Network planning case study utilising real-time thermal ratings and computational fluid dynamics

Real-Time Thermal Ratings (RTTR) has a natural synergy with wind generation, since during periods of high local wind speed increased wind farm output coincides with uplifted line ratings. This paper describes a network planning study on a real section of UK distribution network. The study considers a branch of 132kV network connecting several wind farms to the grid. By assessing the local wind conditions in the area surrounding the wind farm and proposed overhead line, the study predicts the increase in energy throughput, and hence accommodated generation, for different routes considered for the overhead line. The locations of thermal bottlenecks in the proposed routes are identified. The study shows that a wind farm of 140MW can be connected to a conductor which could only support 90MW based on its static rating, and if the route is chosen correctly only 1% of the energy yield will be constrained.