Paper accepted for presentation at 2003 IEEE Bologna Power Tech Conference, June 23th-26th, Bologna, Italy

A Case Study of a Voltage Rise Problem Due to a Large Amount of Distributed Generation on a Weak Distribution Network
Sami Repo*, Hannu Laaksonen, Pertti Jrventausta Tampere University of Technology Finland Osmo Huhtala, Mikael Mickelsson Fortum Shknsiirto Oy Finland

AbstractThe paper is a case study about the integration of a relatively large amount of distributed generation into a weak distribution network. The main focus is on a comparison of methods to increase the integration capacity of distributed generation and on technical requirements from the distribution network companys point of view. The methods studied do not require major investments in the network. The paper considers voltage issues and the load transfer capability of a distribution network including wind power mills. The studies are based on real-life distribution network and load curve data. Keywordsdistributed generation, distribution network planning, voltage control, windmill

I. INTRODUCTION The rapid propagation of distributed generation in the medium voltage network has a major influence on distribution network planning and operation. This raises many new considerations, which are not usually considered in network planning. The experiences of distribution network companies of these topics have so far been very few. However, these topics will become a part of normal distribution network planning. This will necessitate developing the existing network information and planning systems in order to consider distributed generation in distribution network planning. Distribution networks are designed to operate radially without any generation on the network. The connection of distributed generation on the distribution network may have a significant impact on the flow of power (active and reactive), voltage level and fault currents [1]. The voltage control of radial distribution network is achieved using on-line tap changer at HV/MV substation and reactive power compensation. If a great amount of distributed generation is connected into the distribution network, the effectiveness of voltage regulation may be lost. The introduction of distributed generation will also increase the uncertainty of distribution network planning and operation. The voltage level of a radial distribution network may be evaluated by estimating the voltage drop based on load curves and load-flow calculations. The output power of distributed generation units is uncertain because it is usually based on
*

wind, outdoor temperature, sunshine or flow of water, which are independent of power demand. For example, the output power of a wind power unit may have some correlation with power demand in the long-run, but the stochastic nature of output power is strong in the short-term. Similarly the uncertainty of voltage level on distribution network will also increase. Furthermore, the evaluation of voltage level becomes more complicated due to increased complexity in the system. The propagation of distributed generation may be seen either as a change of load curves when production replaces a part of the load or as an addition of production units to the distribution network. The structure and operating principle of the distribution network will move towards a distribution system (active distribution network) with several active components along the network. The voltage drop of a medium voltage network has been one of the main planning issues in the rural distribution networks in Finland. There are networks where the length of 20 kV feeders is as much as 100 kilometers and the demand in sparsely populated areas is very low. The impedance of these feeders is remarkably high. If a large distributed generation unit is installed far from a primary substation, voltage rise problems may occur during low demand periods. The voltage rise problem is acute in coastal and skerries areas due to wind power installations. II. IMPACTS OF DISTRIBUTED GENERATION ON DISTRIBUTION NETWORK PLANNING A. Distribution network planning [2] The planning of a distribution network is affected by the initial state of the network, the future objectives of electricity distribution (e.g. quality level) and trends having an affect during the planning period. By taking into consideration these factors and the increased uncertainty due to distributed generation, planning will produce the actions needed to fulfil planning objectives as economically and flexibly as possible. This is not an easy task, and it is not fully supported by

Corresponding author: Sami Repo, Tampere University of Technology, P.O. box 692, FIN-33101 Tampere, FINLAND sami.repo@tut.fi, phone: +358-3-3115 2792, fax: +358-3-3115 3646

0-7803-7967-5/03/$17.00 2003 IEEE

present planning tools. The tasks of the planner are evaluation of the initial data, management of the entire planning task and creation of planning scenarios. The Finnish network information system also includes distribution network planning and calculation functions, which are needed to manage the huge amount of network, customer, financial and other data to make routine calculations on behalf of planners [3]. The objectives of distribution network planning are to minimise costs during a planning period. The costs consist of investment, operation, outage and maintenance costs. The constraints on optimisation are the thermal limits of lines, cables and devices, short circuit capacity, allowed voltage drop during normal and disturbed conditions and reliability of a distribution system. The integration of distributed generation into a distribution network changes both the costs and the constraints on distribution network planning. Nowadays, when networks are already complete almost everywhere, network design increasingly consists of restructuring planning. The most important reasons for network restructuring are too high voltage drop, too low voltage stiffness, too high costs of network losses, weak mechanical structures, weak electrotechnical condition, too low reliability of power delivery or too low short-circuit capability. The monitoring calculation of the network information system can be used to prioritise restructuring targets. In monitoring calculation voltage drops and fault currents are calculated based on the network data and load curve models of different customer groups. In addition the voltage drops and load currents for various exceeding probabilities can be determined. The target of monitoring calculation is to define an electrotechnical state of existing or simulated networks in the present or simulated maximum load situation. The utilisation of existing networks can be made more effective by collecting data from network state and by developing data processing systems. At the same time over-dimensioning can be avoided. B. New requirements for network information system In weak distribution networks over-voltage problems are likely to occur when distributed generation output is at its maximum and demand at its minimum. Due to this the estimation of maximum demand will no longer be enough. Information on the behaviour of the production (e.g. wind power) should be collected to be able to estimate its magnitude in the near future. In addition to the utilisation period of maximum load, the utilisation period of minimum load should be established, too. The planner may want to know how often the minimum demand and maximum production planning principle actually occurred, when it occurred and how the operation of the system might be improved at those hours. The planning methods in existing network information systems are developed for traditional medium voltage networks, i.e. networks are radial and there is no distributed generation unit in the network. Consideration of minimum demand periods should be one planning task in addition to a planning method based on maximum demand.

One straightforward solution to general network planning including distributed generation units can be determined. It is based on a selected production level and the calculation of hourly load-flows based on load curves for one year or a planning period. This study is then repeated several times with different production levels. The planning report should consider all constraints. The execution time of load-flow for partly meshed network is much faster than load-flow for meshed networks, when the network includes few meshes and voltage sources (generators). III. CASE STUDY The case studies were computed with a distribution network of Fortum Shknsiirto Oy in south-west Finland, including wind turbines (4*0.75 MW, equipped with frequency converters) in the archipelago skerries. Wind turbines are to be connected to the Kasns feeder 22 km away from the HV/MV substation. The distribution network in this area is relatively weak, because the length of the Kasns feeder is long (71 km) and the amount of load is small. There are also considerable restrictions on network expansions for environmental reasons. The test case considers distribution network transfer capability, and voltage control and management. The calculations are based on real hourly load curves and network data. The network studied (Figure 1) consists of one HV/MV substation, which feeds two medium voltage feeders (Kasns and Byholmen). The other short medium voltage feeders of the substation were not included in the network model used. Calculations were carried out with an equivalent network, where some of the branch conductors of the medium voltage network are omitted. In the PowerWorld [4] case the constant current loads were located in the middle of a certain part of the feeder. These loads were summed up from that particular part of the feeder (based on different customer groups). For the estimation of load demand customers annual unit consumption and customer group based load curves are needed. The complete load model includes mean values and variations of power demand for every hour of the year. The models are presented as 365*24 tables, also known as topographies. The load curve models for 46 different customer groups published by the Association of Finnish Electric Utilities are the most extensive collection of load models collected in Finland [5]. The voltage of the lower-voltage side of the HV/MV transformer (110/21 kV, 16 MVA) was maintained at 20.4 kV with on-line tapchanger. Based on data from the network information system of Fortum Shknsiirto Oy, minimum load of the Kasns feeder is 364 kW (Sunday 18 August 03:00 a.m., simultaneously the load of the Byholmen feeder is 350 kW) and maximum load is 1174 kW (Monday 18 February 12:00 p.m., the load of the Byholmen feeder is simultaneously 800 kW). The windmills will be equipped with frequency converters, which allows power factor control between 0.92 1.00 inductive or capacitive. The Byholmen feeder is 53 km long and its calculated minimum load is 300 kW and maximum load is 1490 kW.

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Figure 1. Study case minimum load of the Kasns feeder and maximum allowed production of wind mill. Figure 1 represents the minimum load of the Kasns feeder and maximum allowed production of the windmill in the study case. The lower and upper limits for the medium voltage network in the case studied are 19 and 21 kV respectively [6]. The upper limit would be exceeded in the connection point of windmill, if the output power were higher than 1.12 MW although the generator consumes reactive power at full capability. The reactive power consumed at the generator comes from a 44 km long sea cable between nodes 18-7-6 and a few other shorter cables. It is also worth noting that 0.32 MW and 0.82 MVAr of active and reactive power respectively are flowing from medium to high voltage network. A. Control of power factor In suitable wind conditions voltage at the wind turbines connection point may rise over 21 kV if the wind turbines production is not limited. It is possible to increase active power production by controlling the power factor of the wind turbines and maintaining the connection point voltage under the limit [7,8]. However, this is not a very effective method in this case, because when the power factor is 0.92ind (maximum limit for inductive part) and 1.0, the active power production during minimum loading condition of the Kasns feeder must be limited to 1.1 MW and 0.85 MW respectively. During the maximum loading condition it is possible to produce 2.0 MW and 1.45 MW, when the power factor is 0.92ind and 1.0 respectively. B. Compensation Another option to achieve the maximum production capability is compensation. A sea cable connected close to windmills produces about 0.9 MVAr reactive power during normal voltage conditions. If a reactor is connected into the connection point of the windmills, the voltage of the connection point may be reduced. The nominal size of the reactor should be 1.8 MVAr for minimum demand case to achieve the maximum production capability (3 MW) with power factor 0.92ind. In that case 2.2 MVAr of reactive power is taken from high voltage network (payments of reactive power charges will increase considerably) or from compensation capacitors at the HV/MV substation. The use of the reactor doubles the active power losses of whole distribution network. C. Voltage setting at the HV/MV substation By changing the set value of the tap changer it is possible to drop the voltage (from 20.4 kV) on the lower voltage side of the HV/MV transformer [8]. In that case the active power production of the windmills may be increased because the voltage at the connection point does not exceed the maximum limit. Simultaneously the voltage at the Byholmen feeder is not allowed to drop below minimum voltage limit. The results presented in Tables I and II prove the effectiveness of voltage setting reduction. Maximum production of windmills is allowed in all loading conditions if appropriate voltage is maintained at the HV/MV substation. The minimum voltage of the Byholmen feeder is always

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higher than 19 kV, especially if the power factor of the windmills is controlled simultaneously. Table I presents the results of the load-flow calculations for a maximum loading condition of the Byholmen feeder when the voltage setting of the HV/MV substation is reduced. The case was studied in order to consider the maximum voltage drop at the feeder not including production unit. The minimum voltages of the Kasns feeder are from cases where wind production is zero. That case must be considered due to the possibility of a windmill stopping in full output power and maximum loading condition. When the voltage of the HV/MV substation is reduced to 19.8 kV, the maximum allowed production is 3 MW. In that case the voltage of the Byholmen feeder is at the allowed limits. If the windmill stops in that case, the voltage of the Kasns feeder is also at the allowed limits. TABLE I. Minimum voltage of the Byholmen and Kasns feeders and maximum allowed production at the maximum loading condition of the Byholmen feeder when the voltage setting of the HV/MV substation is decreased. Voltage at Minimum Minimum Maximum substation voltage at voltage at allowed [kV] Byholmen Kasns production feeder [kV] feeder[kV] [MW] 20,40 19.74 20.18 1.90 (0.92 ind.) 20.20 19.53 19.98 2.35 (0.92 ind.) 20.00 19.34 19.79 2.80 (0.92 ind.) 19.80 19.14 19.56 3.00 (0.95 ind.) 19.70 19.04 19.48 3.00 (0.98 ind.) 19.60 18.94 19.37 3.00 (0.99 ind.) Table II represents the results of load-flow calculations for a minimum loading condition of the Kasns feeder. This study is needed to find out the maximum allowed production considering voltage rise due to wind production. The reduction of the HV/MV substation voltage is again limited by the voltage drop of the Byholmen feeder. The voltage of the HV/MV substation may be decreased to a much lower value in minimum than in maximum loading condition. The maximum production with power factor 0.92ind. will be achieved with an HV/MV substation voltage of 19.60 kV. The minimum voltage of the Byholmen feeder is 19.49 kV in that case, which well above the minimum voltage limit. TABLE II. Minimum voltage of the Byholmen feeder and maximum allowed production at the minimum loading condition of the Kasns feeder when the voltage setting of the HV/MV substation is decreased. Voltage at Minimum voltage Maximum allowed substation at Byholmen production [MW] [kV] feeder [kV] cos=1.00 cos=0.92ind. 20.40 20.29 0.85 1.10 20.20 20.10 1.15 1.60 20.00 19.90 1.50 2.05 19.80 19.70 1.85 2.50 19.60 19.49 2.20 3.00 19.40 19.28 2.55 3.00 19.20 19.09 2.90 3.00 19.10 19.00 3.00 3.00

D. Ring-operation of distribution network There is also a method to increase the integration capacity of distributed generation on a weak distribution network which is based on ring operation of the distribution network [9]. The two feeders may be connected or disconnected as a ring using a fast switch-disconnector along the medium voltage network. The Kasns and Byholmen feeders may be used in this way if existing automatic disconnectors are replaced with fast switch-disconnectors. The protection of the feeders can be based on existing protection devices if extra delay (> 100 ms) is allowed in the protection [10]. The protection of feeders includes two steps, which are the disconnection of ring when a fault occurs and the disconnection of the faulted (radial) feeder with the existing protection devices. The ring operation of the Kasns and Byholmen feeders by closing the line between nodes 12 and 16 allows 1.9 MW and 3 MW power to be produced with power factor 0.92ind during minimum and maximum loading conditions respectively. The reactor needed at the ring operated minimum demand case is 1.3 MVAr to achieve the maximum production capability. E. Consideration of the stochastic nature of wind speed The average wind has seasonal and daily variations. The determination of average power and power variation of a windmill requires long term measurements of power and wind at the location. The purpose of statistics is to define a probability distribution of wind at the connection point for each month. These distributions may be used to evaluate how often the minimum demand and maximum production planning principle is valid. Of course the stochastic nature of wind makes it possible to have a wide variety of wind conditions during a one month. However, the probability distribution of wind may be used to show that the output power of a windmill is not more than x MW for 95 % of the time. The total energy production of a windmill may be increased if the maximum production used in distribution network planning studies is reduced e.g. for 95 % level. The output capacity of a windmill may be higher when the stochastic nature of wind is considered in the network planning than when a deterministic planning approach is applied. The limitation of windmill output power during possible over-voltage conditions may be achieved by using windmill terminal voltage to control the output power of frequency converters in this case. If we assume that the average wind speed is 7 m/s and the standard deviation is 1 m/s [11] (these are fairly good estimates for the location of windmills for minimum demand period), the 95 % upper confidence limit is 2.04 MW in this case (Figure 2). In that case the size of the reactor is only 0.4 MVAr and 0 MVAr for radial and ring-operated network respectively. If the average wind speed is 7 m/s but the standard deviation is 2 m/s, then the 95 % upper confidence limit is 3 MW i.e. the maximum production capacity. In that case the use of probability distribution of wind with 95 % confidence limit does not give any advantage compared to minimum demand maximum production planning principle. It should

also be noted that the control of windmill output power by a network company is a basic requirement of this method.
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Figure 2. Determination of 95 % upper confidence limit for windmill output power from wind statistics. IV. VOLTAGE CONTROL OF A DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM A. Distribution system References [1,12-14] have introduced methods for distribution network voltage control using terms like active distribution system, intelligent networks and co-ordination of voltage control. These methods are based on system wide co-ordination of voltages using remote control, communication and optimisation. The voltage control of distribution network may become far more complicated using these methods than it is today. However, the control of voltage becomes more difficult with existing methods when the number of active devices at the distribution network increases. The distributed generation units may also benefit voltage control to achieve more accurate and steady voltage level along the distribution network. The advantages of new voltage control methods are dependent on the terms of connection, the terms of ancillary services provided by production units and the costs of these services from a network companys point of view. In practical cases it is difficult to decide about moving towards an active distribution system because the penetration of distributed generation is not predictable enough. B. Proposed voltage control system The proposed system for voltage control is based on local control of a wind power unit and co-ordination of local control with distribution network voltage control via an HV/MV substation tap changer or distribution network management system. The control of the windmill power factor is the first step, i.e. the control of the power factor is continuous and fast. The control of the power factor is based on local voltage in order to keep voltage between the minimum and maximum limits. When the voltage is between these limits, the power factor is maintained as close to the unity power factor as possible. The power factor may be controlled with a frequency converter

and compensation devices at the connection point. If an extensive amount of reactive power is likely to be consumed, a reactive power controller may be needed in order to decide if the reduction of power production is more favourable than consumption of the extensive amount of reactive power. The second step is the reduction of power production if voltage exceeds the upper limit of voltage. This step is much slower than the first step, thus a short over-voltage does not lead directly to reduction of output power. The purpose of this step is to provide a secure way to maintain an acceptable voltage level at the distribution network and ensure maximum power production throughout the network, loading and production conditions. The control of output power allows the output capacity of a windmill to be increased thereby increasing the production of wind energy. The output capacity of a windmill may be determined by considering the stochastic nature of wind speed. However, it must be noted that the reduction of output power is possible in this case in a very simple way based on local voltage, because the network includes just one production unit. If the network includes several units at different locations, the control signal of output power reduction may need to be changed. The production of wind energy may be further increased when the voltage control of the production unit and distribution network are co-ordinated. The co-ordination may be implemented e.g. by controlling the voltage setting of the HV/MV substation. In this case the voltage at the windmill connection point is a sufficient measure to control the voltage setting as shown in Section III. The delay in the voltage setting adjustment must be higher than the delay in the power factor control. The voltage setting limits of the HV/MV substation are pre-computed using the deterministic minimum loading maximum production planning principle. The purpose of voltage setting control is to prevent over-voltage conditions and ensure conditions for maximum energy production i.e. to maximise the network transfer capability for the current operational situation. In more complicated cases information is needed about the output power of production units in order to calculate an operational condition of the distribution network using the distribution network management system [15]. The distribution network management system is capable of on-line estimation of network voltages using the topology of a network, SCADA measurements and load curves. The simulation feature of the management system may be used to find a load-flow solution where network voltages are within the upper and lower limit. The control of the voltage setting may be complemented with voltage measurements from different points of the network in order to ensure an acceptable voltage level at feeders not including production units. The voltage measurement may be provided by smart energy meters integrated as a part of distribution automation system [16]. The voltage drop of feeders is an uncertain factor in spite of on-line estimation of network voltages due to uncertainty of loads. Ring operation of the distribution network may also be used to provide greater freedom of control actions thereby causing fewer restrictions on power production.

IV. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS The case studies of wind power integration into a real-life distribution network were described. The integration of relatively large capacity of wind power into a weak distribution network may cause a voltage rise problem during low demand periods. The basic load curve based studies of this case were done to find the possible solutions for the problem from the technical point of view. The methods studied were control of the power factor, compensation, reduction of HV/MV substation voltage setting, ring-operated distribution network and consideration of the stochastic nature of wind to find the 95 % upper confidence limit for windmill output power. The reduction of the voltage setting and the consideration of the stochastic nature of wind are the most promising and interesting methods. However, the application and the acceptance of these methods need more detailed studies, field tests and measurements. Table III presents an overview of the results of the case studies. It is evident that the reduction of the HV/MV substation voltage setting is the most efficient method to increase the network transfer capability in this case. However, the willingness of network companies to reduce substation voltage settings is very limited due to fear of bad power quality elsewhere. The existing distribution automation systems are not capable of the voltage control method proposed in Section IV. The consideration of the stochastic nature of wind in distribution network planning moves the point of consideration from power to energy. This means that the power of a production unit must be controlled on-line. This method may be interesting from a production companys point of view, because the connection capacity has an effect on network connection changes and possible incomes from energy sales. The ring operation of a distribution network is an interesting method because it is an efficient way to balance voltage levels at the different feeders. The limitations of the method are the increment of fault currents and the reduction of protection operation time. The control of the production unit power factor is a minimum requirement for voltage control. This may be enhanced with additional compensation devices. However, the flow of reactive power from substation to windmill connection point increases the network losses remarkably in this case. Table III. Network transfer capabilities of case studies. Cases Minimum demand Maximum demand (subtitles of case case Chapter III) * + * + A 1.1 2.0 B 3.0 1.8 3.0 0.9 C 3.0 3.0 D 1.9 3.0 E 2.04 0.4 2.04 0 * The maximum allowed production capability [MW]. + The nominal size of reactor to achieve the maximum production capability [MVAr].

VI. REFERENCES [1] Jenkins, N. et al., Embedded generation, IEE Power and Energy series 31, London, UK, 2000, 273 p. [2] Lakervi, E. and Holmes, E.J., Electricity distribution network design, IEE Power series 21, 1995, London, UK, 325 p. [3] Administrator Manual, Distribution Management System Open++ Opera v.3.3, 2002. [4] PowerWorld simulator Users guide, version 7.0, 2000. [5] A. Seppl, Load research and load estimation in electricity distribution, VTT Publications 289, Espoo, Finland, 1996, 118 p. [On-line] Available: http://www.enease.fi/asepthes.pdf [6] Voltage characteristics of electricity supplied by public distribution systems, Standard EN 50160, 2000. [7] Bompard, E., et al., Voltage control in radial systems with dispersed generation, Proceedings of IEEE PowerTech, Budapest, Hungary, September, 1999. [8] Masters, C.L., Voltage rise the big issue when connecting embedded generation to long 11 kV overhead lines, Power Engineering Journal, February 2002, pp. 5-12. [9] Repo, S. et al., A method to increase the integration capacity of distributed generation on weak distribution network, Proceedings of 17th International Conference on Electricity Distribution (Cired), Barcelona, Spain, May 2003. [10] Nikander, A. et al., Utilizing the ring operation mode of medium voltage distribution feeders, Proceedings of 17th International Conference on Electricity Distribution (Cired), Barcelona, Spain, May 2003. [11] Laakso, T. and Holttinen, H., Wind energy statistics in Finland - Monthly statistics. [On-line] Available: http://www.vtt.fi/pro/pro4/pro42/tuulitilastot/monthly.htm [12] Laycock, W.J., Intelligent networks, Power Engineering Journal, February 2002, pp. 25-29. [13] Caldon, R., et al., Voltage control under minimum losses constraint in distribution systems with dispersed generation, Proceedings of the IASTED International Conference Power and Energy Systems, Rhodes, Greece, July 2001. [14] Choi, J.-H. and Kim, J.-C., Advanced voltage regulation method of power distribution systems interconnected with dispersed storage and generation systems (revised), IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, Vol. 16, No. 2, April 2001, pp. 329-334. [15] Verho P., et al., An intelligent support system for distribution network management, International Journal of Engineering Intelligent Systems for Electrical Engineering and Communications, Volume 4, Number 4, December 1996, pp. 219-227. [16] Mkinen, A., et al., Comprehensive development of power quality management and evaluation of voltage dip problems, Proceedings of 17th International Conference on Electricity Distribution (Cired), Barcelona, Spain, May 2003.