Copyright © IFAC Control of Power Systems and Power Plants,

Beijing, China, 1997

ST ATIC VAR GENERA TORS WITH GTOS

FOR INNOVATIVE WINDFARM OPERATION

K. Bergmann, K. Renz, F. Schettler, H. Tyll K. Sabrink

Power Transmission and Distribution Group, Planning Department

Siemens AG, ELSAM
D-9J080 Erlangen, DK-7000 Frederica
Germany, Denmark

Abstract: Wind energy is one of the leading renewable energy technologies for the
generation of electricity. Electrical energy may be generated over a wide range of operating
conditions, particularly if far more than one windturbine is connected to the network. Low
electrical energy production in one part of the windfarm may occur with high production in
another part together with highly variable reactive power consumption from the system. A
GTO-based Static Var Compensator also called Static Var Generator (SVG) or
STA TCOM is used in the Rejsby Hede Windfarm in Denmark for dynamic reactive power
compensation and voltage limitation when islanding occurs. This paper describes the
design aspects and studies, the converter technology and the control and protection
schemes of this flrst application of SVG technology for windfarm operation. The
installation will go into operation in 1997. Copyright © 1998 IFAC

Key Words: Static Var Generator, SVG, STATCOM, GTOs, windpark, regenerative power

1. INTRODUCTION 900 MW. The installed wind power is some

The project investigates in an innovative application
of FACTS controllers for wind farms . Therefore the
project is being carried out by Siemens AG,
Germany, in co-operation with the Danish utilities
ELSAM and SH, the Technical University of
Denmark, and UMIST of Great Britain. The project
is supported by the European Commission under the
Research and Development Program "Non-nuclear
Energy Program (Joule-Thermie)" . The background
to the project is underlined by some rather dramatic
changes in Danish energy production over the last
flve to six years. The installed capacity ofELSAM's
area of responsibility comprises six major power
stations generating approx. 4200 MW. Distributed
combined heat and power (CHP) contributes further
400 MW. The peak demand load in ELSAM's area
reaches 3500 MW. Besides this, electrical energy is
imported from HVDC connections to Norway and
Sweden. It is anticipated that in the future Third
Party Access will demand additional power transfer
through ELSAM's transmission system. Six years
ago there was almost no wind power or distributed
CHP connected to the network. ELSAM exerts no
control over production at distributed CHP stations
and generation of wind power generation is governed
- as it would be expected - by the weather. These
changes to the country's power generation proflle
greatly affect the active and reactive power balance
in the transmission network.

49
 2. WIND FARM OPERATIONAL ASPECTS
The reactive power consumption of wind nlrbines at
no-load condition is normally compensated by shunt
capacitor units directly connected to the generators .
When such generators provide active power, their
demand for reactive power increases according to the
active power output. Instead of supplying dynamic
compensation for each wind turbine which is
expensive an SVG is installed at the point of
common coupling. This is an altogether more
economic solution.
60 kV
8.2 km 3.5 km IO.9km _ 1
~~
3. THE REJSBY HEDE WIND FARM
PROJECT
The Rejsby Hede wind farm is located on Denmark's
west coast. Figure 1 shows the connection of the 40
wind turbines (operating at 690 V) to one of two
busbars via a 690115000 V transformer. Approx.
70 per cent of the asynchronous generator's no-load
reactance is compensated by shunt capacitors
connected to each wind turbine. The generator
winding of the wind turbines can be changed from
nominal 150 kW at low wind speeds to 600 kW at
high wind speeds. The compensation capacitors are
switched on accordingly. A compensator with a
reactive power range of ± 8 Mvar is to be connected
to the 15 kV busbar where 22 wind rurbines are
150 kV
connected.

i._
23 Mvar: -':- 4. SVG DESIGN
1_5_
kV
-"
:::=--=-,, ~,------:~15~k=-,'V_ 11-=1
4.1 Three Level Converter
15 kV 9 !9 ! 8 :7 7
generators Connection point
for compensator SVG technology was chosen to investigate a new
application of FACTS controllers. The required
690~ 600kW
reactive power rating imposed the use of converter
== r\r.. generator
induction
modules based on:
• three level converter technique
Fig. I Simplified single line diagram of windfarm • reverse conducting GTOs
and 60/ l5kV system • GTOs rated 4500V, 3000A
• air cooling
A wind farm with a total 24 MW output will result in
r-- !
a considerable generation source, particularly in a -, : j I v
I jL
---;
rural area. Such a large capacity of induction 71 j
Net I l,
!
generators connected to a weak electrical distribution ---;
/1
system is likely to cause unacceptable electrical
losses and voltage excursions unless appropriate '----
IGT!~s\"(,

~,.....
-, I

I I 7
J +1~
steps are taken to control the reactive power flow.
I v c",>,
J. Vc

Self-excitation of an induction generator may be Refe rence

.1 !
1
!

considered as resonance between the inductance of Values

GTO·SVC Control
J
the generator and the local power factor correction
capacitor. If a wind farm becomes disconnected from
the network source (islanded condition) the
Fig. 2 Simplified diagram of a three level SVG
aerodynamic torque causes the rotors of the turbines
to accelerate and, as the frequency of the isolated
Figure 2 shows a principle diagram of a three level
system increases, the voltage will rise .
converter module connected to the network via
inductances. The GTO-diode arrangement is
Dynamic compensation using an SVG at the wind
modelled as a switch in each phase which allows
farm busbar may be used to improve performance
plus, neutral or minus potential of the energy storage
and, hence, allow increased generation capacity to be
capacitor bank to be connected to the corresponding
connected to an existing distribution network. A
line terminal of each phase. Figure 3 shows typical
suitable control scheme can be used to control the
voltage and current wave shapes at the converter
steady state voltage at the wind farm busbar and also
terminals. Switching the GTOs can be seen in the
eliminate cyclic voltage variations resulting from
wave shape of VCony' In case the fundamental content
blades passing the tower.
of the voltage VCon" is larger than the system voltage
VNet a capacitive current (ISVG) shown in the lower

50
traces of figure 3 will be fed to the system. An
inductive current (lSVG) will be injected when the
fundamental content of the voltage VConv is smaller
than the system voltage (V neJ. The USt· of reverse
conducting GTOs reduces the number of
semiconductors and results in more compact design.
Air cooling was chosen due to cost saving aspects
regarding space and maintenance considerations.
In a first approach the two GTO-converters were
connected via separate transformers (one Y/y, one
Y/I1) to each of the 15 kV busses. Different areas of
interest were recognised:
• Total harmonic voltage distortion in the 60 kV
network remained below the specified value but
single voltage distortion values were critical at
11 th and 13th harmonic order especially when the
23 Mvar capacitor bank was switched on .
• The harmonic loading of the fixed compensation

~~~~~
became critical when only a few wind turbines
v"""
were in operation at the lower rated output.

v'*< ~~~~"C:OO 100.00 I O ATP simulation results

I_ theorellcal values
~

6~~ ~
11)
10.00 - ,
Cl I
!!!
0
i
>
u
1,00 - I
'c
0 I
Fig. 3 Typical voltage and current waveshapes of a
E
ro
0.10 - I
I
three level converter !
0,01
5 7 11 13 17 19 23 25 29 31 35 37 v

4. 2 Harmonics
Fig, S Harmonic voltage content of converter
Harmonic distortion in the network is influenced by voltage in % using SHEM
the network impedance, the inductance between the
converter terminals and the system and the type of oFFM
100,00 i
switching pattern used . A larger inductance between . SHEM

converter and system may reduce the reactive power ~ 10,00 _

§ Increased transformer Impedance

rating of the SVG. The use of selective harmonic

11)
Cl I0 12puise (both converter!>1Yyd transformer)
I
!!!
elimination modulation (SHEM) versus fundamental 0 1,00 _
>
u
frequency modulation (FFM) reduces lower 'c0

1 ~. ~
harmonics but increases higher harmonics and losses E 0, 10 1
"'
caused by more frequent switching of the GTOs. I
0,01
5 7 11 13 17 19
1
23 25 29
r31 35 37 v

"00.00 T I - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ,

~
I
Fig, 6 Harmonic voltage distortion of the 15 kV
1l,oo 1 busbar (obtained during the design steps as
described)
The harmonic problems were resolved by:
• Developing a pulse pattern which eliminates the
11th and 13th harmonic voltages to the largest
extent possible. The elimination of a third
5 7 11 "tl 17 "9 23 25 29 31 35 37 v
harmonic was not considered but it was decided
to use a pulse pattern which minimises the
Fig. 4 Harmonic voltage content of converter content of 5th and 7th harmonic voltage at the
voltage in % using FFM converter terminals. A comparison of the
harmonic voltage content using FFM and SHEM
The SVG at Rejsby Hede comprises two GTO-
is shown in figures 4 and 5. Figure 4 shows the
converters connected to one 15 kV bus via a three
harmonic voltage content of the converter voltage
winding transformer. One converter is connected to a
at FFM . Figure 5 shows the harmonic voltage
star the other one to a delta winding. In case of
content using the optimised pulse pattern
parallel operation such an arrangement reduces
described above . The black bars show the
harmonic distortion on the primary winding of a
theoretical values the white ones include effects
three winding transformer i,e. reducing six pulse
due to unbalances, DC-voltage ripple and
harmonic orders 5, 7, 17, 19, etc.
tolerances obtained by realistic A TP simulations.

51
• Increasing the reactance between converter and
IS kV bus which changed critical resonance
conditions.
• Connecting the GTO-converters via a three
winding transformer to one 15 kV bus.
Extensive harmonic load flow calculations verified
the above measures. The results are presented in
figure 6. It shows the harmonic voltage distortion at
the IS kV busbar, where the 12pulse SVG is
connected in the final design stage.
The harmonic study included variation of load and
wind park generation based on small and large
generators with the whole variety of operating cases.
4.3 SVG Operating Characteristics
The V/I characteristic of the SVG as seen on the IS
k V bus side is shown in figure 7. Characteristic
operating points are annotated. The SVG provides
V I [pu]
-----------~----j----~,~.----~
- -- --;.---t---;-:_*----- '
:\
~
o , r ..f
i 'l
:: -------:r'--' I -+--+---l--+---+--'--+-
'-- ._-
--~
-:
,, ~. :...
' --r--i----+--t--t---t-t:-...-c.:-------------'
1 / ,
capac itive operation i nductive operation
Fig. 7 V/I characteristic of the SVG
Var-control for all operating points in the area
labelled "Continuous operation". This area is limited
by the maximum continuous converter current,
which is 770 A at inductive and capacitive operation
and at a system voltage of 1.07 pu. Continuous
converter operation is kept in this area using a
current and a voltage control loop. The setpoint for
Fig. 8 Single line diagram - general station layout
52
voltage control is chosen to 1.07 pu which avoids
interference with the voltage regulating relay of the
60 to IS kV transformer tap ch anger equipment.
The design points in the diagram are marked by the
numbers I and 2 for continuous capacitive and
inductive operation at a network voltage of 15 kV.
Maximum continuous capacitive operation of the
converter is allowed up to a voltage of 1.04 pu (point
3). Operating point 4 marks SVG operation at a
converter output of 4.8 MV A at the maximum DC
capacitor voltage of 5.0 kV . Short time capacitive
overload is restricted to 10 s at operating point 5
based on 0 Mvar pre-Ioad. The average capacitor
voltage at this operation is again 5.0 kV . The
converter current is limited by the turn-off capability
of the GTO-thyristors . Smaller currents in the short
time overload range might be a\1owed for longer
times which will be decided during converter
prototype tests.
Operating point 6 is based on maximum DC
capacitor voltage (5 .0 kV) and maximum converter
rms current of 770 A which results in a converter
output of 4.93 MVA capacItIve. Maximum
continuous inductive operation is achieved at
operating point 7. Short time inductive overload is
restricted to 3 s at operating point 8 based on 0 Mvar
pre-Ioad.
4.4 Layout
The layout of the SVG is shown in figure 8. The
SVG is connected to the busbar via medium voltage
switchgear. Connections between switchgear and
transformer as well as transformer and converter are
made by cables. The two converters, controls and
protection are located in the station building.
4.5 Controls
The control is based on the SIMADYN D® digital
control system . This control system is a
multiprocessor configuration which allows a
sampling time of I ms . For special applications (e.g.
filter circuits) digital signal processors with shorter
sampling times are used. The digital control system
SIMADYN D® covers a wide range of power
engineering applications (AC and DC motor drives,
HVDC , SVC and ASC). It offers the following
advantages:
• User-configurable and user-friendly operation
• Flexible configuration to handle control aspects
• Extendible for growing user requirements
• Self diagnostic routines
• Remote diagnostics
 • Error-free self documentation directly in block PI controller. The output of the PI controller
diagrams defines the phase delta between the fundamental
• Worldwide support network voltage space vector and the
• Normal production line equipment fundamental SVG converter voltage space vector.
The absolute value of Qref is modified by ilQvc
The control scheme shown in figure 9 comprises: and ilQi , if the capacitor voltage limitation or the
Isvc limitation control units require it
• b-coordination produces the angle cr of the SVG
Voltage ~
converter voltage space vector for the trigger set
II V,-.
• --- ~~~~~ ~ by combination of the various input angles band
_ __ Vc , CapaCItor ~a
- Voltage ~ the actual system phase angle given by a phase
~ limItation ~ locked loop circuit (PLL). Depending on cr the
Isvc O.gltal V,./V_.
I V ------'- , - ;;: switching signals for the GTOs are derived based
Signal ~Vl_-ContrOIJ Q ,.. ' Qe_ 0 [, Cl Q;
-----=:..a....a. . . -Controt~ Co~rd l- on the optimised pulse pattern stored in the
Vc

~processing , --- Q~ rTS

n,lOn_. ,: Control - - - g
trigger set
• Voltage balance control equalises the voltages on
i ~ IS\IC ~a both DC capacitors by adding the auxiliary signal

~
Llmltatcon

i
I
~
I_,
- IDC
-- I Ou
8vc·
Control
• IDC-control: Non-ideal operation of the SVG
~

. PLL '_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _--1

converter can cause a DC voltage in the line-side
converter voltages. This in turn causes a DC
current and can lead to saturation of the SVG
Fig. 9 Basic control block diagram transformer resulting in highly distorted SVG
currents. The DC-portion in the SVG currents
determines the modification of the phase angle b
by adding the auxiliary signal blDC .
• Digital signal processing of voltages and currents
of the SVG and system determined at the point of
4.6 Protection
common coupling and DC capacitor voltages.
The circuit provides the input quantities for the
Transformer and converter protection system
space vector based control.
contains conventional relays with overcurrentltime
• QLine-control or V Line-control covers the system
and transformer differential protection. The GTO
requirements. The reactive power demand of the
thyristors are protected by a very fast protection
15 kV system (QLine-control) or the limitation of
scheme integrated in the control system., The gate
the system voltage (V Line-control) to suitable
units and the controller provide functions for fast
values in case of system faults or is landing
limitation of overcurrents and overvoltages.to avoid
determine the required reactive power output of
damage to the GTOs In certain fault cases the
the SVG.
converter control blocks the firing pulses or trips the
• Capacitor voltage limitation protects the GTO-
feeder circuit breaker to prevent further damage to
thyristors against excessive voltage stresses.
the SVG equipment.
Since the SVG is operated with a constant pulse
pattern, the DC capacitor voltages depend on the
5. REAL-TIME SIMULATOR TESTS (TNA)
system voltage magnitude and the amount of
reactive power being exchanged: in capacitive
The control system was carefully tested in the
mode they become higher and in inductive mode
Siemens Real-Time Simulator (TNA) before
lower than under idle conditions.
delivered to the customer. The simulator comprises
• Isvclimitation: The GTOs can only carry a
high-quality R-L-C-elements combined with
device dependent maximum current The control
microelectronic components, a powerful digital data
unit observes the instantaneous value of the
acquisition system. and a real time digital simulator.
current Isvc and lowers the amount of reactive
For the Rejsby Hede SVG tests, a controlled
power to be exchanged, in case of excessive
electronic source will be used as the system infeed.
currents. It is taken into account, that the SVC
These high accuracy electronic sources were
converter can exchange twice the rated power for
specially developed for HVDC and SVC simulator
a few seconds.
tests. Any voltage, phase angle or frequency
• QConverter-control: Input quantities to this control
variation including unbalances or harmonic
unit are the reference value Qref and the actual
injections can easily be generated to test the control
value Q'Cl of instantaneous reactive power. The
even under extreme system conditions. Thus, with a
difference between them is controlled to zero by a

53
simple network representation, complex system 6. FIELD TESTS AND TRIAL OPERATION
disturbances can easily be simulated.
Commissioning is in 1997 where field tests are to
Figure 10 shows the network representation used for verify the performance of the SVG and allow
the TNA tests comprising the SVG, windmills and comparison of the simulation results with the field
the connected distribution system. tests under similar conditions. Main tests comprise

-
v ..;.c'3kV IV :
I..,..: 120AfV
~ 250AIV
v.; QV/V
:
- Verification of the continuous operating range
Step response tests
Switching of external reactive units and
energization of transformers
- Verification of control- based protection
1..... l.
v__ Islanding condition of the wind park

After commissioning a one year trial period is

planned where simulation studies will be compared
.-.'
1·2.4V11N
with field test measurements. Also during the trial
period wider application of SVGs on wind farms
connected to weak rural networks will be
Fig. 10 TNA test configuration investigated. After the trial period the project will be
concluded with an open workshop where the final
project results will be presented and discussed .
~ Tt8OI1 : 0....
············ ... 1 =
Sc:al 3.2 MVklDN
7, CONCLUSIONS
..... ._--:...,.r-- - - - - - - - - -l Trace 2: 00,.,
,I :!' _ _ _~.....- ; Scalz3.2MVAtJOiv

, The operation of wind turbines with asynchronous

. ... i Trace 3:!o generators requires reactive power which, if supplied
.-- -.-- --- . _.--- ....-.- -- -- .. - -.; $caj=7.2'.tm
- .. - - . -• • .? from the network, leads to low voltages and
increased losses. The voltage quality can be
improved considerably if the wind turbines' varying
: T""" : ~,.
I. $caj. 500 Mliv reactive power consumption is provided from a
dynamic compensator, which supplies reactive power
-:--:-_-,-. __.,--_ _ _ _ _ _ __ --'i r _: 10.....t);v corresponding to the varying consumption of the
Q..,-Step from ·2 ~Ar to +2 ~Ar
wind turbines, whereas only the constant no-load
Fig. II Switching from capacitive to inductive consumption of reactive power is provided by fixed
operation capacitors. In this way the risk of overvoltages at
islanding can also be reduced. Gate-turn off thyristor
! T.-.ce1 : a..,. (GTO) based Static Var Generators (SVG) can be
_ _ _/,r-- - - -- ------1 Sc:aIa3.2MVIv/DN
used to provide fast reactive power to eliminate any
,,---:-----
I ~ " . T~2:Oc...
Seal • 3.2 MVAtlOiv
possibility of self-excitation. Furthermore, SVGs can
be efficiently used for dynamic control of network
i. TI'8C83: &.Sc:aI-3.6°1'Ofv voltage, and thus to increase the size of wind farms
.•~.- •.. , .. -:-"'~ - ..-.. --• ..•. .- .. ,"" " ",-, I which are to be connected to existing weak electrical
,
networks without any need for network upgrading.
! Tr1IOe4: Lc. •• SVGs are an emerging technology and have not so
.,.
', I Sc:IIIoo SOO A/OiN
far been applied for such an application. The use of
-:-:----:7:"~--,---_:__:___:__-------" T _' 20 ........ dynamic compensation in wind park application
Switching of 2.5 WN lnduc:tive Load
requires detailed harmonic and control studies prior
Fig. 12 Switching of an inductive load
to installation to guarantee smooth implementation to
the system . The SVG will start operation in 1997.
Figures II and 12, respectively show TNA test
results .

54