New
system uses wind turbines to defend the
University
of Birmingham
A
'smart' system that controls the storage and release of energy from wind
turbines will reduce the risk of power cuts and support the increase of wind
energy use world-wide, say researchers at the University of Birmingham.
The
system uses the variable speed of the rotors in wind turbine systems to more
closely regulate the supply of power to the grid.
This means that when electricity demand is high, stored kinetic energy in the turbines can be used intelligently to keep the grid stable. University of Birmingham Enterprise has applied for a patent to protect the system.
This means that when electricity demand is high, stored kinetic energy in the turbines can be used intelligently to keep the grid stable. University of Birmingham Enterprise has applied for a patent to protect the system.
Regulating
the supply of electricity to keep pace with demand is a continual challenge.
Sudden outage of power generation, such as when a generator gets damaged, can
cause a 'frequency dip', which can lead to power cuts. The UK's large power
stations currently manage these dips by pushing out more electricity.
However,
as more wind turbines are integrated into the system, it becomes more difficult
to balance supply and demand and keep the system stable, as frequency dips in
national power grid occur more quickly and more severely than before when wind
generation became such a significant element of electricity generation.
Lead researcher Professor Xiao-Ping Zhang, Director of Smart Grid in the Birmingham Energy Institute, comments: "By 2030 wind is expected to provide half the UK's power, so it's important that we can use the wind farms provide a vital safety mechanism of controlling frequency dips of UK's national power grid. Our proposed frequency control system for wind turbines could revolutionise the UK's power grid's frequency control and, importantly, uses our existing infrastructure of wind turbines and it will not need additional devices and investments."
The
most recent severe power cut, in August 2019, caused blackouts across the
Midlands, South East, South West, North West and North East of England, and
Wales. The incident was triggered by two almost simultaneous unexpected power
losses at Hornsea and Little Barford due to lightning strikes.
Thousands of homes were left without power, while people were stranded on trains and traffic lights stopped working. Power was restored some 40 minutes later, but problems on the rail network carried on over the weekend. In this situation, frequency control response services from wind turbines, if available using our proposed approach, would have protected the national grid system from the power cut.
"As
the UK increases its reliance on wind power, it will become even more important
to find effective ways to use the turbine systems to provide this service and
maintain effective regulation of the grid. Current methods of using wind
turbines to regulate electricity struggle to provide consistent support because
of variable wind speeds and other system conditions," adds Professor
Zhang.
The
method proposed by the Birmingham team harnesses the potential of wind turbines
to operate at variable speeds to provide the flexibility required to respond to
fluctuations in supply and demand.
Their results are published in IEEE Open Access Journal of Power and Energy. The team has already validated their approach in an industry-standard power grid simulator and is seeking industrial partners to explore commercial opportunities for the technology.
Their results are published in IEEE Open Access Journal of Power and Energy. The team has already validated their approach in an industry-standard power grid simulator and is seeking industrial partners to explore commercial opportunities for the technology.
