Supplementary inertial support in renewable integrated networks: potential of synchronous condenser and energy storage

Abstract

The target of this paper is to demonstrate the prospective of Synchronous Condenser (SC) and Super-Conducting Energy Storage (SMES) for catering additional inertial support in renewable dominated power systems. In recent times, prolific renewable penetration in many power systems has caused numerous conventional power plants to retire. However, unlike conventional synchronous generators, several types of wind turbine generators do not provide inertial support following a disturbance. This causes an overall reduction in system inertia and elevates the risk of unacceptable system response subsequent to a large disturbance. However, SC and SMES can emulate the inertial behavior and cater supplementary inertial support following a contingency. To this end, this paper proposes analytical sizing schemes to determine the minimum required sizes of these devices to keep the Rate of Change of Frequency (ROCOF) above a predefined value. Simulations show that the proposed methodology yields satisfactory system performances and system ROCOF stays below the preset limit. In addition, a detailed cost analysis is executed for these devices to figure out the more financially viable and worthwhile choice.