2019 IEEE PES Innovative Smart Grid Technologies Asia
Analysis of Coordinated Control Strategy for Large-scale Renewable Energy VSC-
HVDC Integration
Li Yan, Wang Zhibin, Chi Yongning, Wei Chunxia, Liu Hongzhi, Tang Haiyan
China Electric Power Research Institute
China State Key Laboratory of Operation and Control of Renewable Energy ＆ Storage Systems
Beijing, China
E-mail: liyan@epri.sgcc.com.cn
Abstract— When a large-scale renewable energy source is
connected to a VSC-HVDC grid and the VSC-HVDC system is
used for long-distance transmission, the operational
characteristics of the renewable energy and the VSC-HVDC
grid will affect each other. The adaptability of the renewable
energy to the VSC-HVDC grid will become an important
factor affecting the operation of the grid. China has built the
Nanao three-terminal VSC-HVDC project, the Zhoushan five-
terminal VSC-HVDC project, and the two- terminal of the
Xiamen VSC-HVDC project. Breakthroughs have been made
in the impact of AC/DC system interconnection and key
equipment technologies for VSC-HVDC transmission systems,
especially VSC-HVDC converters and control protection
technology. This paper focuses on the two main problems with
renewable energy island integration. The first problem is how
the VSC-HVDC grid provides a stable AC voltage to the
renewable energy source without AC grid support. The second
issue is how to maintain the energy balance of the VSC-HVDC
system in the event of a fault. When the receiving end fails, the
power energy cannot be sent out. When the sending end fails,
the energy will accumulate in the VSC-HVDC grid. The
resulting overvoltage and overcurrent problems require new
control protection technology to will be introduced in this
paper.
Keywords Coordinated Control Strategy, Large-scale
Renewable Energy, VSC-HVDC Integration
I. INTRODUCTION
In recent years, VSC-HVDC transmission technology
has developed rapidly. China has built the Nanao three-
terminal VSC-HVDC project, the Zhoushan five-terminal
VSC-HVDC project, and the two- terminal of the Xiamen
VSC-HVDC project. Breakthroughs have been made in the
impact of AC/DC system interconnection and key
equipment technologies for VSC-HVDC transmission
systems, especially DC converters and control protection
technology. Aiming at the problem of power transmission
from the 10 million-kilowatt wind power base in Northern
Hebei, comprehensive analysis of the AC grid structure in
the Beijing-Tianjin-Tangshan region, Zhangbei renewable
energy Power has become one of the options for the
adoption of the VSC-HVDC grid. Zhangbei Renewable
Energy VSC-HVDC sending and discharging
Demonstration Project is a major demonstration project of
the State Grid Corporation to solve the problem of
Zhangjiakou renewable energy transmission and
consumption. Through the construction of VSC-HVDC
978-1-7281-3520-5/19/$31.00 ©2019 IEEE
transmission projects with high voltage and large capacity,
Zhangjiakou renewable energy can be accommodation in a
wider range. At the same time, it utilizes the fast power
regulation capability of VSC-HVDC to solve the problem of
weak of renewable energy generation. After the completion
of the project, two VSC-HVDC converter stations in
Zhangjiakou Kangbao and Zhangbei will be used to collect
the abundant wind power and photovoltaic power generation
in Zhangjiakou.
When a large-scale renewable energy source is
connected to a VSC-HVDC grid and the VSC-HVDC
system is used for long-distance transmission, the
operational characteristics of the renewable energy and the
VSC-HVDC grid will affect each other. The adaptability of
the renewable energy to the VSC-HVDC grid will become
an important factor affecting the operation of the grid.
According to the pre-engineering design, in the Zhangbei
VSC-HVDC power grid project, Kangbao Station and
Zhangbei Station will be in the island operation mode for a
long time. According to the engineering design
requirements, the Zhangbei four-terminal VSC-HVDC grid
adopts the ring structure of the true bipolar half-bridge metal
return line grounding. The specific structure is shown in
Figure 1. The capacity of Zhangbei single-pole converter
station is 1500 MW, the capacity of single-pole converter of
Kangbao station is 750 MW, the capacity of single-pole
converter of Beijing station is 1500 MW, the capacity of
single-pole converter of Fengning station is 750 MW, DC
The overhead line has a rated current of 3000 A. In the
normal mode, Zhangbei and Kangbao are the renewable
energy sending terminals, the Beijing station is the receive
end, and Fengning is the regulation terminal, which is
responsible for balancing the power of the VSC-HVDC grid.
Positive electrode Overhead Line
Kang
Bao
Feng
Ning
Negative electrode
Zhang
bei Beijing
Figure 1. Zhangbei four-terminal flexible grid structure
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This paper focuses on the two main problems with engineering, the six bridge arms will be locked at the same
renewable energy island integration. The first problem is time, which will cause a large voltage and current impact on
how the VSC-HVDC grid provides a stable AC voltage to the DC transient and AC transients of the system. In order to
the renewable energy source without AC grid support. The reduce this impact, Zhangbei VSC-HVDC grid recommends
second issue is how to maintain the energy balance of the the use of split arm locking technology.
VSC-HVDC system in the event of a fault. When the
receiving end fails, the power energy cannot be sent out. C. DC voltage coordinated control strategy
When the sending end fails, the energy will accumulate in Zhangbei VSC-HVDC grid has two characteristics:
the VSC-HVDC grid. The resulting overvoltage and First, the long-distance overhead line is used. When the
overcurrent problems require new control protection line runs from closed-loop to open-loop, it may cause a
technology to will be introduced in this paper. large voltage drop on the overhead line. For example,
II. COORDINATED CONTROL STRATEGY FOR VSC-HVDC Zhangbei to Beijing line open-loop operation, The power
GRID AFTER RENEWABLE ENERGY INTEGRATION
from Zhangbei will turn to Kangbao and Fengning to flow
into Beijing. At this time, the DC voltage of the line will
A. VSC-HVDC line fault fast recovery technology increase due to the increased line impedance.
The second is to ensure that the DC circuit breaker on the
The VSC-HVDC grid operates in a flexible and versatile
line can operate normally, and the control line voltage
manner, and can operate in ring, open loop or de-run. The
cannot be raised too high. At present, the mainstream
faulty fast recovery control of the DC line allows the VSC-
scheme proposed by several well-known domestic control
HVDC grid to flexibly switch between these operating
equipment manufacturers mainly controls the DC voltage
modes. In order to prevent the short circuit from causing the
from the way of controlling the additional deviation slope
ring power grid to collapse, the Zhangbei VSC-HVDC grid
control.
needs to use DC circuit breaker and DC line fault fast
The control mode of the VSC-HVDC grid converter
recovery technology. The purpose is to identify the fault
station may be one of a constant power control mode, a
within a few ms, locate the fault, determine the action
constant DC voltage control mode or a constant AC voltage
breaker, and finally exit the trip. And coincide with certain
control mode. Under the premise of inter-station
conditions.
communication, the control mode can be switched by
There are two advantages to the fast recovery operation:
master-slave control. When there is no station
First, to ensure the transient stability of the AC grid to the
communication, the converter station detects the DC voltage
greatest extent. Second, the impact of voltage, current and
of the port of the station, and controls the takeover of the
power on the equipment during the rapid recovery process is
DC voltage control through the deviation slope control after
smaller, which helps to improve the safety and friendliness
the DC voltage exceeds the limit.
of the control of the VSC-HVDC grid equipment.
Taking Zhangbei VSC-HVDC grid as an example, for
When a fault occurs on the line, the circuit breaker at both
Kangbao converter station and Zhangbei converter station,
ends of the line must be disconnected first. A key
the DC voltage can not be controlled in the island mode, and
technology is that the circuit breaker that needs to be opened
can only be coordinated within the pole; in the networked
does not need to be reclosed. This involves the problem of
mode, there is the voltage support of the AC grid to the DC
permanent and transient fault judgment. If it is permanent,
grid. These two stations can be configured to coordinate
the faulty circuit breaker is not suitable. If it is a transient
control of DC voltage. As a power regulating terminal
fault, it is necessary to pass the two circuit breakers in the
connected to the AC grid, Fengning Station can be used as a
ring VSC-HVDC grid. The identification of transient faults
backup DC voltage control station. As the DC voltage
and permanent faults is mainly achieved by the function of
control main station connected to the AC grid, Beijing
the branch branch of the hybrid DC breaker. The basic
Station realizes the deviation slope control of DC voltage.
principle is: after the fault, the sub-module of the branch
When the power redundancy occurs in the Beijing station,
branch is gradually combined under the premise that the DC
the Fengning station will take over the DC voltage control
breaker is successfully disconnected. If the branch branch is
when the upper limit of the deviation is reached. Zhangbei
gradually closed, no sub-module overvoltage and over-
and Kangbao stand in the island mode and do not participate
transfer branch overcurrent are generated. In the case, it is
in the DC voltage coordination control between the stations.
considered that this fault is a transient fault; if an
overcurrent or submodule overvoltage of the branch branch D. Coordinated control of power transfer after unipolar
occurs during the gradual closing of the branch branch, then blocking
the fault is considered to be a permanent fault and cannot be The single-pole blocking of the VSC-HVDC grid
closed. converter station is a serious type of fault in operation. In
B. Branch arm locking technology order to ensure the safe and stable operation of the VSC-
HVDC grid equipment after locking, it needs to be
According to the past engineering experience, once the
completed by inter-pole or inter-station power transfer. The
fault occurs in the Xiamen and Zhoushan VSC-HVDC

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relevant control strategy is mainly determined by the control
mode of the single-pole blocking fault converter station, and
it needs to be determined according to the specific situation:
1) For a converter station with a constant power control
mode, in one case, the total input power of the two poles is
smaller than the capacity of the single pole converter, and at
this time, all the belts can be transferred. In another case, the
total power of the two poles is greater than the capacity of
the single-pole inverter. At this time, only part of the power
transfer can be realized. This process needs to be carried out
by transmitting the inter-electrode coordination of the
operating state and the power information, and the
communication delay cannot exceed 2ms.
2) For the inter-pole transfer belt of the island control
station, the constant AC voltage control mode is adopted.
For the Zhangbei VSC-HVDC grid, the power transmission
is determined by the renewable energy sending end, and its
transfer mode is also divided into two cases:
The total power of the two poles is less than the capacity
of the single pole converter. Once the unipolar loses voltage,
the power is sent from the other pole.
In the other case, when the total power of the two poles is
greater than the single pole commutation capacity, if all the
belts are not taken, the unipolar overcurrent will be caused.
The Zhangbei VSC-HVDC pole bipolar capacity power
upper limit is 3000MW, and the fault single pole lock
occurs in 1 second. Because it is an island control, the
power of the fault pole will be automatically transferred to
the other pole, and the bridge arm current will increase
rapidly. The current can rise to the overcurrent protection
action value of the inverter within milliseconds. If no
measures are taken, the inverter overcurrent protection
action will trip. The problem can not be solved by reducing
the wind field output or cutting the wind power. On the one
hand, the response speed of the wind power control
protection system cannot meet the requirements of the VSC-
HVDC grid characteristics, and on the other hand, the
characteristics of the VSC-HVDC converter and wind
turbine of each manufacturer. It is also different, so it is
difficult to achieve the interconnection of the control system.
In addition, it is not feasible to control the frequency of
the AC connect point by the inverter or reduce the voltage
of the port to reduce the power through the converter. First,
because the power of the regulation is limited, it is not
enough to reduce all of the power. Second, because the
power of the rising frequency regulation is limited, it is not
enough to reduce so much power, and the voltage drop will
also cause the converter to over-current. Therefore, to meet
the control requirements of the inverter in the island mode,
only the method of installing the energy consumption device
in the primary circuit can be adopted to effectively suppress
the overcurrent condition in which the power of the two
poles is greater than the capacity of the single pole
commutation.
The main function of the energy-consuming device is to
absorb the excess power when the single pole cannot be
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fully transferred. When the power is consumed, the upper-
level coordination control system is notified to orderly cut
the machine, while consuming excessive power, The control
system won the time for the order control of the wind farm.
The converter station of the energy-consuming device
transmits the operating state and power information. When
the energy-consuming device is put into operation, the input
signal needs to be transmitted to the inter-station
coordination control layer, and the renewable energy field
station is controlled by the coordination control layer for
orderly cutting. When the cutting machine is completed, the
energy-consuming device will be exits. According to the
simulation result, the whole process needs to leave 500ms,
that is, the input time of the energy-consuming device is
designed in 500ms. The impact and advantages and
disadvantages of the energy-consuming devices in different
locations in the VSC-HVDC grid are different. One is added
to the AC side and the other is added to the DC side. The
advantage added to the AC side is that the cost is low and
the footprint is small; the addition on the DC side is
equivalent to a resistor, and one switch must be connected,
and the IGBT must be connected in series, and the technical
difficulty will be relatively large.
3) For the converter station with the DC voltage control
mode, since its power is determined by the DC voltage, the
power transfer cannot be realized by the inter-pole transfer
between the stations, and can only be realized by the inter-
station power coordinated control. Each converter station
transmits information such as the working state and power
of each station's bipolar through the cooperative control
system. Because the inertia of the DC voltage is relatively
large, the communication delay can meet the requirements
within 3ms. The power transfer between stations is realized
by the inter-station coordinated control between the
converter stations. Taking Fengning pumping as an example,
it can cooperate with the renewable energy to eliminate the
peaks and fill the valleys, so as to achieve the fluctuation of
the renewable energy. The purpose of suppression is to
make the Beijing station get a smooth power sending as
much as possible. The Zhangbei four-end VSC-HVDC grid
consists of a positive ring grid, a metal grounding grid, and
a negative ring grid. When a ground fault occurs in the
negative line of Zhangbei to Beijing, the circuit breaker at
both ends of the line trips this line, and the negative ring
grid line from Zhangbei to Beijing is open-loop, thus
automatically generating power transfer, which may result
in an overload from the negative line of Kangbao to
Fengning. At this time, it is necessary to limit the output of
Zhangbei renewable energy on the one hand, and to reduce
the overload of the negative electrode by transferring a part
of the power of the negative electrode to the positive
electrode while the positive electrode capacity is allowed.
4) When the renewable energy island is connected to the
grid, the inverter can be operated under the VSC-HVDC
power control mode. If there is a line trip at this time, the
non-fault pole will go to the faulty pole power, if the
transfer capacity is insufficient. It will be automatically
diverted from the AC grid.
III. NEW TECHNOLOGY REQUIREMENTS FOR RENEWABLE
ENERGY VSC-HVDC GRID INTEGRATION
Since the operation mode of the island is the normal
operation mode of Zhangbei Station and Kangbao Station of
Zhangbei VSC-HVDC Grid Project, in terms of access
system regulations, the converter station operates in the
fixed AC voltage V/F mode under normal operating
conditions, and its output voltage quality can basically meet
the requirements of the national power quality standard. The
existing renewable energy (mainly wind power and
photovoltaic) connect system regulations can fully meet the
requirements of renewable energy VSC-HVDC grid-
connected operation, but under special conditions,
renewable energy and the electrical parameters between the
grids still interact.
A. Design of renewable energy fault ride though transient
current affecting converter station protection design
When a low voltage event occurs in the renewable energy
side AC system, that is, the voltage is lower than 0.9p.u., the
wind turbine will perform a low voltage ride through mode,
and the wind turbine will timely block the safety chain
information related to the grid and converter. Due to the
delay in the transmission of information during the low-
break start-up transient process (generally about 20ms), the
wind turbine is still in a constant power and large-state state,
and the current rises due to the voltage drop.
It can be seen from the low voltage ride-through test
curve of the doubly-fed wind turbine that the wind turbine
has a current spike within 3~5ms of the low-through mode,
and the amplitude will reach about 3 times of the reference
amplitude. This current will affect the operating
characteristics of the VSC-HVDC converter station, which
may cause overcurrent blocking at the converter station.
Therefore, when designing the overcurrent threshold of the
converter station, it is necessary to fully consider the
operating characteristics of the renewable energy unit,
leaving a certain margin to ensure that the overcurrent
protection of the converter station does not malfunction, and
the renewable energy and compliance system can be
realized coordination reliability.
B. The blocking of the VSC-HVDC converter station
affects the power transmission of renewable energy
The blocking fault of the converter station of the HVDC
line power is equivalent to the disconnection fault of the AC
system. That is, the renewable energy side AC collection
system loses the support of the converter station, and the
renewable energy power instantaneously loses the outflow
path, resulting in a power surplus phenomenon. If the
converter station is blocked due to the HVDC-side fault, the
renewable energy source will also provide a short-circuit
current to the HVDC fault point before the AC breaker is
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disconnected. The presence of the short-circuit current will
directly affect the magnitude of the AC voltage on the
renewable energy side. The quality of the waveform forces
the renewable energy into a fault crossing state.
The locking fault of the VSC-HVDC converter is
controlled by the terminal converter station. When there are
multiple converter stations at the receiving end, and the sum
of the output capacity of the normal working converter
station is greater than the output power of the renewable
energy, the system works normally. In the normal working
converter station outputs, when the sum of the capacities is
less than the output power of the renewable energy, the
renewable energy DC grid-connected system will have a
power surplus phenomenon, the most direct manifestation is
the over-voltage on the DC side of the DC system, which
requires an emergency start-up system to prevent the system
from being over-voltage.
Therefore, the blocking of the VSC-HVDC converter
station will affect the power transmission of renewable
energy and affect the stability of the renewable energy side
AC collection system. If the renewable energy field group is
still expected to be in operation during the lock-in of the
VSC-HVDC converter station, the renewable energy power
generation unit will be required to have a passive operation
mode to actively support the AC system voltage stability
and frequency stability.
In addition, since it is not expected that the renewable
energy field group will stop running during the lock-up of
the converter station, when the fault is eliminated, the
system will still have a recovery process, which will need to
consider the synchronization problem between the output
exchange of the converter station and the communication
system of the aggregation network, so new requirements are
placed on the control of the converter station.
C. The coupling between the renewable energy power
generation unit and the converter station affects the
stability of the system.
Since the renewable energy side AC system is supported
by the VSC-HVDC grid converter station, the DC converter
station belongs to the power electronics equipment.
Compared with the large system, the AC collection system
controlled by the converter station is equivalent to the weak
AC system. There are many power electronic equipments in
the weak AC system. There are problems such as switching
harmonic coupling, electrical parameter coupling, control
parameter coupling and response speed matching among
power electronic equipment, especially under low wind
speed and low light conditions. The mutual influence is
especially obvious.
Therefore, before designing a large-scale renewable
energy DC grid-connected system, it is necessary to perform
system-specific DC access analysis, clarify the impact and
formulate a system response strategy, that is, evaluate and
analyze the renewable energy field group.
 IV. CONCLUSION
When the renewable energy adopts the AC-DC parallel
transmission mode, the DC fault has little influence on the
renewable energy, and only the AC-side circuit breaker can
be cut off to realize the fault current cut-off. When the
renewable energy adopts the DC sending mode, due to the
DC fault, the current design control mode is that the whole
grid is out of service when the DC fault occurs, and the fault
is isolated and then restarted. Therefore, during the VSC-
HVDC converter station blocking, the renewable energy
side AC system will be loss of voltage support seriously
affects the stability of the AC system on the renewable
energy side. At the same time, since the renewable energy
power has no output path, the renewable energy power
generation unit will start the shift control, Chopper control
and crowbar control to realize the power self-consumption
and fault traversal of the renewable energy power
generation unit. In addition, considering the need to
synchronize with the renewable energy-side AC system
during the restart of the VSC-HVDC grid, it is necessary to
consider the cooperative operation technology with the AC
system in the renewable energy power generation base
during the restart of the VSC-HVDC grid.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This work is supported by SGCC technology project
<Research on Key Technologies of Multi-infeed Cascaded
Hybrid HVDC Transmission System >.
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