Under the auspices of the European programme Twenties, which aims to improve the quality of the wind power connection to the grid. This initiative created new power-frequency and voltage control equipment and systems to optimise the connection between wind farms and energy transmission grids.
IBERDROLA headed this project, which has been running for the last two years, along with Gamesa, REE and the University of Comillas.
In collaboration with Gamesa, Red Eléctrica de España (REE) and the Institute for Technological Research (IIT) at the University of Comillas have successfully completed the Syserwind demo project.
In collaboration with Gamesa, Red Eléctrica de España (REE) and the Institute for Technological Research (IIT) at the University of Comillas have successfully completed the Syserwind demo project.
This R&D&I initiative created new power-frequency and voltage control equipment and systems to optimise the connection between wind farms and electricity transmission grids.
To be more specific, the project was carried out at 15 of IBERDROLA’s wind power facilities located in Andalusia, which are equipped with Gamesa wind turbines and have a combined installed capacity of over 480 megawatts (MW).
These wind farms are connected to three nodes in the 400 kV transmission grid operated by REE. They were equipped with the systems development in the Syserwind project, allowing coordinated work on controlling the power generated by the facilities and altering the voltage in the grid.
This demo project, which was analysed by the IIT at the University of Comillas, conformed the technical feasibility of wind power when taking part in the power-frequency and voltage control services in the electricity system.
Syserwind, an initiative headed by IBERDROLA, was one of six full-scale demo projects carried out under the European programme Twenties. This research project aims to further the development of new technologies that will allow for the mass-scale inclusion of wind power in the European electricity system, with a view to meeting the European Union’s environmental targets.
Technological contribution towards wind power
The results obtained in the Syserwind project contribute towards the ongoing enhancement of wind power, a form of renewable technology to which IBERDROLA has been committed from the outset; both as regards R&D&I and as regards the commissioning of facilities, which already have a combined capacity of some 14,000 MW worldwide.
In the former case, the highlight was the construction in 2003 of the Renewables Operation Centre (CORE) in Toledo. This centre streamlined the control and operation of all of the company’s renewable facilities. Opening this centre was a watershed moment in managing wind power, which had until then been a form of energy that was difficult to operate and control.
After that, IBERDROLA also developed the Meteoflow project, which focused on designing a system that is capable of making daily predictions of wind farm outputs and which allowed for this type of energy to be more reliably included in the electricity system.
The Group is currently involved in the most important R&D&I initiatives in the sector, linked to both onshore and offshore wind power, as well as other renewable generation technologies such as wind, tidal, biomass or biogas systems.