PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

NREL study: Active power control of wind turbines can improve power grid reliability

2014-01-28
(Press-News.org) Contact information: David Glickson
david.glickson@nrel.gov
303-275-4097
DOE/National Renewable Energy Laboratory
NREL study: Active power control of wind turbines can improve power grid reliability The Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), along with partners from the Electric Power Research Institute and the University of Colorado have completed a comprehensive study to understand how wind power technology can assist the power grid by controlling the active power output being placed onto the system. The rest of the power system's resources have traditionally been adjusted around wind to support a reliable and efficient system. The research that led to this report challenges that concept.

The study, "Active Power Controls from Wind Power: Bridging the GapsPDF", finds that wind power can support the power system by adjusting its power output to enhance system reliability. Additionally, the study finds that it often could be economically beneficial to provide active power control , and potentially damaging loads on turbines from providing this control is negligible. Active power control helps balance load with generation at various times, avoiding erroneous power flows, involuntary load shedding, machine damage, and the risk of potential blackouts.

"Utilities and independent system operators are all seeking strategies to better integrate wind and other variable generation into their electric systems," NREL Analyst Erik Ela said. "Few have considered using wind power to support power system reliability."

The study included a number of different power system simulations, control simulations, and field tests using turbines at NREL's National Wind Technology Center (NWTC). The study developed proposals for new ancillary services designs in U.S. wholesale electricity markets, studied how wind power affects system frequency in the western U.S. with and without active power control, and tested the use of active power control at the NWTC to better understand the performance and structural impacts on wind turbines when providing active power control to the electric system.

"Although many of the control strategies have been proven technically feasible and are used in many regions of the world, only a limited number of wind turbines in the United States are currently providing active power control," Ela said. "The reason is that the stakeholders – system operators, manufacturers, regulators and the plant owners – all have different goals and perspectives. This report covers many different aspects of the topic in order to address the diverse viewpoints throughout the wind industry."

Wind is one of the fastest growing sources of power generation – supplying up to 20% of electricity in many areas of the world. In some regions of the U.S., wind sometimes provides more than 50% of the electric power. The challenge with integrating high concentrations of wind power into electric systems is that it is a variable, uncertain resource, commonly considered "non-dispatchable."

The forms of active power control considered in this study are synthetic inertial control, primary frequency control (PFC), and automatic generation control (AGC) regulation. For wind power to provide active power control services, three things must happen:

The wind power response needs to improve power system reliability; not impair it It must be economically viable for wind power plants as well as electricity consumers. Because power plants may incur additional capital costs for the controls and reduce the amount of energy it sells to the market, there must be an incentive to provide the service Active power control should not have negative impacts on the turbine loading or induce structural damage that could reduce the life of the turbine.

The comprehensive study, funded by the Energy Department's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, analyzed timeframes ranging from milliseconds to the lifetime of wind turbines, spatial scopes ranging from turbine components to entire regions, and study types ranging from economics to power systems engineering, to control design.

"The study's key takeaway is that wind power can act in an equal or superior manner to conventional generation when providing active power control, supporting the system frequency response and improving reliability," Ela said.

### NREL is the U.S. Department of Energy's primary national laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. NREL is operated for the Energy Department by The Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.

Visit NREL online at http://www.nrel.gov

For further information contact NREL Public Relations at 303-275-4090. Subscribe to receive new NREL releases by e-mail. Subscribe to RSS feed. NREL News Releases RSS Feed (XML) About RSS. END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Aspirin still overprescribed for stroke prevention in AF

2014-01-28
Sophia Antipolis, 28 January ...

UA researchers find culprit behind skeletal muscle disease

2014-01-28
A ...

Annals of Internal Medicine tip sheet for Jan. 27, 2014

2014-01-28
1. Pandemic concerns prompt experts to seek better understanding of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) Health officials have expressed concern that the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus ...

Scientists reveal cause of one of the most devastating pandemics in human history

2014-01-28
An international team of scientists has discovered that two of the world's most devastating plagues – the plague of Justinian and the Black Death, each responsible for killing as many ...

Yoga can lower fatigue, inflammation in breast cancer survivors

2014-01-28
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 27-Jan-2014 [ | E-mail ] var addthis_pub="eurekalert"; var addthis_options = "favorites, delicious, digg, facebook, twitter, google, newsvine, reddit, slashdot, stumbleupon, buzz, more" Share Contact: Emily Caldwell caldwell.151@osu.edu 614-292-8310 Ohio State University Yoga can lower fatigue, inflammation in breast cancer survivors In study, the more women practiced, the better the results VIDEO: There are few experts who debate ...

Crowdsourced RNA designs outperform computer algorithms, Carnegie Mellon, Stanford researchers say

2014-01-28
PITTSBURGH—An enthusiastic group of non-experts, working through an online interface and receiving ...

Pesticide exposure linked to Alzheimer's disease

2014-01-28
Scientists have known for more than 40 years that the synthetic pesticide DDT is harmful to bird habitats ...

Health care savings: Reducing inappropriate antibiotic prescriptions

2014-01-28
Inappropriate antibiotic ...

Environmental risk factor for Alzheimer's: DDT exposure

2014-01-28
Patients with Alzheimer's disease have significantly higher levels of DDE, the long-lasting metabolite of the pesticide DDT, in their blood than healthy people, a ...

New method rescues DNA from contaminated Neandertal bones

2014-01-28
Retrieval of ancient DNA molecules is usually performed with special precautions to prevent DNA from researchers or the environment to get mixed in with the DNA from the fossil. However, many ancient ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Using lightning to make ammonia out of thin air

Machine learning potential-driven insights into pH-dependent CO₂ reduction

Physician associates provide safe care for diagnosed patients when directly supervised by a doctor

How game-play with robots can bring out their human side

Asthma: patient expectations influence the course of the disease

UNM physician tests drug that causes nerve tissue to emit light, enabling faster, safer surgery

New study identifies EMP1 as a key driver of pancreatic cancer progression and poor prognosis

XPR1 identified as a key regulator of ovarian cancer growth through autophagy and immune evasion

Flexible, eco-friendly electronic plastic for wearable tech, sensors

Can the Large Hadron Collider snap string theory?

Stuckeman professor’s new book explores ‘socially sustainable’ architecture

Synthetic DNA nanoparticles for gene therapy

New model to find treatments for an aggressive blood cancer

Special issue of Journal of Intensive Medicine analyzes non-invasive respiratory support

T cells take aim at Chikungunya virus

Gantangqing site in southwest China yields 300,000-year-old wooden tools

Forests can’t keep up: Adaptation will lag behind climate change

Sturgeon reintroduction initiative yields promising first-year survival rate

Study: Babies’ poor vision may help organize visual brain pathways

Research reveals Arctic region was permafrost-free when global temperatures were 4.5˚ C higher than today

Novel insights into chromophobe renal cell carcinoma biology and potential therapeutic strategies

A breakthrough in motor safety: AI-powered warning system enhances capability to uncover hidden winding faults

Research teases apart competing transcription organization models

Connect or reject: Extensive rewiring builds binocular vision in the brain

Benefits and risks: informal use of antibiotics to prevent sexually transmitted infections on the rise in key populations in the Netherlands

New molecular tool sheds light on how cancer cells repair telomeres

First large-scale stem cell bank enables worldwide studies on genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease

Hearing devices significantly improve social lives of those with hearing loss

CNIC scientists reveal how the cellular energy system evolved—and how this knowledge could improve the diagnosis of rare genetic diseases

AI sharpens pathologists' interpretation of tissue samples

[Press-News.org] NREL study: Active power control of wind turbines can improve power grid reliability