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Variable-Speed Hydropower Control and Ancillary Services: A Remedy for Enhancing Grid Stability and Flexibility

Author

Listed:
  • Cagatay Cebeci

    (Electronic and Electrical Engineering Department, University of Strathclyde, 204 George St., Glasgow G1 1XW, UK
    Current address: Electrical and Electronics Engineering Department, Osmaniye Korkut Ata University, Osmaniye 80000, Türkiye.)

  • Max Parker

    (Electronic and Electrical Engineering Department, University of Strathclyde, 204 George St., Glasgow G1 1XW, UK)

  • Luis Recalde-Camacho

    (Electronic and Electrical Engineering Department, University of Strathclyde, 204 George St., Glasgow G1 1XW, UK)

  • David Campos-Gaona

    (Electronic and Electrical Engineering Department, University of Strathclyde, 204 George St., Glasgow G1 1XW, UK)

  • Olimpo Anaya-Lara

    (Electronic and Electrical Engineering Department, University of Strathclyde, 204 George St., Glasgow G1 1XW, UK)

Abstract

Variable-Speed Hydropower Plants (VSHP) are becoming more promising for stabilising power grids with the increasing integration of renewable energy sources. This research focuses on improving fault ride-through capabilities and delivering efficient ancillary services for VSHPs to support the grid by developing a comprehensive control strategy. The control system proposed integrates a machine-side controller, a Frequency Support Controller (FSC), a Virtual Synchronous Machine (VSM), a Vector Current Controller (VCC) for the grid-side converter, a turbine governor for regulating turbine speed, and a DC-link controller. PID with an anti-windup scheme and a Model Predictive Controller (MPC) were employed for the turbine governor. The MPC turbine governor results demonstrate the potential of advanced control methods for enhanced performance of the VSHP. A benchmarking between the MPC and the PID governor was made. The benchmarking results have reported that the MPC can achieve reference tracking improvements up to 99.42 % . Tests on a diverse set of grid scenarios were conducted, and the graphical results showed significant improvements in mitigating the frequency drops through the effective governor response. The synthetic inertia provision is swift, completing within seconds of a frequency drop. Compared to the fixed-speed approach, the VSHP improves the grid’s overall stability by minimising frequency dipping and achieving steady-state recovery remarkably faster. The fixed-speed approach only begins to recover minutes after the VSHP reaches the settling time. By effectively providing critical ancillary services such as frequency support, synthetic inertia, and smooth fault ride-through capability, the VSHP can become a transformative solution for future power grids, which are estimated to be more reliant on renewable energy sources.

Suggested Citation

  • Cagatay Cebeci & Max Parker & Luis Recalde-Camacho & David Campos-Gaona & Olimpo Anaya-Lara, 2025. "Variable-Speed Hydropower Control and Ancillary Services: A Remedy for Enhancing Grid Stability and Flexibility," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(3), pages 1-35, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:18:y:2025:i:3:p:642-:d:1580485
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yonglai Li & Yue Fan & Xianbo Ke & Chao Huo & Ming Zhou & Yuxuan Yang & Jiaxing Wang & Yuhang Xin, 2025. "Cost Recovery for Variable-Speed Pumped Storage Power Plants in the Market Environment," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(1), pages 1-20, January.
    2. Han, Shuo & Yuan, Yifan & He, Mengjiao & Zhao, Ziwen & Xu, Beibei & Chen, Diyi & Jurasz, Jakub, 2024. "A novel day-ahead scheduling model to unlock hydropower flexibility limited by vibration zones in hydropower-variable renewable energy hybrid system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 356(C).
    3. Yang, Weijia & Yang, Jiandong, 2019. "Advantage of variable-speed pumped storage plants for mitigating wind power variations: Integrated modelling and performance assessment," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 237(C), pages 720-732.
    4. Wang, Huan & Liao, Shengli & Cheng, Chuntian & Liu, Benxi & Fang, Zhou & Wu, Huijun, 2025. "Short-term scheduling strategies for hydro-wind-solar-storage considering variable-speed unit of pumped storage," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 377(PA).
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