Research into the Effects of Renewable Energy Sources on Relay Protection Operation

Abstract

The current trend of electric power systems development is the introduction of renewable energy sources in the form of distributed generation. It was found that one of the main reasons hindering this process is significant changes in the operating modes of power systems, which significantly impact the functioning of relay protection and automation devices and, onsequently, its settings. A decrease in the sensitivity and possible violations of the selectivity of distribution network relay protection caused by a wind power unit connection have been experimentally proved. The adverse effects largely depend on the unit power and the connection location. The article also analyzes the existing approaches to protection in such power systems. As a result, the need to develop new methods and means for protection and automation configuration was theoretically proved, since the existing approaches either hinder the integration of new equipment, lack flexibility or are complicated to apply.