Application of a superconducting fault current limiter to enhance the low-voltage ride-through capability of wind turbine generators

Abstract

The penetration of wind turbine generators onto the grid has grown worldwide at unprecedented rates in recent years. This raises the concern that the tripping of wind turbine generators could potentially cause system collapses. To alleviate these concerns, wind turbine generators need to maintain connection with the grid when a grid fault occurs. This has provoked many countries to adopt low-voltage ride-through (LVRT) for wind turbine generators. The LVRT is the capability of wind turbine generators to maintain connectivity during certain periods of voltage sag. The wind turbine generators should be connected to the grid to support fault recovery. Also, wind turbine generators must provide reactive power according to the grid voltage sag. Therefore, much research has been focused on enhancing LVRT capability. To enhance LVRT capability, this paper proposes the application of a superconducting fault current limiter (SFCL) in the system. The fault current was suppressed and the voltage sag was improved through the application of the SFCL. By improving the voltage sag, the wind turbine generator and the grid were able to maintain a connection. However, suppression of the fault current can cause a problem in the overcurrent relay (OCR) trip time delay. The trip time delay was solved by OCR resetting. Through a power system computer-aided design/electromagnetic transients including DC (PSCAD/EMTDC), the enhancement of LVRT capability and improvement of the trip delay was confirmed. © 2019 by the authors.