1. Towards the Smart Wind Farm
Selection and Application of Power Electronics
and Internet-Enabled Solutions for Optimized
Integration of Wind Power into the Smart Grid
by
Pedro Esteban
Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of
Master of Business Administration (MBA)
Beuth University of Applied Sciences
Department of Business Administration and Social Sciences
Program: MBA Renewables
06.09.2016

2. TOWARDS THE SMART WIND FARM 3
Abstract
All countries set energy goals for the future. Governments are increasing the share of
renewable energy generation to achieve these goals in a sustainable way. To meet these
ambitious goals, among other measures, large onshore and offshore wind farms need to
be built and connected to the grid. These large wind farms are comparable with
conventional power generation stations and they are a key solution to produce and
deliver large amounts of clean energy in the near future.
At the same time, traditional electric power systems are facing a major transformation
into more reliable, efficient and flexible systems: the Smart Grid. The key drivers for
this transformation are the need to integrate renewable energies and distributed
generation, the need to improve energy efficiency and consumers’ desire to have better
control over their energy consumption.
Technical, economic, policy and regulatory challenges appear when connecting large
amounts of wind power to the grid. Wind farm developers and grid operators face
major challenges to integrate and optimize the operation of these new generation sites,
often resulting in the need to install extra electrical equipment, control systems and
predictive generation and scheduling software to meet grid integration requirements.
Current and future wind farms could be developed into smart wind farms with the
support of different emerging technologies:
 Internet-enabled technologies applied to optimize the design and operation of
wind turbine generators (WTGs) and wind farms like the Industrial Internet of
Things (IIoT) and cloud computing.
 Power electronics technologies applied to the integration of the wind farms into
the grid like High-Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) systems, Flexible AC
Transmission Systems (FACTS) and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS).
By developing smart wind farms, investments in grid infrastructure can be reduced or
avoided, the generation output and performance of wind farms could be improved, and
the technical, economic, policy and regulatory challenges of wind power integration
can be overcome.

3. TOWARDS THE SMART WIND FARM 4
A challenge for the Smart Grid is the integration, operation and control of distributed
energy generation resources like large scale wind farms. Smart wind farms will be an
important part of the future electric power systems and solutions need to be found for
optimizing their integration into the future Smart Grid. This thesis focuses on how to
achieve optimal renewables integration while building the Smart Grid of the future.
The thesis is developed in four parts. The first part of the thesis is an overview on the
current situation and trends of renewable energies, wind power and electric power
systems, presenting the Smart Grid concept.
The second part of the thesis introduces the challenges of integrating wind farms into
the electrical grid, including the difficulties in maintaining a high generated output
power and ensuring that high quality wind power can be connected to the grid in the
manner demanded by ever stricter grid codes. Grid code technical requirements for
wind farms are also discussed in this part.
In the third part of the thesis the possible solutions for these challenges are presented,
reviewing the latest internet-enabled and power electronics technologies that could be
used for improving the performance of WTGs and wind farms and optimizing their
connection into the Smart Grid.
The fourth part of the thesis presents the current situation and future developments of
renewable energy, wind power and electric power systems in Australia and in the State
of Victoria. It also presents a case study on Ararat wind farm (located in the State of
Victoria) where the previously described solutions are applied. Advantages and
disadvantages are analyzed and discussed with special attention to how the applied
solutions can help to overcome power quality problems of the wind farm as demanded
by most grid operators nowadays.
Keywords:
Renewable energy, power generation, power transmission and distribution, Power
Quality, grid integration, renewable integration, HVDC, FACTS, BESS, SVC,
STATCOM, Synchronous Condenser, Series Capacitors, wind farm, grid stability,
Smart Grid, energy storage, Industrial Internet of Things, cloud computing, grid code
requirements, energy efficiency, energy cloud.

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Table of contents
Preface 2
Abstract 3
Table of contents 5
List of figures 11
List of tables 15
Acronyms and symbols 16
1 Introduction 18
1.1 Background 18
1.2 Problem statement 19
1.3 Existing research and literature review 19
1.4 Research purpose 21
1.5 Research questions 22
1.6 Thesis hypotheses 22
1.7 Research methodology 23
1.7.1 Interpretative research 23
1.7.2 Case study research 24
1.8 Theoretical approach 25
1.9 Investigation period 27
1.10Thesis boundaries 27
1.11Thesis outline 28
2 Renewable energy 29
2.1 Introduction 29
2.1.1 Current situation of renewable energy 30
2.1.2 Policy landscape 31
2.1.3 Sustainable energy 33
2.2 Renewable energy development 34
2.2.1 Growth of renewables 34
2.2.2 Investments in renewable energies 35
2.2.3 Renewable energy targets 36
2.3 Summary 36
3 Wind power 37

5. TOWARDS THE SMART WIND FARM 6
3.1 Introduction 37
3.1.1 Wind power as energy source 37
3.1.2 World’s wind power resources 37
3.1.3 Current situation of wind power 39
3.1.4 Policy landscape 39
3.2 Wind power development 40
3.2.1 Growth of wind power 40
3.2.2 Investments in wind power 41
3.2.3 Wind power trends 42
3.3 Summary 43
4 Electric power systems 44
4.1 Electric power systems development 44
4.1.1 Traditional electric power system 44
4.1.2 Trends in electric power systems 46
4.1.3 Intelligent energy efficiency 47
4.1.4 Future electrical grid 48
4.2 Smart Grid 49
4.2.1 Introduction 49
4.2.2 Traditional grid versus Smart Grid 51
4.2.3 Smart Grid and renewable energies 51
4.2.4 Smart Grid integration of wind farms 52
4.3 Summary 53
5 Challenges of grid integration of wind farms 54
5.1 Integration aspects of wind power 54
5.1.1 Introduction 54
5.1.2 Grid integration of wind power 54
5.1.3 Wind power and the electric power system 56
5.2 Power Quality and wind power 58
5.2.1 Power Quality 58
5.2.2 Power Quality disturbances caused by wind farms 60
5.2.2.1 Harmonics 60
5.2.2.2 Flicker 61
5.2.2.3 Voltage dips 62
5.2.2.4 Reactive power compensation 62

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5.3 Grid codes and wind power 63
5.3.1 Grid codes requirements for wind farms 63
5.3.2 Basic requirements for wind farms 64
5.3.2.1 Tolerance 64
5.3.2.2 Reactive power control 65
5.3.2.3 Active power control 65
5.3.2.4 Protective devices 65
5.3.2.5 Power Quality 66
5.4 Solutions for integrating wind power into the grid 66
5.5 Summary 67
6 Internet-enabled technologies for optimization of WTGs and wind farms 68
6.1 Introduction 68
6.2 Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) 70
6.2.1 Introduction 70
6.2.2 IIoT and renewable energies 73
6.2.3 IIoT used for grid integration of wind farms 74
6.3 Cloud computing 76
6.3.1 Introduction 76
6.3.2 Cloud computing and renewable energies 78
6.3.3 Cloud computing used for grid integration of wind farms 80
6.4 Summary 81
7 Power electronics technologies for grid integration of wind farms 82
7.1 Introduction 82
7.2 High-Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) systems 82
7.2.1 Introduction 82
7.2.2 Configurations 83
7.2.3 Converter technologies 84
7.2.3.1 Line-commutated converters (LCC) technology 84
7.2.3.2 Voltage Sourced Converter (VSC) technology 85
7.2.4 HVDC systems and renewable energies 86
7.2.5 HVDC systems used for grid integration of wind farms 87
7.3 Flexible AC Transmission Systems (FACTS) 88
7.3.1 Introduction 88
7.3.2 FACTS solutions 90

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7.3.2.1 Static VAR Compensator (SVC) 90
7.3.2.2 Static Synchronous Compensator (STATCOM) 91
7.3.2.3 Synchronous Condenser 92
7.3.2.4 Series Capacitors 93
7.3.3 FACTS and renewable energies 94
7.3.4 FACTS used for grid integration of wind farms 95
7.4 Energy Storage Systems (ESS) 96
7.4.1 Introduction 96
7.4.2 Energy storage technologies 98
7.4.2.1 Pumped Hydroelectric Storage (PHS) 99
7.4.2.2 Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) 100
7.4.2.3 Flywheel Energy Storage (FES) 101
7.4.2.4 Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) 101
7.4.3 ESS and renewable energies 102
7.4.4 ESS used for grid integration of wind farms 104
7.5 Summary 106
8 Renewable energy, wind power and electric power systems in Australia 107
8.1 Renewable energy in Australia 107
8.1.1 Introduction 107
8.1.2 Current situation 107
8.1.3 The Renewable Energy Target (RET) scheme 108
8.2 Renewable energy in the State of Victoria 109
8.2.1 Current situation 109
8.2.2 Victoria’s renewable energy roadmap 110
8.3 Wind power in Australia 111
8.3.1 Wind resources in Australia 111
8.3.2 Wind farms in Australia 112
8.4 Wind power in the State of Victoria 114
8.4.1 Wind resources in Victoria 114
8.4.2 Wind farms in Victoria 114
8.5 Electric power systems in Australia 116
8.5.1 Introduction 116
8.5.2 Transmission and distribution network 117
8.5.3 Smart Grid development 118
8.6 Electric power systems in the State of Victoria 119

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8.6.1 Introduction 119
8.6.2 Future development 119
8.6.3 Smart Grid development 120
8.7 Summary 121
9 Case study: Ararat wind farm 122
9.1 Introduction 122
9.1.1 Background 122
9.1.2 Project organization 123
9.1.3 Benefits of the Ararat wind farm project 123
9.1.4 Wind turbine generators 124
9.1.5 Site’s electrical layout 124
9.1.6 Grid connection 125
9.2 Grid integration challenges 126
9.2.1 Technical challenges 126
9.2.2 Economic challenges 127
9.2.3 Policy and regulatory challenges 127
9.3 Grid integration solutions: Internet-enabled technologies 128
9.3.1 Industrial Internet of Things 128
9.3.2 Cloud computing 130
9.3.2.1 Maximizing WTG and wind farm output 130
9.3.2.2 Wind power forecasting 131
9.4 Grid integration solutions: Power electronics technologies 132
9.4.1 HVDC-VSC 132
9.4.2 SVC 133
9.4.3 STATCOM 135
9.4.4 Synchronous Condenser 136
9.4.5 Series Capacitors 137
9.4.6 Battery Energy Storage System 138
9.4.6.1 WTG with integrated BESS 138
9.4.6.2 Wind farm level BESS 139
9.4.7 Hybrid solution using STATCOM and BESS 141
9.5 Resolution of grid integration challenges 142
9.5.1 Technical challenges 142
9.5.1.1 Harmonics mitigation 142
9.5.1.2 Impact on transmission network capability 143

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9.5.2 Economic challenges 144
9.5.3 Policy and regulatory challenges 145
9.6 Summary 146
10 Conclusions and recommendations 147
10.1Conclusions 147
10.1.1 Smart Grid integration of renewable energies 147
10.1.2 Smart Grid integration of wind power 147
10.1.3 Smart wind farms 148
10.1.4 Internet-enabled technologies for optimization of WTGs and wind farms 148
10.1.5 Power electronics technologies for grid integration of wind farms 148
10.2Answers to the research questions 149
10.2.1 How internet-enabled and power electronics technologies could be applied to
solve the grid integration problems and optimize the performance of a certain
wind farm? 149
10.2.2 What are the challenges associated with the integration of large quantities of
wind power into the existing electric power systems? 150
10.2.3 What is the state of the art of commercially available technologies to
overcome these challenges and provide a smooth integration of wind farms into
the Smart Grid? 151
10.2.4 Are there just technical hurdles or are there also policy and regulatory hurdles
to implement new solutions for grid integration of wind farms? 151
10.3Recommendations for further research 152
10.3.1 Renewable energy grid integration 152
10.3.2 Interconnection of electric power systems 152
10.3.3 Smart wind farms integration into Smart Cities 152
10.3.4 The emerging energy cloud 153
10.3.5 Future wind farm projects in Australia 154
References 155
Appendix A: Global new investment in renewable energy 178
Appendix B: Wind farms in the State of Victoria 179
Appendix C: Ararat wind farm facts 181
Appendix D: High voltage electrical grid in Ararat region 182
Statutory declaration 183