Abstract:
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The main objective of this master thesis is to design a power plant controller for a photo-
voltaic (PV) power plant.
In a first stage, the current situation of the status of the electrical grid is analysed. The
electrical network structure is moving from a conventional system (with centralized power
generation, unidirectional power
ows, easy control) to a smart grid system consisting on
distributed generation, renewable energies, smart and complex control architecture and al-
gorithms, bidirectional power
ow, etc. Some of the issues regarding the integration of
renewable power plants are identified.
The increase of renewable penetration into the electrical system can produce instabilities in
terms of voltage and frequency. So that, the operation of these power plants must have grid
support functionalities. To design a power plant controller for providing PV plants with the
capacity to give the required grid support, it is necessary to use a model of a PV power
plant. So that, the modelling of the PV power plant is presented. This model contemplates
the PV cell, the PV array, the power electronics (PV inverter) and the associated control,
the grid layout as well as ancillary devices as FACTS, capacitor banks or energy storage.
Once the power plant is modelled, a central controller is designed to coordinate all the PV
plant devices in order to deliver the desired active and reactive power to the grid. The
controller is capable to perform the following functions: active and reactive power setpoints,
voltage and frequency droops, power factor control and ramp rate limitations. These actions
are the required by most of the grid codes. The power plant controller is validated with the
support of simulations.
After that, it has been identified the active power ramp rate problem when the plant is not
equipped with auxiliary generation: when the available active power decreases suddenly (for
example due to the clouds passing over the PV plant), the ramp rate limitations of active
power cannot be respected. So, the installation of an energy storage system has been studied.
Considering the PV plant with energy storage system, two control strategies for limiting the
active power ramp rate are analysed. After that, possible effects that communication delays
can produce are studied and a little modification the controller is proposed in order to
improve the PV plant operation. |