Research on primary frequency regulation of grid integrated concentrating solar power plant

Abstract

High share of renewable energy will be one of the basic features of power systems in the future around the world. Compared with photovoltaic (PV) and wind power, concentrating solar power (CSP) equipped with heat storage system has similar regulation characteristics with thermal power units, and it can effectively overcome the intermittent and volatility of PV and wind power generation. Meanwhile, the CSP units can strongly support the voltage, frequency and short-circuit capacity of power systems. So, CSP is a very promising power generation technology for the future power system. The CSP unit has better ramp ability than thermal power unit, and can generally reach a speed between 2% and 5% of rated power per minute. Stated thus, the CSP unit has a good potential to participate in the primary frequency regulation of power grid. At present, there are many researches on the performance of each subsystem of the CSP unit in worldwide, and there are also some theoretical researches on the participation of CSP unit in the dispatching operation of power system. However, there is a lack of research reports on CSP plant’s participation in the primary frequency regulation of the power grid, which is an urgently needed feature for the future power systems with high share of renewable energy. In this paper, a model with primary frequency regulation ability of CSP unit is established in DIgSILENT PowerFactory software. A revised two-area four-machine system is used to investigate the CSP unit’s participation in primary frequency regulation of power system. The simulation results show the good frequency regulation performance of CSP unit, which can effectively support the stable operation of power system with high share of renewable energy in the future.