European ATP-EMTP Users Group Meeting and Conference, 12.-14.

September 2005, Warsaw, Poland

Modelling of Distributed Energy Resources with ATP-EMTP

Thomas Degner, Alfred Engler, Oleg Osika ISET e.V., Germany
Department Engineering and Power Electronics Koenigstor 59 34119 Kassel, Germany Phone +49 561 7294 232 / Fax +49 561 7294 400 tdegner@iset.uni-kassel.de

Abstract - Distributed Energy Resources (DER), e. g. wind turbines, combined heat and
power units, photovoltaic and inverter controlled DER, gain importance in todays power system. Their fluctuating behaviour and their specific control characteristics require manifold investigations. Due to the nature of ATP-EMTP with regard to simulating supply structures it is a suitable tool for such investigations, but requires the addition of models of DER. ISET has utilised ATP-EMTP for different power system studies with consideration of DER. The developed DER-models will be introduced in this contribution. A compilation of the different DER-models into a library is planned. Keywords: Power system analysis, distributed energy resources, system control, wind turbines, inverter control

1 Introduction
Distributed Energy Resources (DER), e. g. wind turbines, combined heat and power units, photovoltaic and inverter controlled DER, gain importance in todays power system. Their fluctuating behaviour and their specific control characteristics require manifold investigations. ATP-EMTP is an established analysis tool for power systems. It is also a suitable tool to study the integration of DER into power systems. Due to the license conditions it is especially attractive for universities and education. However, suitable models for DER need to be developed. ISET has utilised ATP-EMTP for different power system studies with consideration of DER. In the following sections we present some of the developed models and give a few application examples.

2 DER Models 2.1 Wind turbine

The developed model represents stall controlled wind turbines with induction generator. In detail the model includes the rotor, the mechanical drive including elasticities, damping and gear drive, the induction generator, the reactive power compensation unit, the grid interconnection unit, and the transformer to the grid. The model was implemented in ATP-EMTP (see Figure 1). An ATP-EMTP universal machine UM3 is used to simulate the induction generator. The other main components are:

European ATP-EMTP Users Group Meeting and Conference, 12.-14. September 2005, Warsaw, Poland

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Compensation unit consisting of 12 condenser banks and the control logic. The different steps of the compensation unit are automatically connected with a certain time delay. Logical block which evaluates the rotor speed Logical block which evaluates the voltage Measurement of rotor speed (signal required to limit rotor speed via a brake) Group to simulate a mechanical brake Group to simulate wind speed including tower shadow effect Group for grid connection and for measurement of active, reactive and apparent power, power factor, current, and voltage. Output transformer connected over a line

Figure 1: ATP-Draw representation of the wind turbine model implemented in ATP-EMTP. The different functional groups are mentioned in the text.

2.2 Diesel motor generator set

At present diesel motor generator sets (DGS) still play an important role in the power supply of island grids. The developed model represents a diesel generator set which includes a synchronous generator with voltage and frequency control loops. Figure 2 shows the implementation in ATP-EMTP with the different functional groups.

European ATP-EMTP Users Group Meeting and Conference, 12.-14. September 2005, Warsaw, Poland

Figure 2: ATP-Draw representation of the DGS model using a synchronous machine model SM59_FC. (1): voltage control loop, (2) frequency measurement (3) frequency control loop.

2.3 Bi-directional battery inverters

A model for bi-directional battery inverters, which are able to form grids, has been developed. The inverters are represented by a frequency and voltage controlled three-phase voltage source (Fig. 3). The Models-language, which is a feature of ATP-EMTP, enables the direct encoding of voltage source inverters (VSIs), see Figure 4. The parameters of the Models script can be set via a graphical user interface (Figure 5). The Input to the Models script is the current of each phase which is provided by ATP-EMTP TACS measuring devices (T-elements in Figure 3). The output are voltage signals (red) which provide instantaneous voltage values for the phases A, B and C. The output inductance of the inverter is represented by the RLC-block. Principally, the control strategy for VSIs is based on frequency and voltage variable operation and power acquisition via instantaneous current and voltage. Thus, the frequency and voltage control are realised via the measured active and reactive power. The measured power is used to adjust the output frequency and the output voltage via droops. The droops are similar to those in utility grids. This control approach is named as SELFSYNCTM [1]. The graphical interface window gives the following parameter set: f rated frequency of the VSI (Hz) Amp rated magnitude of the output voltage (V) tau time delay for the active and reactive power acquisition (s) kp frequency droop coefficient (Hz/W) kq voltage droop coefficient (V/VAr) kph phase correction (phase feed forward) (rad/W)

U U U

European ATP-EMTP Users Group Meeting and Conference, 12.-14. September 2005, Warsaw, Poland

Figure 3: Graphical representation of the voltage source inverter (VSI)

Figure 4: Executable part of ATP-EMTP Models description for the frequency and voltage variable three-phase battery inverter

3 Application in power system studies

The developed models have been used for different power system studies. Some examples are given in the following paragraphs.

3.1 Integration of wind turbine generators into small power systems

The integration of wind energy into the power supply of a small island was investigated in this study. The considered island is connected to the mainland via a submarine cable. A diesel generator is available on the island to ensure the power supply in the case of a loss of the submarine cable.

European ATP-EMTP Users Group Meeting and Conference, 12.-14. September 2005, Warsaw, Poland

Figure 5: Graphical work interface of the voltage source inverter (VSI)

ATP-EMTP has been used to perform load flow analyses, to get voltage profiles and for the determinations of the loading of the lines. The achieved results compare well to results obtained with dedicated load flow analysis programs like PowerFactory from DIgSILENT. A transient analysis has been performed to study the effect of wind power on voltage variations, and to study the response to short circuits followed by a short-term interruption. Figure 6 shows the power output of the simulated wind turbine (RMS time domain). The response of the power output to the wind speed variations as well as the function of the compensation unit can be seen. The model was successfully applied to study the voltage variations in the power supply system of the island.
3.0 *10 6
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(1) wind speed (m/s) vs time

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(2) Active and recative power (W) of wind turbine vs time Figure 6: (1) Wind speed and (2) corresponding power output of wind turbine. The turbine is connected at the time t=6s to the grid. The peaks in the power output result from the operation of the compenstation unit. The small ripple on the power output is due to the assumed tower shadow effect.

European ATP-EMTP Users Group Meeting and Conference, 12.-14. September 2005, Warsaw, Poland

Figure 7: Simulation of inverter dominated distribution system (ATP-EMTP)

3.2 Inverter-dominated micro-grids

3.2.1 Simulation of multi-inverter grids The transient behaviour of three battery inverters coupled via a distribution system (15kV) is simulated. The inverters are represented by frequency and voltage controlled three-phase voltage inverters and the distribution system consists of switches, overhead lines (-blocks), transformers and a load (Figure 7). The three inverters operate in parallel via the MV distribution system and supply the resistive load with total power 100 kW. By means of the implemented control functions, the contribution of each inverter is determined by the applied droops. In the case of Figure 8 the contribution of the inverters are set to 20, 30 and 50 kW by the slope of the frequency droop of each inverter. The slope of the frequency droop can be used to account for the size of the inverter. The setting of the rated frequency f0 in combination with the droop can be used for the control of the energy flow. The rated frequencies of the three inverters are set to 50 Hz. Due to the loading, the systems frequency decreases to 49 Hz (Figure 9). The frequencies of all inverters oscillate around a common a common mean frequency. A supervisory control, which is normally not a part of the inverters controller, would be able to restore the frequency to 50 Hz by changing the rated frequencies of the inverters.

European ATP-EMTP Users Group Meeting and Conference, 12.-14. September 2005, Warsaw, Poland

Figure 8: Active power of the inverters (W). The load of 100 kW is shared between the three inverters.

Figure 9: Frequency of the island system (Hz). The frequency change results from a load step (100 kW)

3.2.2 Laboratory validation of ATP-EMTP simulations The computer simulations are compared to laboratory measurements. For the laboratory experiments two three-phase inverter clusters with the bi-directional battery inverter Sunny Island 4500 from SMA Technology AG are used. They are connected with 14 kWh battery banks. The Sunny Island battery inverter can be operated in three different modes. In the experiments a droop mode with a frequency droop and a voltage droop is used. Several Sunny Islands in parallel connection act as grid forming devices. Due to this functionality, it is possible to expand a supply system and to enable power sharing by using different slopes for the droops.

Figure 10 Island grid system configuration with two 3-phase inverter clusters and different loads

Although, the Sunny Island is only available as a single-phase version, three Sunny Islands can be connected together in order to form a three-phase inverter cluster (Figure 10). A load step of 18 kW resistive load is applied to the parallel connected inverter clusters with different settings of the frequency droops (Figure 11 and 12).

European ATP-EMTP Users Group Meeting and Conference, 12.-14. September 2005, Warsaw, Poland

20 [A]

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Figure 11: Output currents of the Sunny-Island inverters with equal frequency droops (ratio kp1/kp2=1) and a load step 18 kW: a) ATP-EMTP simulation; b) laboratory results

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Figure 12: Output currents of the Sunny-Island inverters with unequal frequency droops (ratio kp1/kp2=2) and a load step 18 kW: a) ATP-EMTP simulation; b) laboratory results

Figures 11 and 12 show the same qualitative results for the laboratory experiments and the computer simulations during transients and steady state. Even without the consideration of the dynamics of the semi-conductor switches the model of the inverter represented by an ideal voltage source shows sufficient accuracy.

4 Conclusion
ATP-EMTP has been successfully used for the investigation of power systems including distributed energy resources (DER). Suited models for some DER have been developed to enable these investigations. These models include specific control functions of the devices e.g. active power frequency and reactive power voltage droops of the battery inverters. The models were implemented using standard ATP-EMTP components and features like the ATP-EMTP Models language. The ATP-Draw Group feature is used to organise

European ATP-EMTP Users Group Meeting and Conference, 12.-14. September 2005, Warsaw, Poland

the specific DER models into a single block. The performed investigations are focused on steady state analysis (load flow), RMS time domain and transients. The simulation environment has also been used to support the development of control techniques for inverters. For the support of the analysis, suited measuring blocks have been compiled. The developed models are shown in Figure 10. A compilation of the different models into a library is planned.
Generators Wind turbine generator

Three phase voltage source inverter Diesel generator set Grid with adjustable impedance Measuring devices Computation of rectangular components for one phase systems Calculation of RMS

Calculation of active, reactive and apparent power in single phase systems Computation of rectangular components for threephase system

Figure 10: Developed DER models and measurement devices

Literature [1] A. Engler: Regelung von Batteriestromrichtern in modularen und erweiterbaren Inselnetzen. Dissertation.de, Berlin, 05/2002, ISBN 3-89825-439-9 [2] A. Engler, O. Osika: Simulation of Inverter Dominated Minigrids. 2nd European PVHybrid and Mini-Grid Conference, 25./26.09.2003, Kassel Acknowledgement: We would like to express our thanks to the European Commission for their support in the MicroGrids project ENK5-CT-2002-00610 and the DISPOWER project ENK5-CT-200100522.