Power-quality issues and the need for reactive-power compensation in the grid integration of wind power

The integration of wind power into national grids introduces a unique set of challenges. The wind-turbine generators are incapable of supplying the voltage and frequency control and they absorb significant amounts of reactive power particularly when there is a fault in the system. The utilities, the world over, are making their own Grid Codes which must deal with these new challenges being imposed by the integration of wind power with their respective grids. This article addresses the technical issues which arise whenever the wind power is to be integrated into a national grid. These issues in general, and the power quality and the need for reactive-power compensation in particular are explored in the context of a realistic case study for a proposed 50 MW wind farm' integration to the Pakistan's national grid. The test systems are modelled in MATLAB/Simulink for this study. The article also highlights the role of static synchronous compensator (STATCOM) as a smooth reactive-power provider in improving the power quality of this wind-integrated power system. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.