Blackstart from HVDC-connected Offshore Wind: Hard vs Soft Energization

Anubhav Jain*, Oscar Saborío-Romano, Jayachandra N. Sakamuri, Nicolaos A. Cutululis

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

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    Abstract

    In recent years, renewable energy sources have been integrated on a large scale in power systems all around the world to address the environmental sustainability concerns. With conventional thermal generators being phased out, large offshore wind power plants present a viable alternative to provide blackstart services for power system restoration. In this paper, by means of simulations, grid-forming wind turbines are shown to successfully energize the offshore transformer and the HVDC export link in a controlled manner, to ultimately supply the onshore grid. Two methods for energizing the offshore network have been compared: the prevalent hard-switching approach and the more complex soft-start method. Additionally, control has been implemented to mitigate the significant transients in the export link associated with pre-charging of the onshore converter. It is shown that soft-start can provide faster energization with smaller transients compared to hard-switching. Moreover, the sensitivity analyses performed in this study illustrate the impact of pre-insertion resistor design and voltage ramp-up rates on transients during hard-switching and soft-start, respectively. The results presented in the paper also show that a separate controlled pre-charging stage of the onshore converter from its DC terminals is essential for the safe energization and operation of the export link.
    Original languageEnglish
    JournalIET Renewable Power Generation
    Volume15
    Issue number1
    Pages (from-to)127-138
    Number of pages9
    ISSN1752-1416
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2021

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