A team of researchers at the Automatics and Industrial Informatics Research Institute (Ai2 Institute) of the Universitat Politècnica de València is working on the development of control technologies that will allow 100% of the energy generated in Spain to be renewable, thus meeting the national and European renewable generation goals.
In 2030, the Integrated Spanish Plan for Energy and Climate foresees that 74% renewable energy will be generated in Spain, a significant increase compared to the 44% that was reached in 2021.
However, the control and operation of 100% renewable power systems still have very important challenges in order to be fully robust. Energy balance or voltage and frequency control in a system with extremely low or zero inertia and synchronous generation are some of these problems to which solutions must be sought to guarantee a 100% renewable power system while maintaining robustness and stability margins.
More intelligent Plants
Now, the Ai2 researchers are working on a system based on advanced control algorithms that eliminates these risks and is capable of controlling and operating large 100% renewable power plants.
Ramón Blasco, principal researcher of the project, explains that “in Spain, there are days that renewable generation (wind plus photovoltaic systems) reaches 75% of the total energy generated. However, it must be cut to guarantee the stability and robustness of the system. Grid forming systems improve the stability of generators with very low or zero inertia,” adds the expert.
This is why the project team works, first, on the implementation of grid forming systems in very large renewable energy plants. And second, in the design of robust control algorithms for renewable electrical systems, intelligent protection algorithms, diagnosis and fault detection tools in renewable generation plants.
Researchers and Companies
The team that is part of the project has been working in this line since 1996 through various national and European projects. Researchers at the Universitat Jaume I of Castellón are also participating in the project.
Likewise, four leading companies in the renewable energy sector have already shown their interest in this project. “The involvement of leading companies like these will be very useful when it comes to making our results transferable to the market,” explains Blasco.
The project is funded by the Next Generation EU program and is framed within the 2021 call for “Ecological transition and digital transition projects” of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation.