Power system stability in island offshore grids with wind turbine generators

Dynamic voltage and frequency oscillations in offshore island grids are significantly higher than in strong interconnected onshore grids. The integration of wind turbine generators in such grids is therefore challenging. This paper presents the pioneering work of integrating the Hywind Tampen offshore wind park into a hybrid grid with five remote interconnected oil and gas field platforms in the North Sea. The aim of the project is to reduce CO2 emissions by substituting part of the local fossil fuel-based power generation on the installations with wind energy. The dynamics of the system require fast acting grid stabilizing wind turbine controls to support the power system stability. This paper discusses challenges and solutions for the successful integration of wind turbines into hybrid grids. Furthermore, two dynamically challenging operational events are shown. Detailed simulations and field commissioning results of the full-scale tests for these cases are presented.