Title:	Ramp Rate Control for PV Plant Integration: Experience from Karratha Airport’s Hybrid Power Station
Author(s):	G. Dickeson, L. McLeod, A. Dobb, L. Frearson, B. Herteleer, D. Scheltus
Keywords:	Battery Storage and Control, Evaluation, Hybrid, Performance, Grid Stability
Topic:	PV Systems and Storage – Modelling, Design, Operation and Performance
Subtopic:	Design and Installation of PV Systems
Event:	36th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition
Session:	5CO.13.3
Pages:	1351 - 1356
ISBN:	3-936338-60-4
Paper DOI:	10.4229/EUPVSEC20192019-5CO.13.3
Price:	0,00 EUR
Document(s):	paper, presentation

Abstract/Summary:

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We present the operational characteristics of a ramp rate control system on a 1 MW PV array located at Karratha Airport in Western Australia. The control system utilises cloud-prediction technology (CPT) to facilitate pre-emptive curtailment of the array, as well as a smoothing battery energy storage system (BESS), in order to meet ramp rate constraints required by Horizon Power, the local network operator. This project received funding under the Australian Renewable Energy Agency’s (ARENA) Regional Australia’s Renewables (RAR) initiative for the purposes of seeking to improve the competitiveness of renewable energy systems on the North-West Interconnected System (NWIS), and generating and sharing knowledge that will assist network operators and decision makers to better understand the economic value and technical viability of connecting distributed renewable energy generation on remote, stretched grids. Among the results shown are the observed reduction in ramp rates, the lost yield due to both curtailment and BESS losses, and the degree to which the BESS’s available power and energy capacity have been utilised. In addition, we present some of the key lessons learned during the commissioning process.