Mobil-Grid-CoP – a new approach for grid compliance testing of multimegawatt wind turbines in field

Manufacturers of power generation units as well as plant and grid operators face new challenges arising from the aspects of integrating modern renewable technologies into the grid. To ensure grid stability, new technical requirements and guidelines are continuously being developed, where test benches support electrical certification and validation of models. Nevertheless, field measurement campaigns are still likely to be needed to carry out worst-case tests or to validate the overall properties of electrical and mechanical components for future requirements. Thus, Fraunhofer IWES, together with ABB Switzerland, and ABB Poland have developed a new approach for field tests of generation units up to 20 MW using a mobile grid simulator in the Mobil-Grid-CoP project. The aim of this paper is to give an overview of the hardware structure, functional principle, and potential applications of the advanced power-hardware-in-the-loop concept. The most relevant aspects of hardware and software design are addressed and the main features and innovations to improve output voltage quality and perform realistic tests beyond electrical certification are discussed. Simulations of transient events with a simplified grid-feeding source are used to verify the grid simulator's capabilities and an outlook for future grid compliance and integration tests is given.