An Assessment of the Impact of Wind Generation on System Frequency Control

Rising wind generation penetrations and the distinctive inertial characteristics of associated turbine technology will impact system frequency control. While wind production will displace conventional synchronous plant, empirical study data presented also suggest that the relationship between the total stored turbine kinetic energy and the total system power production for wind is a variable that exhibits significant nonlinearity. Changing trends in system frequency behavior of a power system following the loss of the largest generator are studied in detail here, using simplified frequency control models and extensive simulations of wind penetration scenarios over an extended multiyear timeframe. The system frequency response is characterized by the rate of change of frequency and the frequency nadir. Results show that increasing levels of doubly fed induction generators and high-voltage dc interconnection alter the frequency behavior significantly, and that system operators may have to be proactive in developing solutions to meet these challenges.