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Propagation of Flicker in Electric Power Networks Due to Wind Energy Conversions Systems
Carolina Vilar Moreno, Member, IEEE, Hortensia Amars Duarte, Member, IEEE, and Julio Usaola Garcia, Member, IEEE

AbstractWind energy conversion systems (WECS) produce fluctuating output power, which may cause voltage fluctuations and flicker. Flicker assessment in networks may be difficult since its evaluation requires long computing time and special procedures to calculate the flicker severity index, Pst. In this paper, a frequency domain method to study flicker propagation is presented. This method is based on propagation of frequency components from WECS output currents throughout the grid. In this way, a fast flicker analysis in a network of any size can be performed. Also, an algorithm for flicker measurement in the frequency domain, which allows Pst calculation, is proposed. Several study cases have been performed, and results have been compared with time domain simulations, showing good agreement between them. Index TermsFlicker, power quality, wind turbines.

II. VOLTAGE FLUCTUATIONS PRODUCED BY WIND TURBINES The power available in the wind increases as the cube of the wind speed [1] according to

(1) where is the density of the air, is the tip speed ratio, is the radius of the blade, is the angular velocity of the blade, and is the rotor swept area. Power transmitted to the hub shaft takes into account the mean wind speed incident at the hub , and it is modified by . This power coefficient is dependent the power coefficient on the tip speed ratio and the blade pitch angle . In this paper, a wind model generates series of mean wind speeds and takes into account the cycles of wind speed variation and its random variability. may be obtained Torque produced by a mean wind speed as [1] (2) , the fluctuating components due to To this mean torque tower shadow and wind shear effects must be superposed. Tower shadow effect is produced because the wind turbine tower offers resistance to the wind flow, and it disturbs wind flow both upstream and downstream. Far from the tower influence, wind speed is constant, while it increases when approaches the tower and decreases when coming closer. A Fourier series with harmonic multiples of 3P frequency can represent this shadow effect [3]. Tower shadow is more important for the wind turbines having their blades downwind of the tower. The wind shear phenomenon also produces torque oscillations caused by the wind speed gradient along the height of the area swept by the blades. The wind speed gradient may be described in polar coordinates centred at the hub elevation by the binomial series [3]. As the rotor samples the incoming wind, it sees the wind profiles as a periodical varying function of the time with harmonics multiples of 3P. Tower shadow and wind shear produce torque fluctuations developed on each blade, which are added to the mean torque. So torque produced by each blade can be expressed as (3)

I. INTRODUCTION HE CONNECTION of wind turbines on the distribution network may affect grid power quality. This paper investigates flicker propagation in a power network with fixed-speed wind power generators. A simple and accurate method in the frequency domain to obtain the flicker severity parameter Pst in any point of a network is presented. In continuous operation, wind turbines produce a nonconstant torque during a revolution of the rotor due to different aerodynamic effects, such as tower shadow, yaw error, misalignment, and wind shear [1]. Those effects cause an oscillation of the aerodynamic torque up to 20% of the mean value at 3P frequency [2]. The torque oscillations produce power and voltage fluctuations at PCC, which increase with the turbulence intensity. Voltage flicker can become a limiting factor for connecting wind turbines at weak networks, and even on relatively strong networks with a great amount of wind power connected. Measuring flicker at the point of common coupling (PCC) of a wind turbine for the assessment of its contribution to grid flicker level has the disadvantage of measuring not only the contribution of the flicker level produced by the wind turbine, but also the flicker contribution caused by others producers and consumers connected to the same PCC. For this reason, the evaluation of the flicker emission of a wind turbine is based on current or power measurements instead of voltage measurement.

Manuscript received April 4, 2000; revised December 6, 2001. This work was supported in part by the Spanish Ministerio de Educacin y Cultura under Contract PB98-0034. The authors are with the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Madrid, Spain (e-mail: cvilar@ing.uc3m.es; hamaris@ing.uc3m.es; jusaola@ing.uc3m.es). Publisher Item Identifier S 0885-8969(02)05419-0.

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where are the torque fluctuations produced by tower shadow is the torque produced by mechanical loads and wind shear, is the torque due to such as gravity acting on each blade, and yaw misalignment [4]. These torque fluctuations produce periodic fluctuations in the output power from WECS. Inspecting power spectrum from a three-bladed turbine, it can be observed that periodic components are concentrated on frequencies multiples of the blade passing frequency, mainly (3P, 6P ). Some other periodic power components, caused by different effects, may appearfor instance, drive-train oscillations or tower resonance. In Fig. 1, the power spectrum from a simulated three-bladed fixed-speed 350 kW, 34 rpm speed turn wind turbine is shown. Power fluctuations also have a stochastic component. In this example, wind turbine is at 90% rated power and turbulence intensity is low: 3.5%. Real measurements show a similar power spectrum to that shown in Fig. 1 [5].

Fig. 1. Power spectrum from a wind turbine.

III. FLICKER AND THE IEC FLICKERMETER Flicker is defined as the impression of fluctuating brightness or color, occurring when the frequency of observed variation lies between a few hertz and the fusion frequency of images according to the IEEE standard dictionary of electrical and electronic terms (IEEE standard 100-1977). The flicker level is dependent on the amplitude of the voltage fluctuation, their frequency, and the shape of the waveform. All types of voltage fluctuations may be assessed by direct measurement using a Flickermeter, which complies with the specification given in IEC-61 000-4-15 [6], IEC-868 [7]. Standards IEC-61 000-3-3 [8] and IEC-61 000-3-7 [9] quantify the flicker perturbation. In some cases, it is possible to know the spectral frequency distribution of the flicker source and for this reason, it would be very useful to have a Flickermeter model in the frequency domain. Working in the frequency domain is very convenient not only because of the computing time saving but also because the spectrum tells us which frequency component is the most important for a flicker analysis. At the same time, it is possible to divide the signal spectrum in different bandwidths and, therefore, a Flickermeter model in the frequency domain will allow obtaining the flicker contribution from different bandwidths. Up to now, all the existing Flickermeters models and studies in the frequency domain try to obtain the Instantaneous Flicker level by using several methods in the frequency domain [10][12]. From this value, and in order to obtain the Pst value, it is necessary to follow the IEC-recommendations [7]. From the instantaneous Flicker level, in the time domain, the cumulative probability distribution is obtained and the Pst parameter can be deduced. The Flickermeter proposed in this paper is different from previous researches; the key idea is to use a Pst-weighting filter, which allows obtaining, directly, the Pst flicker value, with the only information of the power spectrum of the signal. The proposed Flickermeter solves some problems arising from the traditional way (time domain) of obtaining Pst. For

Fig. 2. Flickermeter model in the frequency domain.

instance, when trying to assess Pst flicker values in a network, with a Flickermeter in the time domain, long simulations are required, which make these studies very cumbersome. Also, to characterize flicker emission from wind turbines according to IEC 61400-21 [13], a great amount of measured data should be taken. Storage requirements may be reduced if spectral information were used. A Flickermeter in the frequency domain, such as this proposed here, allows working only with the spectrum of the signal, which can be obtained in many ways, both in simulation studies and in real measurements.

IV. FREQUENCY DOMAIN FLICKERMETER One of the purposes of this paper is to present a direct method to obtain the Pst by using a new digital Flickermeter in the frequency domain. Several types of signal may be input to the proposed Flickermeter to obtain the Pst flicker value Fig. 2: instantaneous voltage signal in the time domain (point 1) (modulated signal); root mean square (RMS) voltage signal in the time domain (point 2), (modulating signal); voltage spectrum (point 3). The process is explained next. 1) The modulated voltage signal (Point 1) is the input information to the Flickermeter. 2) In order to represent the internal behavior of an incandescent lamp, the voltage signal is squared. 3) Power spectrum is obtained by using a Fourier transform in the bandwidth of interest (035 Hz).

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4) The Pst flicker value of the signal may be calculated by weighting the power spectrum with the Pst-weighting , as (4) filter Pst (4)

is the amplitude of the frequency component where represents the Pstfi of the power spectrum, and weighting factor for the frequency component . Depending on the input type, all steps should be done consecutively (as for example for signal point 1) or it would be possible to go directly to step 3) (signal point 3). It should be emphasized that the Pst flicker value might be obtained directly by (4), and it has not been necessary to obtain the instantaneous Flicker level, to store the signal in a period of time of 10 min, to divide this period of signal in classes, to obtain the cumulative distribution probability function, and finally, to apply the Pst single formula proposed by the IEC [7]. The only information necessary is the power spectrum of the signal in the bandwidth of 0 to 35 Hz and the new Pst-weighting filter in the same bandwidth. A detailed study of the Pst-weighting filter can be found in [14]. V. FLICKER PROPAGATION IN THE FREQUENCY DOMAIN Power fluctuations produced by WECS could be written as a temporal expression like: (5) The index does not belong to a sequence. In general, there are an infinite number of frequencies producing oscillations around the mean power. However, in WECS, as explained previously, only a few components have an appreciable value, and they are well defined. These power fluctuations, besides, depend on wind speed, wind turbulence and turbine characteristics. They do not seem to depend on network characteristics such as short circuit power or X/R ratio. Power fluctuations produce voltage and current fluctuations. Current fluctuations do not seem to depend on network characteristics, but voltage fluctuations do, mainly on short circuit power and X/R ratio [15]. The expression of the current injected by the WECS in the grid can be written as

Fig. 3.

WECS modeled as a set of current sources.

Fig. 4. Three nodes network.

of sources can be observed. Conventional generators produce power only at fundamental frequency (50 or 60 Hz), while wind energy systems produce power, and therefore current, at an indefinite number of frequencies. The main components, however, are usually at well-defined frequencies. For each of these frequencies, the network can be modeled in the frequency domain, and the voltage in each node and for each frequency, can be found, if the injected current from wind generators are known. This can be done by a standard technique, such as nodal analysis, taking into account that reactive elements vary with frequency. With these results, superposition can be applied, and, therefore, voltage spectrum can be found. This spectrum would be, as (5), that of a modulated signal, both in amplitude and phase. From this spectrum, flicker can be obtained by means of an IEC flickermeter. Since we are dealing with spectra, a frequency domain flickermeter is more convenient. Interaction between voltage and frequency modulations has not been observed. A program has been developed to calculate voltage values in the frequency domain. It can be used to model unbalanced networks at any frequency and solve the network equations by nodal analysis. VI. CASE STUDY A. Example Case This case consists of a wind farm connected to a three nodes network (Fig. 4). Network parameters are given in Table I. It is assumed that each turbine experiences the same wind and that all wind turbines and generators have the same characteristics. Comparisons are made between time domain simula-

(6) This is the expression of a waveform modulated both in amplitude and phase. From this expression, a spectrum can be derived immediately. This spectrum contains components of freand . quencies If there are only a finite number of important frequencies, the current injected by the WECS could be modeled as a set of current sources in parallel, Fig. 3. In this figure, two different kinds

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tions (performed with PSCAD/EMTDC) and frequency domain calculations in order to investigate flicker emission level from 30 three-blade stall regulated wind turbines (350 kW) with direct-coupled induction generators connected to the distribution network. The output power of the Wind Farm is the total output of the 30 individual wind turbines. Although this is not completely correct for instantaneous power, it is good enough for the purposes of this paper, because any correcting factor would lead to similar results. No wind turbulence has been considered. Time domain simulation provides both the time current produced by the wind farm and the time voltage variations at different busbars due to wind farm power fluctuations for a determined wind power generation level (83% of rated power this case) and system load level. Analyzing the voltage time series by the previously described Flickermeter, flicker levels at different nodes are quantified by Pst (Table II). A frequency analysis of the current produced by the wind farm reveals the most important frequencies present (Fig. 5). The current spectrum is limited to a finite number of significant frequencies for flicker study. So it is possible to specify the current injected by WECS by a finite number of current sources and to determine a voltage spectrum for each node. This voltage spectrum produces a similar flicker level to the one caused by time voltage series. The 50 Hz current component and the side-frequency components 3P and 6P located symmetrically around the fundamental have only been considered to study flicker. The last components appear, as shown earlier, mainly because of power fluctuations at the blade passing frequencies. The rest of the modulating frequencies have been neglected in order to simplify the method and also because 3P and 6P components produce the most important modulation effect on 50 Hz voltage and therefore the most important effect on voltage flicker. As previously explained, current injected for each frequency provides the voltage component at that frequency for each node. Analyzing voltage spectrum for each node, the flicker effect on the grid is determined. The predicted short-term flicker parameters, Pst, obtained are shown in Table II. A comparison has been made with previous results obtained from voltage time series analysis. Table II shows that flicker levels caused by time voltage series are quite similar to flicker levels obtained by current propagation in the frequency domain analysis, in spite of having neglected frequency components. It can be observed that propagation with considered frequencies are enough to predict total flicker level at different busbars of the power system. In this way, network flicker levels expected from a wind turbine or group of wind turbines at a specific location, can be accurately predicted with no need of voltage measurements on every node. This method provides a simple way to quantify flicker severity at a power system with WECS knowing time current series injected by wind turbines connected to the network. This current could be either time simulated or measured. Results in Table II show that node 1 has the highest flicker level in spite of the fact that node 2 seems to be more critical, since the wind farm is closer and the fault level is lower. The same thing could be said for node 3. However, the X/R ratio at nodes 2 and 3 is similar to what in previous works has been considered the point of minimum flicker [16].

TABLE I THREE NODES NETWORK PARAMETERS

TABLE II NETWORK FLICKER LEVELS

Fig. 5. Current spectrum injected by WECS in node 2.

Fig. 6. Complex network.

B. Application Case The previous case has shown the method to evaluate flicker. In this application case, the propagation method is used to analyze the effects of WECS in a complex network. A distribution network with eight nodes has been studied in the frequency domain only, in order to assess flicker in all nodes for different wind power penetration levels. The power system is shown in Fig. 6.

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TABLE III NETWORK FLICKER LEVELS

TABLE V COMPLEX NETWORK CHARACTERISTICS

TABLE IV FLICKER STUDY CASES FOR THE COMPLEX NETWORK

farms are connected to points with a high ratio of fault level to rated power (Table V). From flicker propagation, it is observed that higher flicker values appear at nodes 3, 4, and 5. This is due to the lower fault level at these points. This can also be observed in Cases III and IV. As expected, flicker level gets higher values when wind power generation level increases. Interaction between currents injected has been observed when a second farm is connected to the power system. This means that superposition of currents from different wind farms cannot be considered without an interaction model. In order to determine the effect of system load level on flicker, some changes on the system load have been done. Considering the system in Case II with a reduction of 50% and with 10% of initial system load, simulations have shown there is a small influence on network flicker level due to changes on static loads [17]. Just a maximum increase of 2.5% the former and 4.5% the latter on network flicker level. VII. CONCLUSIONS A method for flicker analysis in the frequency domain has been described. It is especially suitable for flicker analysis with well-defined modulation components. It provides a simple tool for the assessment of the incidence of WECS on power quality. Results have been compared with time-domain simulations, and a good agreement has been found between both methods. Some examples have been made in order to show the capabilities of the method. This could be easily used for flicker propagation analysis in industrial networks. REFERENCES
[1] L. L. Freris, Wind Energy Conversions Systems. London, U.K.: Prentice-Hall, 1990. [2] G. Gerdes and F. Santjer, Power quality of wind turbines and their interaction with the grid, in Proc. 1994 Eur. Wind Energy Conf., pp. 11121115. [3] D. A. Spera, Wind Turbine Technology. New York: ASME Press, 1995. [4] H. Amars, C. Vilar, J. Usaola, and J. L. Rodrguez, Modeling wind energy conversions systems in the frequency domain for flicker analysis, Wind Eng., vol. 23, no. 4, pp. 189203, 1999. [5] T. Thiringer, Power quality measurements performed on a low-voltage grid equipped with two wind turbines, IEEE Trans. Energy Conv., vol. 11, pp. 601606, Sept. 1996. [6] IEC 61 000-4-15, Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC). Part 4: Testing and measurements techniquesSection 15: Flickermeter. Functional and design specifications, Bureau Central Commission Electrotech. Int., Geneva, Switzerland, Nov. 1997. [7] IEC/TR2 80 868-0, FlickermeterPart 0. Evaluation of flicker severity,, 1991. [8] IEC 61 000-3-3, Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC). Part 3: LimitsSection 3: Limitation of voltage fluctuations and flicker in low-voltage supply systems for equipment with rated current 16 A, Bureau Central Commission Electrotech. Int., Geneva, Switzerland, 1994.

Different possibilities are going to be considered throughout this application case. In the first study case, a wind farm is connected to the network at node 7 by a 45/0.69 kV transformer. The wind farm is made up of 30 fixed-speed stall regulated wind turbines. Assuming that wind speed varies in time in such a way that the wind farm operates at a mean power of 83% rated power (Case I) and 100% rated power (Case II), line current produced by the wind farm is obtained for each case by time simulations with PSCAD/EMTDC. By propagation method and frequency domain analysis, wind farm contribution to voltage flicker is determined. Results are shown in Table III. A power increase of nearly 20% produce higher flicker levels as expected. Both cases show that the worst busbar is the one where the wind farm is connected. A second analysis is performed when an identical wind farm is also connected at node 5 of the power system. Different wind power generation levels and also different system load levels have been considered. Current inputs for each wind farm are obtained for different cases from time domain simulations. Then, the propagation technique is applied. Table IV shows that Case V, where both wind farms are operating at their rated power, is the worst case. However, their flicker effect is not critical to the network because the wind

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[9] IEC 61 000-3-7, Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC). Part 3: LimitsSection 7 Assessment of emission limits for fluctuating loads in MV and HV power systems, Bureau Central Commission Electrotech. Int., Geneva, Switzerland, 1996. [10] K. Srinivasan, Digital measurement of voltage flicker, IEEE Trans. Power Delivery, vol. 6, pp. 15931598, Apr. 1991. [11] M. T. Chen, Digital algorithms for measurement of voltage flicker, Proc. Inst. Elect. Eng., vol. 144, no. 2, pp. 175180, 1997. [12] J. Arrillaga, N. R. Watson, and S. Chen, Power System Quality Assessment. New York: Wiley, 2000. [13] IEC 61 400-21, Ed. 1. Wind turbine generator systems. Part 21: Measurement and assessment of power quality characteristics of grid connected wind turbines,, 2001. [14] H. Amars and J. Usaola, A new Pst-weighting filter for the flickermeter in the frequency domain, Eur. Trans. Elect. Power, vol. 11, pp. 2330, Jan./Feb. 2001. [15] J. Usaola, C. Vilar, H. Amars, P. Ledesma, and J. L. Rodrguez, Characterization of WECS through power spectra for power quality studies, in Proc. 1999 Eur. Wind Energy Conf., pp. 766769. [16] P. Srensen, J. O. Tande, L. M. Sndergaard, and J. D. Kledal, Flicker emission levels from wind turbines, Wind Eng., vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 3946, 1996. [17] E. Bossanyi, Z. Saad-Saoud, and N. Jenkins, Prediction of flicker produced by wind turbines, Wind Energy, vol. 1, pp. 3551, 1998.

Hortensia Amars Duarte (M01) received the B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from E.T.S. Ingenieros Industriales (ETSIIM), Madrid, Spain, in 1990 and 1995, respectively. In 1990, she joined the Department of Automatic Control, ETSIIM, until 1995. She is presently an Associated Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering, Universidad Carlos III, Madrid. Her research interests include power quality and wind energy systems.

Julio Usaola Garca (M01) received the B.S. degree and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from E.T.S. de Ingenieros Industriales (ETSIIM), Madrid, Spain, in 1986 and 1990, respectively. In 1988, he joined the Department of Electrical Engineering, ETSIIM, where he remained until 1994. He is presently an Associated Professor with the Department of Electrical Engineering, Universidad Carlos III, Madrid. His research interests include power quality and wind energy systems.

Carolina Vilar Moreno (M02) was born in Madrid, Spain, on May 27, 1974. She received the B.S. degree in electromechanical engineering from Universidad Carlos III, Madrid, Spain, where she is currently pursuing the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering. She is currently with the Department of Electrical Engineering, Universidad Carlos III. Her research interests are wind energy systems and power quality.