The Investigations of the Impacts of the Integration of Wind Energy into Distribution Network

Amid the rising challenges arising from environmental issues and fossil fuel depletion due to the growing concerns of the world. Sustainable energy is the most appropriate solution to rising energy demand. Because of global interest to reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and provide sustainable energy, efforts are being made to supplement the use of fossil fuels with renewable energy sources. In this context, wind energy has been identified as one of the promising environmentally friendly, social, and economically beneficial, as a renewable energy option. Wind turbines using the Doubly Fed Induction Generators (DFIGs) have attracted particular attention because of their advantages such as variable speed, constant frequency (VSCF) operation, reduced voltage flicker, and independent control capabilities for maximum power point tracking (MPPT), active and reactive power controls, and voltage control strategy at the point of common coupling (PCC). When such resources have to be integrated into the existing power system, the operation becomes more challengeable particularly in terms of stability, security, and reliability. This paper presents the study that was used to develop and implement a model to investigate the impacts of the integration of wind energy into the distribution network. This entails the rapid control prototype testing of a grid-connected, variable speed DFIG wind turbines to investigate the steady state and dynamic behavior of each grid integrated wind turbine under normal and disturbance conditions. This model was implemented in the MATLAB / Simulink environment. The control strategy was experimentally validated in a laboratory designed wind turbine (EWT) driven by the CO3208-3A controller, integrated to grid-connected DFIG.