The Effect of Wind Power Integration on the Frequency of Tap Changes of a Substation Transformer

As the capacity of wind power installed in a radial distribution system (DS) increases, there is a concern that it may introduce more frequent tap change operations in substation transformers. The increase in the frequency of tap changes (FTC) can accelerate the wear and tear of the tap changers. As a result, the introduction of wind power to DSs may be hindered. Hence the aim of this paper is to investigate the effect of wind power integration on the FTC in a radial DS. A case study shows that the changes on the FTC in DSs connected to relatively strong external grid is negligible up to significant level of penetration. But in DSs connected to a relatively weak external grid, a significant increase in the FTC has been observed as wind power penetration increases. Hence a further investigation is carried out to limit the FTC by using reactive power from local wind turbines. The results have shown that the methodology is very effective.