System operation with high wind penetration

The European Union has committed to reduce the equivalent carbon dioxide emissions by 8% of the 1990 level by the end of 2012. To meet the objective, the member states have financially encouraged the development of renewable energy especially wind power. Locally, this results in some of the highest wind power penetration levels in the world. This paper discusses the transmission challenges of Denmark, Spain, Germany and Ireland. With increasing wind capacity, the transmission system operators (TSOs) became concerned about the impact of high levels of wind generation on system stability. The integration of wind power has been hampered by the lack of suitable dynamic models for use in transient stability programs. The number of different turbine technologies used increased the complexity of the modeling problems.