Impact of Synchronous Condensers’ Ratings on Mitigating Subsynchronous Oscillations in Wind Farms

Abstract

Subsynchronous oscillations have occurred in wind farms due to the high penetration of converter-based technology in power systems and may potentially lead to grid instability. As an effective solution, synchronous condensers, with their ability to control voltage and inject reactive power in the power system, are increasingly being adopted, as they can lead to the mitigation of such oscillations in weak grid conditions. However, the impact of synchronous condensers’ power ratings on system stability is a topic that requires further investigation. In fact, an improper selection of a synchronous condenser’s rating will not extinguish existing subsynchronous oscillations and may even cause the emergence of new oscillatory phenomena. This paper presents a novel examination of the impact that the synchronous condenser’s power rating has on the small-signal stability of a wind farm with existing subsynchronous oscillations while being connected to a weak grid. The wind farm’s model is developed using state-space modeling, centering on grid interconnection and incorporating the state-space submodel of a synchronous condenser to show its impact on subsynchronous oscillation mitigation. The stability analysis determines the optimal synchronous condenser’s power ratings for suppressing these oscillations in the wind farm model. The findings are corroborated through time domain simulations and fast-Fourier transformation (FFT) analysis, which further validate the stability effects of a synchronous condenser’s rating.