Low Voltage Ride-thru Technology

Superior Performance

Providing truly uninterrupted service has grown in importance as wind farms increase in size and command a larger share of the supply portfolio. Transmission "system events"—lightning strikes, equipment failures and downed power lines—are a fact of life on utility grids. Transmission planners expect generators to cope with and help recover from system events. Until now, wind turbines have had a single response to these instantaneous voltage drops: they trip offline, protecting their functions until the grid recovers. Low Voltage Ride-thru (LVRT) renders this over-sensitive response obsolete. LVRT maintains high availability while demonstrating that wind power can join the grid as a "good neighbor."

The superior Wind Volt-Amp-Reactive ("WindVAR") electronics designed into GE's wind turbines routinely benefit rural and more isolated grids by maintaining system stability, reducing the risk of voltage collapse, and minimizing the impact of grid disruptions. LVRT enhances this feature by keeping wind farms online by feeding reactive power during system events. LVRT is added evidence to transmission planners and grid operators that wind farms are problem solvers.

GE's unique LVRT technology is an elegant addition to an already cutting-edge power electronics control technology. This groundbreaking feature is the result of collaborative work by numerous professionals across multiple GE businesses, who together designed and tested the LVRT wind turbine control systems. The new feature is compatible with all other on-board components and can be programmed to align with the operational and control parameters of the host transmission system. Packages for the 1.5 MW turbine are currently available that deliver ride-thru capability down to 30 percent voltage at the point of common coupling for 100 milliseconds. In addition, beyond coping with the initial disturbance, LVRT remains engaged until after the fault is cleared, providing support to bring the system back to normal operating conditions.

LVRT is a compelling example of how GE continues to pioneer on-board transmission services. Project sponsors work hard to create successful wind farms, and LVRT will help improve their prospects for success.

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