System And Method Of Controlling A Wind Turbine In A Wind Power Plant

• US 20090204266A1
• Filed: 02/27/2009
• Published: 08/13/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/01/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vestas Wind Systems A/S
• Original Assignee: Vestas Wind Systems A/S
• Inventors: Bengtson, John, Rasmussen, Keld, Lovmand, Bo
• Granted Patent: US 8,694,169 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/287
• CPC Class Codes: F03D 7/047 characterised by the controller architecture, e.g. multiple processors or data communications
• CPC Class Codes: F03D 7/048 controlling wind farms
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2619 Wind turbines
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2223/06 Remote monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/72 Wind turbines with rotation axis in wind direction

Abstract

The invention relates to a central controller adapted for controlling a number of wind turbines. The wind turbines being controlled and monitored by the central controller via a first monitoring and control network and a second monitoring and control network. The term monitoring and control network is in accordance with an embodiment of the invention understood as a data communication network which communicates at least control data for control of wind turbines, but may also communicate monitoring data, i.e. measure data. A typical example of a control of wind turbines is that the central controller sets the power set-point (the power to be produced) of each wind turbine in the wind power plant. The important control signals may be separated from high-bandwidth requiring monitoring data, such as analysis data in the communication network.

Claims

1. Central controllers adapted for controlling a number of wind turbines,

said wind turbines are controlled and monitored by said central controller via a first monitoring and control network and a second monitoring and control network (MCN2).

2. Central controllers according to claim 1, wherein critical power control data are communicated to and from said wind turbines via a separate control network of at least two different data communication networks.

3. Central controllers according to claim 1, wherein said central controllers controls and monitors said wind turbines via said first monitoring and control network and said second monitoring and control network by communication to and from wind turbine controllers of said wind turbines.

4. Central controllers according to claim 1 wherein said monitoring and control networks comprises at least one switch.

5. Central controller according to claim 1 wherein said wind turbines are comprised in a wind power plant.

6. Central controller according claim 1 wherein said central controllers forms part of a control loop.

7. Central controller according to claim 1, wherein said central controllers comprises a SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) server.

8. Central controllers according to claim 1, wherein said wind turbines each have at least two internal monitoring and control networks.

9. Central controllers according to claim 1 wherein said monitoring and control networks are configured in a ring topology, a star-shaped topology or any combination thereof.

10. Central controllers according to claim 1, wherein said monitoring and control networks may transmit data simultaneously.

11. A wind power plant wherein at least two wind turbines communicate via a monitoring and control network comprising a central controllers according claim 1

wherein said wind power plant monitoring and control data are communicated between said at least two wind turbines and said central controller,

wherein said data monitoring and control network communicates monitoring and control related data to and from said at least two wind turbines, and wherein at least a subset of control related data of said monitoring and control related data are transmitted via a second monitoring and control network.

12. A wind power plant according to claim 11, wherein said second monitoring and control network also performs as a monitoring and control network.

13. A wind power plant according to claim 11, wherein a response time of a control loop of said second monitoring and control network is designed to be less than about one second.

14. A wind power plant according to claim 11 wherein said data monitoring and control network is a copper, fiber or wireless network or a combination of these.

15. A wind power plant according to claim 11, wherein said second monitoring and control network is adapted for transmitting critical data.

16. A wind power plant according to claim 11, wherein a power cable topology of power cables between said wind turbines is substantially the same as a data communication network cable topology between the wind turbines.

17. Method of controlling a wind turbine in a wind power plant, whereby a central controllers performs a monitoring and control procedure, said monitoring and control procedure comprises

transmitting a number of control related data to be transmitted from said central controllers to the wind turbine and

transmitting monitoring related data from said wind turbine to the central controller,

whereby said transmitting control related data is performed via at least two different monitoring and control networks.

18. Method of controlling a wind turbine according to claim 17, whereby said transmitting monitoring related data is performed via at least one of said different monitoring and control networks.

19. Method of controlling a wind turbine in a wind power plant according to claim 17, wherein said method comprises at least one performance of a control loop.

20. Wind turbine comprising

at least one wind turbine controller,

a first monitoring and control network for transmitting monitoring and control related data between said wind turbine controller and wind turbine elements, and

a second monitoring and control network for transmitting control related data between said wind turbine controller and wind turbine elements.

21. Wind turbine according to claim 20, wherein said second monitoring and control network is adapted for transmitting monitoring and control related data.

22. Wind turbine according to claim 20, wherein at least one of said wind turbine elements is a hub controller.

23. Wind turbine according to claim 20, wherein at least one of said wind turbine elements is a top controller.

24. Wind turbine according to claim 20, wherein at least one of said wind turbine elements is a sensor.

25. Wind turbine according to claim 20, wherein critical power control data are communicated via said first monitoring and control network, and wherein less critical data are communicated via said second monitoring and control network.