MODEL CONSIDERATIONS FOR BLACK START STUDIES USING DISTRIBUTED ENERGY RESOURCES

Black Start (BS) is currently a transmission-led approach of starting large conventional generators with self-start capability and energising a skeleton transmission and distribution network. As large transmission connected fossil fuelled generators are decommissioned around the world to meet the emissions targets, system operators are looking at alternatives for BS services. With increasing penetration of DERs, particularly at 33kV and 11kV (in the UK), it becomes imperative to explore the possibility of using these to support whole system restoration. Different DER control systems such as AVR, Wind Farm (WF) control, etc. are tuned to operate in a strong grid condition with consideration for certain credible contingency scenarios. However, system restoration after a black out is an extreme condition. The short circuit power of the islanded system is limited to only the contribution from the ‘self-starting’ anchor generator. This paper explores the necessary model considerations for BS studies using DERs based on the learnings from the Distributed Restart innovation project.