Distributed Generation

Dan Harms
La Plata Electric Association
Audience Survey
• Who has…
– Single residential windmills – Micro hydro / hydro
– Wind farms – Waste heat recovery
– Single residential solar – Natural gas turbines
electric (1 to 10 kW) – Diesel engines
– Commercial solar (10 to – Algae biofuel
500 kW)
– Solar farms (over 500 kW)
– Biomass
Distributed Generation Alternatives
Modeling Considerations
• WindMil’s “Generation Model” settings
– Negative Load
• Simply adds a given source of kW and kVAr
– Swing kVAr
• Generator maintains a settable per unit voltage
• kW output held constant
• kVAr swings leading/lagging to hold voltage
Negative Load
• Use on solar electric, small windmill, micro
hydro, and other inverter-based systems
• Use on induction generators
• Use on some synchronous generators
– Depends on mode of generation
– If maximum power output is a priority, generator
terminal voltage can be adjusted in lieu of VARs.
Swing kVAr
• Use on synchronous generators where VAr flow
can be adjusted through field excitation.
• Requires detailed knowledge of generator’s
capability
– You will need control setting information.
– It’s unlikely that 5 kW generator could bring voltage
up to 1.2 PU.
• Make sure your VAr output is not exceeded.
Generation Model Demo
Generation Studies

• Voltage Drop / Sag / Flicker

• Load Flow
• Fault Current
• Coordination
Generation – Voltage Drop
• A generator will cause your voltage to rise
– Either by reducing current and therefore voltage drop
or
– By causing reverse power flow and reverse voltage
drop
• The smaller your conductor, the greater your voltage rise.
Generation – Voltage Drop (cont.)
• What happens if the generator drops offline?
– If in-line with regulators, they will not be boosting as
much
– If OCR trips and recloses, generation is gone, load is
still there, regulators have to catch up
– Run voltage drop with generation in place, lock
regulators, remove generators, run voltage drop again
Voltage Drop / Load Flow Demo
Generation – Fault Current
• Generator impedance options for fault
contributions
– Sub-transient (xd’’)
• Determines maximum instantaneous current
• Select AIC rating for breaker.
– Transient (xd’)
• Determines current at short time delay of breakers
– Steady-State (xd)
• Determines steady state current without excitation
Typical Reactances for 40 to 2000 kW Generators

Name Symbol Range in Per Effective Time

Unit
Sub-transient reactance xd’’ .09 - .17 0 to 6 cycles
Transient reactance xd’ .13 - .20 6 cycles to 5 sec
Synchronous reactance xd 1.7 – 3.3 After 5 seconds
Zero seq. reactance xo .06 - .09
Negative seq. reactance x2 .10 - .22
Cummins Power Generation, white paper, “Calculating Generator Reactances”
Fault Current – Inverter Based Systems
• Inverter based systems
– PV, residential wind, micro hydro, and some bio-mass
– No rotating parts and no inertia
– Fault contribution 1 to 1.2 times rated output
• Go to the impedance calculator in the Equipment Editor for
the generator.
• Enter full load amps x 1.2.
– Use this impedance model for steady state, sub-
transient, and transient.
Fault Current – Large Wind
• Wind Generation
– Reactive power is modulated.
– Capacitive current is injected to maintain voltage.
– Model as Swing kVAr or use negative load with capacitors.
– Fault contribution depends on turbine type and control
settings.
– Work with turbine manufacturer to determine fault
contribution capability.
Fault Current Demo
When to Model Generators
• Is the generator relatively large to the tap /
feeder / substation it’s on?
– If system has capability of backfeeding about 5% of the load of
the tap it’s on, model it.
• My personal preference
• Net metered?
– If excess generation doesn’t reach grid, don’t model it.
– WindMil doesn’t allocate to negative billing load.
Summary
• WindMil can model any generator, but you need
to know how best to model what you have.
– Generator type
• Synchronous, induction, inverter
– Control settings
• VAr control?
– Fault characteristics
• Rotating inertia?
• Talk to manufacturer.
 Dan Harms
La Plata Electric Association
970-382-3514
dharms@lpea.coop