Development of a Wind Turbine Generator Volt-Var Curve Control for Voltage Regulation Using Power Hardware-in-the-Loop

As interest in renewable energy increases, more distributed energy resources (DERs), including photovoltaics (PV) and wind turbine generators (WTGs), are being interconnected into the grid. Due to their dependence on natural resources, high penetrations of DERs may cause voltage deviations in distribution systems. Distribution feeders that include DERs must have the ability to regulate voltage. Advances in power converter technology has enabled DERs to regulate voltage. Autonomous controls such as Volt-Var Curve (VVC) control allow DERs to regulate voltage by generating or absorbing reactive power. Herein, this paper experimentally demonstrates the ability of a WTG to provide voltage regulation in a distribution feeder. Experimental results are obtained by deploying the VVC control in a wind turbine emulator connected to a real-time simulation model of a distribution feeder using a Power Hardware-in-the-Loop platform. The real-time simulation model of the distribution feeder along with simulation models of WTGs are simulated using an Opal-RT OP5600 real-time simulator. Experiments consider the wind turbine emulator operating simultaneously with two simulated WTGs in the real-time simulation environment, each one providing VVC to regulate voltage deviations caused by a variable load at the end of the distribution feeder.