The effect of fault current limiters on distribution systems with wind turbine generators1

When renewable resources are connected to the existing network, the level of fault current can increase, and the protection devices cannot be capable to interrupt fault current. In this paper the effect of fault current limiters on distribution systems with wind turbine generators is studied. Fault current limiter (FCL) is a device that is used to limit over current and destructive current occurring in the power systems. The choice of where in a distribution system to place FCLs to obtain best operating conditions is an important issue, because the placement of these devices must be carefully considered in order to keep them cost effective and to prevent the limiters themselves from disrupting existing protective measures. An example test system based on a distribution system in Fethiye where is a district in western Anatolia was considered to study the effects of FCLs. Solid state fault current limiter is considered to dispose the negative influences of grid integration of wind turbine generators. The effectiveness of FCL is verified with the several case studies by time-domain simulation. Simulations are performed by using PSCAD®/EMTDC^™.