Effects of spacing in wave energy converter arrays on voltage flicker

摘要

This paper explores smoothing in the net real power generated by arrays of point absorber type wave energy converters (WECs) brought about by spacing WECs appropriately within the array. Smoothing is measured by assessing the voltage flicker introduced by injecting the generated power into electricity networks. Uniformly spacing WECs at 0.25λ_(peak), where λ_(peak) is the wavelength corresponding to the peak frequency of the sea spectrum, was found to produce a smoother net real power when compared to spacing the WECs 0.5λ_(peak) apart. The sea spectrum used to model the sea states, the random phase set used to generate the wave elevation time-series and the inertia of the generator used in the variable speed mode affect the smoothing due to optimal spacing and are discussed in the paper. The context of the study is presented by analysing wave data recorded over two years at a site off the North West coast of Scotland. It is anticipated that the inferences drawn from this paper will help developers decide configurations of arrays of WECs and help overcome some of the supply voltage quality constraints that the electrical network places on the size of arrays that can be connected to it.