A power outage in South Australia on 28 September may have been down to system issues related to ‘voltage ride-through’ settings at several wind farms in the state, according to a report by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO).
AEMO said that five system faults caused by severe weather occurred within a period of 88 seconds on 28 September leading to six voltage disturbances.
It added that data shows that nine of the 13 wind farms online at the time did not ride through the voltage disturbances, resulting in a loss of 445MW of generation.
“Preliminary discussions with wind farm operators suggest this inability to ride through all disturbances was due to ‘voltage ride-through’ settings set to disconnect or reduce turbine output when between three to six disturbances are detected within a defined time period,” AEMO said.
The market operator said it is continuing to consult with wind farm operators and wind turbine manufacturers to better understand the impact on the power system of their ride through settings.
Several wind farms have already implemented revised settings allowing them to ride through a higher number of disturbances, AEMO added.
A final report on the incident, including recommendations, will take up to six months to complete, the market operator said.
Image: sxc
System ‘blamed’ for Oz outage
Nine wind farms affected by voltage disturbances says market operator
By EBS