Overall protection in decentralized wind power plants and decentralized grids

Substantial gaps in the used electrical protection concepts which lead to expensive damages are often causes for major failures. A majority of the failures are caused by earth faults, which can not only damage the decentralized wind power plant but also harm people. An effective electrical protection concept is an effective instrument to risk avoidance, and a suitable electrical earth fault protection concept does not necessarily cause large financial expenses and additional components. A consistent protection concept can be provided at small expenses by suitable component choice and integration when planning the decentralized power plant. Knowledge of the earth faults and network configurations is necessary, as well as a net-spreading aspect and experience in the functions and possibilities of modern protection technology. This paper presents different possibilities for earth fault protection in decentralized power plants.