Assessment of Offshore Wind Turbine Controls for Integration with Offshore Oil & Gas Platforms

This paper introduces a Controller Hardware-in-the-Loop (CHIL) setup to explore the integration of an Offshore Wind Power Plant (WPP) with an Oil & Gas platform. The platform is represented through a model of its power generation system, which comprises a Gas Turbine (GT) employing the Rowen Model. The loads are modeled using a passive diode rectifier and a controllable load. The WPP incorporates a Type-4 Wind Turbine Generator (WTG) equipped with a full-scale Back-to-Back (BTB) Converter and two distinct control philosophies. The first control philosophy follows the Grid-Following (GFL) approach, reminiscent of older control systems that tend to degrade power quality within power grids. The second philosophy employs a Grid-Forming (GFM) strategy, which can help to mitigate the adverse effects of integrating Renewable Energy Sources (RES). The power system’s behavior is simulated using the Real-Time Simulator (RTS) HIL 602+ from Typhoon-HIL, with the control strategies implemented in the Digital Signal Processor (DSP) TMS320F28379D – F28379D LaunchPad of Texas Instruments (TI). The validity of the CHIL setup is verified through load step tests, assessing the performance of the control systems. The results from the tests reveal that the GFM control strategy can enhance the system stability while also providing valuable ancillary services such as frequency and voltage regulation.