Enabling power electronic technologies for grid integrations of large offshore wind farms

The connections of wind farms with electricity grids must meet the Grid Code requirements. This paper first describes technical issues and challenges for connecting a wind farm with a grid, and commercial and technical benefits of using the power electronic based FACTS devices in AC connection solution. Case studies are presented showing how system stability performances are enhanced by using the FACTS devices in AC connection solution. After that, the paper investigates the use of Line-Commutated Converter HVDC (LCC HVDC) and Voltage Source Converter HVDC (VSC Transmission) for connecting large offshore wind farms to the grid. Case studies of using both LCC HVDC and VSC Transmission for large wind farm connections are also presented. Simulation results show the satisfactory performance of the proposed connection solutions during various conditions such as power variation, and grid AC faults