Wind power plant voltage control optimization with embedded application of wind turbines and STATCOM

Increasing wind power penetration and the size of Wind Power Plants (WPPs) brings challenges to the operation and control of power systems. Most of WPPs are located far from load centers and the short circuit ratio (SCR) at the Point of Connection (POC) is low, which means that fluctuations of the wind power can cause voltage variations. An optimal voltage control scheme for WPPs with STATCOMs is presented in the paper. It ensures that the voltages within the WPPs and at the high voltage side of the WPPs are within the limits and maximizes the dynamic Var reserve of the WPPs. Case studies were conducted with the simplified Anholt offshore WPP and the case study results demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed optimal voltage control scheme.