Determinação do ponto ótimo de conexão de parques eólicos offshore a sistemas interligados considerando a maximização da capacidade de geração de energia

Abstract

Due to growing environmental issues and depletion of conventional energy sources, alternative energy sources, especially renewable ones, are receiving more attention than ever. In this sense, wind energy is one of the most prominent in the context of investments in renewable sources in Brazil and globally. In some cases, regions with high potential for wind generation are far from load centers and are located in a maritime environment; in such situations, it makes sense to install wind farms in an offshore environment. In this scenario, a comprehensive analysis is required to determine the optimal connection point for Offshore Wind Farms (OWF) to the network to ensure maximum wind generation penetration safely and efficiently, taking into account such aspects as load profile, conventional system power generations, impacts caused by intermittent renewable energy sources in grid operation, capacity constrains of the transmission line and wind speed behavior of all the potential regions under study. In this context, this paper aims to propose two methodologies for determining the optimum OWF connection point to interconnected systems while considering how to maximize the capacity for power generation. The first methodology proposes a formulation based on Nonlinear Programming with Linear Power Flow (NLP-DC), where it is possible to observe the wind generation penetration path to the system until the maximum viable value is obtained, considering the minimization of losses in the transmission system and presenting an efficient strategy for the incorporation of active restrictions regarding the “N-1” safety criterion. The second method addresses a computationally efficient optimization problem, which proposes a two-step formulation, both based on Nonlinear Programming (NLP) with a Nonlinear Power Flow approach, which determines the optimum OWF connection point, with their respective maximum wind generation penetration and generating capacity values, considering all contingency scenarios (“N-1” safety criterion), modeled here with the help of the Benders Mathematical Decomposition technique. The proposed methodologies are applied in small, medium and large test systems in order to explore their characteristics and their contributions. Studies in small and medium-sized systems allow for a more tutorial analysis of the problem, while studies of real large systems are able to demonstrate the applicability and effectiveness of the proposed methodology in practical cases.