Field validation of generic wind park models using fault records

Abstract

A challenge faced by protection and planning engineers is the development and validation of accurate wind turbine generator (WTG) models to study the impact of increased wind integration on system protection. This paper is on the experimental validation of a generic electromagnetic transient-type (EMT-type) model of aggregated WTGs or wind parks suitable for transient studies. The phasor domain equivalent of the generic model, suitable for protection tools based on steady-state solvers, is also considered. The model has been validated using two sets of actual relay records for the fault response of two wind parks consisting of Type-III WTGs and connected to 115 kV and 230 kV transmission systems. The objective is to show that the generic model can reproduce the actual fault response in simulations, and protection engineers can obtain accurate models of wind parks using fault records. A distinctive characteristic of a WTG is its substantially different negative sequence fault current contribution compared to a synchronous generator. The paper shows that the generic model provides enough options to reproduce the negative sequence behavior and hence is suitable for fault studies involving negative sequence-based protection.