Line protection in presence of high penetration of wind energy: a review on possible solutions

In the present scenario, renewable energy sources are more encouraged to produce power because of their environmental and economic benefits and wide availability. Furthermore, there are further security concerns regarding the feasibility of incorporating bulk wind technology into the existing electrical grid, especially at the transmission level. This article summarizes the modifications made to the current protection system as a result of the integration of large wind farms. Signal distortions are studied in relation to the effects of dynamic fluctuations in the wind parameters, together with the fault and gearbox line parameters. The use of flexible AC gearbox systems (FACTS) and the integration of large amounts of wind energy have made the situation much worse. Different configurations of the potential solutions for such a gearbox system in the presence of both wind and FACT compensating devices are described. In addition to post-fault diagnosis problems brought on by structural changes in the power system, this research also illustrates fault detection of the transmission lines in the presence of bulk wind power. However, the plans put in place after taking the wind system into account need to be secure when the electricity system is running under stress. To demonstrate the impact of power swing and other stressed events, a review of the solutions is given. Useful techniques like signal processing and artificial intelligence are discussed, which are used to obtain enhanced solutions against conventional methods to get better solutions while protecting lines penetrated through wind farms and equipped with FACT devices. A brief discussion is held regarding the advantages that the new solutions have over the conventional ones.