Wave farms grid code compliance in isolated small power systems

Abstract

Wave energy is one of the electric generation options based on renewable energies, especially suitable for islands due to the energy resource availability and the higher energy cost of energy in its electric grids. The oscillating nature of the wave resource is prone to produce negative impacts in these electric grids when considering scenarios of high penetration of wave energy generation. This paper analyses the impact of wave energy generation on the power system frequency for the particular case study of Tenerife Island (Spain). Then, hourly data related to sea states in Tenerife, during a whole year, will be provided to generate an electric power profile, based on a model of a wave energy farm with a specific wave converter type. A previously developed dynamic simulation model of the Tenerife transmission network will be fed with these power profiles and the hourly electric generation and consumption profiles to analyse the system frequency. A complete set of analysis during the whole year will be accomplished in order to determine the number of over-frequency events according to the grid codes. Finally, some corrective measures will be proposed as conclusions, e.g. energy storage devices, as the most reliable solution to mitigate frequency deviations.