A review of power quality compatibility of wind energy conversion systems with the South African utility grid

摘要

South Africa has embarked on a drive for Independent Power Producers (IPPs) to inject power into the electrical utility grid. However, IPP wind farms produce voltage fluctuations, harmonic distortion and flicker emissions which reportedly degrade the power quality. As a result, there is a level of uncertainty with regard to the power quality compatibility of wind energy conversion systems (WECS) with the South African utility grid. A review of the current research techniques reveals that increasing penetration of wind power generation will have an adverse impact on power quality at the point of common coupling (PCC). Now that grid connected large scale wind farms are in operation, an opportunity exists to install power quality recorders and use actual field measurements to gain an understanding of the compatibility of WECS with the South African utility grid. The findings will go a long way to assist certification authorities in refining future revisions of the grid code requirements for connection of the wind farms in order to ensure reliable power quality is delivered.