Wind integration in small scale islanded power systems

Islanded power systems seeking the introduction of wind power production to the generation mix are particularly vulnerable to this process. It becomes critical to understand in this context what the impacting factors are that should be considered for determining the sustainable wind penetration levels. Due to the different dynamic characteristics of the wind conversion technology the methods used for determining the threshold for single wind generation blocks´ power output have to be tuned differently than in the case of conventional generators. A practical approach to determining the constraints to wind generation blocks´ output is described here which takes into account the basic power system dynamic security criteria. The results of applying this approach to a realistic test system are discussed highlighting the impact that spinning reserve allocation may have on the determination of thresholds for wind generation output. Seasonal load demand scenarios are considered for the test system.