Analysis of positive ramp limitation control strategies for reducing wind power fluctuations

Power fluctuations could have a remarkable impact on power system operation and costs, in accordance with the increasing production of wind power worldwide. In systems with weak interconnections, such as Iberian Peninsula Power System, these fluctuations could be a security issue. In order to characterise the worst effects on power systems of wind power fluctuations, most negative wind power ramp rates can be used. In this study, one-year real data production of 17 wind farms, scattered over Spain, is analysed regarding the geographical smoothing effect on negative wind power ramp rates. Several control strategies are suggested to reduce the resulting aggregated negative ramps. For each strategy, the controlled power is compared with uncontrolled power output, studying the achieved reduction in negative ramps. The results give a comparison of such strategies, regarding energy losses and improvement for power system operation. © The Institution of Engineering and Technology 2013.