Smoothing of Wind Farm Power Outputs

摘要

In this paper, the power smoothing phenomenon observed in wind farm outputs is discussed. The fluctuations from individual wind turbines may be high but there is a reduction in the power variability due to the aggregation of power from all of the turbines in a wind farm. Such a power smoothing effect can be observed in any wind farm data and hence, it becomes necessary to explore its various contributing factors. It is a natural phenomenon that occurs as a result of the fact that the wind turbines in a wind farm often do not experience the same mean wind speed or turbulence of the same statistical distribution. Such a phenomenon helps in reduction of voltage fluctuations and other related problems caused by power fluctuations of individual wind turbines. Moreover, it has been observed that wind farms facilitate smoothing of high frequency power fluctuations even for shorter distances between the turbines. From a power system point of view, this can have a profound effect on the system frequency and other factors related to power quality. This paper presents an overview of various essential factors that affect the power smoothing phenomenon and the output fluctuation characteristics of wind farms.