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Wind Power Plant Collector System

Design Considerations

IEEE PES GM Calgary, Canada IEEE Wind Plant Collector Design Working Group
Wayne Dilling, Sr. Electrical Manager
Mortenson Construction

Travis Smith, R&D Staff


Oak Ridge National Laboratory

2009

IEEE PES Wind Plant Collector System Design Working Group

Overview
Wind Power Plant MV Collector Designs Substation Designs & Wind Turbine Generator Step-Up Transformer Application WPP Interconnection Regulations & Requirements NESC & NEC Considerations for Wind Power Plants Engineering Studies for WPP Designs

Variations of Wind Power Plants


Wind plant feeders = collector systems Collector systems can range widely in function and features depending on: Turbine placement Terrain Reliability Landowner requirements Economics Expected climate conditions

Variations of Wind Power Plants

Tower Locations
Based on: Wind resources Soil conditions FAA restrictions Land agreements Constructability considerations Environmental constraints

Typical Wind Plant Layout


Majority of wind power plants built in North America have a radial feeder configuration A WPP can consist of multiple collector circuits which aggregate many wind turbines

Considerations for Collector Design


Options Number of turbines per collector Considerations Must examine the ampacity of chosen cables and the effect on reliability and economics of the plant Verify the size of substation transformers and the effect on reliability of plant Depending on distance, may need transmission line and interconnection switchyard in addition to collector substation Use of sectionalizing cabinets with 200A load-break or 600A dead-break style connectors

Number of collector circuits

Point of Interconnection

Disconnects

Cable System for Collection System


Options
Collector Line Placement overhead or underground or a combination

Considerations
Overhead conductors can carry more power or have smaller cables but with smaller cables will have higher losses Overhead also has lower reliability

Soils thermal resistivity or Rho measured in oC-cm/W determines cable sizes and collector system layout Thermal resistivity can be improved by providing corrective thermal backfills or fluidized thermal backfills within the trench and surround the circuit cables. Adds significant expense

Substation Design
Options Considerations
Substation designs can have Medium voltage single and both medium and high sectionalized voltage bus configurations. EHV Existing Network Connection Bus types utilized: Single, Sectionalized, main and transfer, breaker-and-a-half, double breaker double bus Possible transformer configurations: Y-Y, -Y, or even Y-- Y-Y is the most commonly utilized configuration Standards and guidelines for rigid bus structures can be located in IEEE-605.

Need to consider substation grounding (reference IEEE80)

Bus Configurations

Step-Up Transformer Application


Each wind turbine in the MW rating category requires a dedicated step-up transformer The 3-phase distribution size transformers are typically pad-mounted but can be within the nacelle. When in the nacelle, MV switchgear is required at the bottom of the tower. Wind Turbine Step-Up Transformer

Collector System

Turbine Step-Up Transformer Winding & Protection


Component
Winding Configuration

Considerations/Applications
Many WTG Manufacturers specify (MV) grounded Y (LV). Provides isolation of WTG from the zerosequence behavior of collector circuit. Grounded Y-Y are less common (mistaken for a source of ground current). Usually protected by internal current limiting fuses in coordination with expulsion type fuses. Low voltage circuit breakers are sometimes installed inside the transformer secondary compartment to provide additional protection.

Protection & Switchgear

Step-Up Transformer Terminals & Impedance


Component Primary Terminals Considerations/Applications Live-front or separable connector elbow bushings are used Two types in IEEE standards: loadbreak (200A, can be opened live) and dead-break (600A, must be deenergized) IEEE Standard C57.12.24 specifies 3-phase transformers rated 750kVA must have a minimum of 5.75%

Transformer Impedance

Step-Up Transformer Rating


Considerations Its conservative and common practice to select transformer based on IEEE Standard C57.12.24 with the rating of the wind turbine generator A new approach is to re-rate the transformer so that the transformer is subjected to limited-duration overload. IEEE 57.91 specifies the thermal modeling and aging functions used to provide adequate service life. Thermal basis selection of transformer must consider additional loading factors such as harmonics.

Graph relating predicted lifetime of transformer insulation based on 1.75 MVA rating.

Interconnection Requirements & Regulations


Objective
Interconnection of Plant

Considerations
Voltage ride-through Power factor SCADA capability Metering and Protection Check with: NEC and NESC (comparable Canadian codes) IEC and IEEE ISOs Local codes and standards State Utility requirements Manufacturer requirements & standards

Meeting Regulations

NESC and NEC


Location
Wind Turbine

Rules that Apply


NESC provides guidance for the Generation Plant and NEC provides guidance and rules for the wind turbine, LV electrical circuits and controls, as well as industrial requirements. NESC rules apply; grounding, overhead conductor clearances and loadings, underground clearances. NESC from Section 410 collector system, NFPA 70E for inside tower. Part 4 of NESC in NFPA OSHA State Occupational safety rules - For working in a tower of on power lines.

Collector System

Arc Flash Safety Practices

Design Engineering Studies


Load Flow Used to determine the final rating of
any required active power compensation and the steady state performance of the wind farm under various operating conditions. Can be utilized to adjust no-load tap settings or determine need for tap changer. PV and PQ bus and various MW and MVAR output conditions should be tested.

Design Engineering Studies


Short Circuit Analysis Determines momentary,
interrupting, and withstand ratings of circuit breakers, cables, and all other associated substation equipment. Both max and min short circuit contributions form the grid should be considered. Line-to-line or single-line-to-ground faults can result in higher values than three-line-to-ground.

Design Engineering Studies


Grounding
Overall grounding design should begin in the early stages of the project and should include the collector system, substation, and tower grounding. Required data includes soil resistivity, short circuit duty at all locations.

Design Engineering Studies


Harmonics
It is important to evaluate for WPP resonance impedance characteristics, due to significant reactance variations of a WPP collector system, as well as consider background harmonic voltage distortion of the interconnected utility system. Typical steps include: 1.Collection of Data 2.Develop appropriate models 3.Perform Frequency Scans for all operating cases involving static reactive compensation 4.Perform harmonic load flow if needed

Design Engineering Studies


TRV Circuit Breaker Analysis
Is typically needed for circuit breakers that are being used to switch capacitor banks and current-limiting reactors Common for specifying WPP substation interconnection breakers when WPP is connected to existing utility transmission networks. Often determines need for grading capacitors for interruption of EHV transmission lines.

Design Engineering Studies


Arc-Flash Assessments
Need short circuit currents Understanding of protection schemes, devices, settings, and characteristic curves. Calculation of incident energies, boundaries, and fault current magnitude and duration as defined by Arc-Flash PPE Calculation standards. Use look-up tables from NFPA70E/NESC Arc Flash standard for defining appropriate level of PPE personal protective equipment.

Wind Power Plant Collector System


Questions?

2009

IEEE PES Wind Plant Collector System Design Working Group

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