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• Phase 1

Theme 3.4: Integration of energy storage

Contact: Dr Geoff Dutton, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, STFC

It is expected that the feasible and secure operating conditions of the integrated system can be considerably extended by provision of energy storage capabilities, which enhance system performance both in the steady state and during transients. This is needed to provide the frequency response of offshore wind farms. It is also essential to absorb the power discrepancy following a major disturbance in order to maintain stable operation. The opportunities and benefits of implementing energy storage will be investigated for the connection schemes and this will also affect the reliability and cost effectiveness of the schemes.

Research related to the present objective will cover three areas: requirements for storage capacity, power rating, cycling duty and location; choice of storage technologies and practicality of configuration in high voltage stages; and control strategy linking with turbine and offshore network control.

This work package will respond to the energy storage requirements identified partially in other packages, to establish an appropriate combination of complementary technologies and control strategies to provide the required steady-state performance and enhance the dynamic response of the integrated system.

Task 1  Assessment of applicable energy storage technologies will be undertaken for a range of solutions (i) avoiding turbines trips during network fault conditions, (ii) providing frequency response and stability enhancement, and (iii) enabling curtailment of wind farm output without loss of efficiency during grid network over-frequency events. Requirements specifications for three storage modules will be developed. Technologies considered will respectively include lead-acid and lithium batteries (high discharge rate, low cycling duty), flywheels (high power, high cycling duty), and redox flow cells (high energy). 

Task 2 Performance characteristics of energy storage sub-systems will be defined (incorporating limitations on charge, discharge and state-of-charge), to cover the diverse requirements. Simulink models will be developed for three types of energy storage sub-systems, and will include control interfaces. In collaboration with the academic partners, the models will be included in PSCAD power system models, to support tasks in other Work Packages.

Task 3 Simulation of power systems will incorporate storage models into PSCAD models and control schemes developed in other Work Packages to investigate power system performance improvements for a range of network and turbine faults and over-frequency events, and for a range of storage capacity and power ratings. Results will include measurement and optimisation of the storage operational envelopes.

Task 4 A cost-benefit analysis for storage solutions will be completed. Profiles of storage operation from simulation will be used to analyse storage lifetime expectations. Small-scale experiments on storage cells using scaled simulation results and wind turbine power profiles will be conducted to support available lifetime data and to validate available lifetime models. Feedback from manufacturers will also be included. Environmental and physical factors will be included in an overall Work Package report to inform selection of storage solutions by wind farm network developers.

26-Jan-2011