The State of Art of Energy Consumption Devices for Offshore Wind Power System

Offshore wind power transmission and integration benefit from VSC-HVdc technology for its unique attributes. A typical VSC-HVdc based offshore wind farm connection often incorporates energy consumption device (ECD) whose function is to absorb the excess power during receiving end ac network ground fault, allowing for the fault to be cleared without shutting down the wind farm itself. This paper presents the most commonly used ECD topologies and divides them into three groups. Introductions and comparisons are made from the aspects of circuit structure, working principle, control method, operation performance and economic cost. The advantages and disadvantages of different solutions are summarized and the optimal alternatives are recommended with the parameter ratings of different projects taken into consideration. The conclusions are verified by simulations of a practical project case established in PSCAD software.