Frequency Support Enhancement of a Permanent Magnet-Based Adjustable-Speed Pumped Hydropower Plant

When a permanent magnet (PM) –based adjustable-speed pumped storage hydropower (AS-PSH) plant delivers frequency response via the full-scaled power converter, there is power imbalance at the PM generator during the initial stage of the frequency response. This is because the AS-PSH has the different time constants between the power converter and wicket gate in the governor valve. Thus, this imbalance causes a sudden reduction of the rotational speed of the machine during the frequency response. As a result, a voltage deficit arises at the generator terminal in proportion to the decrement in the rotational speed, and thereby it is promising that the current flow at the converter will reach its limit when attempting to inject the commanded active power at a reduced voltage level. Thus, this causes the degradation of the frequency response of the AS-PSH due to the self-demagnetization at a reduced rotational speed. This paper proposes a frequency support scheme of a PM-based AS-PSH to enhance the frequency response by bridging the gap between the different time constants. To achieve this, the frequency support scheme includes a gate opening adjustment in the governor and a dynamic ramp-down in converter controller of the AS-PSH.