft gas turbine: one free turbine shaft is connected to a synchronous generator rotating at a constant speed, and the other compressor shaft is coupled to an inverter-fed motor controlled at variable speed. The motor and inverter capacity is appropriate: about 5–10 % that of the gas turbine. MAGT improved the reaction rate corresponding to the load fluctuation by changing the speed of the compressor. Since the motor’s shaft, which has a compressor and a high pressure turbine, rotates at high speed and those masses are considerable, it has rotational energy of about several kWh. This energy could be charged and discharged through the converter that controls the motor speed, the same as for flywheels. This response could be much faster than conventional gas turbines, which contain huge amounts of working gas. MAGT controls its rotational energy in seconds and controls gas turbine power in minutes; thereby it improves response totally. Moreover, by assisting the compressor by using motor power, MAGT can increase gas turbine power output. Since the density of air decreases with as temperature increase, the mass of working gas is reduced. Thus, the fuel input must accordingly be reduced to suppress the combustion temperature without damaging turbine blades. As a result, power output is reduced. In such cases, a motor-assisted compressor can increase working gas. That allows more fuel input. The proposed system was evaluated using numerical simulations. The results showed that frequency variations were within ±0.1Hz and the output power was recovered under high ambient temperature.

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