DNV issues statement of conformity to MingYang Smart Energy and Hopewind Electric for grid forming control

DNV tests the compliance of the wind turbine generator system and converter with a controller hardware-in-the-loop (CHiL) method

Online hand-over ceremony for MingYang Smart Energy
Online hand-over ceremony for Hopewind Electric

DNV, the global independent energy expert and assurance provider, handed over two statements of conformity to MingYang Smart Energy Group and Hopewind Electric Co., Ltd to confirm that that the wind turbine generator system (WTG) from Mingyang, including the wind power converter (WPC) from Hopewind have been verified by appropriate methods, to comply with the requirements of a grid forming converter which are  required by future power grids which will be dominated by renewable energy generation.   

MingYang Smart Energy, a wind turbine manufacturer and clean energy integrated solution provider is committed to making available green and intelligent energy. The company is engaged in the wind and solar energy sectors. 

Hopewind Electric Co., Ltd., is involved in the research, manufacturing, sales and service of renewable energy and electric drive products. Their products include wind power converters, PV inverters, BESS, SVG and industry drive (variable frequency drive) systems. Hopewind owns independent development and testing platforms of integrated high-power electrical equipment and monitoring systems.  

The verification tests were performed in DNV's Digital Test Lab in Arnhem, the Netherlands with a mechanical and electromagnetic co-simulation controller hardware-in-the-loop (CHiL) testbench including a real-time simulator, DNV’s Bladed®, WT PLC controller and a converter controller hardware replica. This setup combines validated mechanical models with real time electrical models and control replicas for testing under various grid and wind conditions.   

The verification of the above mentioned system/installation has included: 

  • Voltage forming properties of the WPC
  • Power quality characteristics of the grid forming WPC
  • Inertial behaviour of the grid forming WPC
  • Fault ride through capabilities of the grid forming WPC
  • Black start capabilities of the grid forming WPC with support from its host wind turbine generator system.

"The share of wind power in power systems has been increasing remarkably and the behavior of the converters will be a key consideration in power systems. From the power system view, the lack of synchronous generators could cause inertia/voltage/frequency stability issues. We believe grid forming technology will significantly improve the stability of modern power grids with the integration of large-scale wind power breaking the wind power penetration limitation. A mechanical and electromagnetic co-simulation controller hardware-in-loop platform is an important development tool, which can significantly improve the efficiency of technology development and verification, while reducing investment. We believe that with the help of the tools, the on-site working time of technical developers can be reduced, and the technical problems under various working conditions can be verified and solved more efficiently,"’said Binwei Tang, Director of Grid Integration Technology Department, MingYang Smart Energy.  

"Grid forming control is an emerging and promising control mode of future wind energy generation equipment, which is increasingly required by new types of power systems dominated by renewable energy generation. Considering the academic and engineering innovation for this brand new control mode, it should be regarded as a great achievement for all three companies to get the advanced grid forming control work verified for a mainstream wind turbine and power converter through the hardware-in-the-loop co-simulation. The successful collaboration of all three companies sets up a paradigm of global cooperation, between world leading certification and advisory institutes and new energy equipment manufacturers. We hope that with our joint effort, we can further optimize the requirements and establish the verification standards for grid forming control,"said Dangsheng Zhou, Vice President for R&D Business and Chief Engineer, Hopewind Electric.  

"DNV is continuously investing in R&D and we are committed to make real time digital simulation and testing practical for use in advisory and verification. This cooperation with Mingyang and Hopewind is a great example of the value that controller hardware-in-the-loop can bring to the highly innovative wind industry. The new digital test technology centre is designed to develop and evaluate advanced control functions, control interactions, but can also be used for model validation, to evaluate advanced protection and energy management systems,"said Theo Bosma, Program Director of DNV Group Research and Development.

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