Enhancing System Security in Cyprus: Addressing Low-Inertia Challenges and Frequency Stability

#foothill #pes #energy #electric #power #grid

In recent years, the islanded electric power system of Cyprus has faced significant challenges. The increased penetration of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) in combination with the reduced reliance on conventional generators and the changes in the consumption profiles, has led to a plethora of problems widely related to low-inertia grids. These challenges vary during the different seasons of the year, due to different demand and generation conditions. Several security problems related to frequency, voltage, congestion, and fault levels have already been observed in the system. The scheduled future increase of RES penetration will lead to the deterioration of the system security - if adequate measures are not taken.

At the moment, the major challenges of the CPS are related to frequency stability due to the islanded nature of the system and the gradual decommissioning of conventional generators. In order to ensure frequency stability, a minimum number of synchronised generators is requested by the transmission system operator of Cyprus (TSOC). However, this significantly limits RES penetration during low-loading conditions. There is an urgent need to incorporate faster frequency support reserves that can help stabilize the system and improve its resilience and reliability.

In this presentation, an overview the existing and future problems observed in the CPS will be provided. Then, we will then focus on the impact of various frequency support mechanisms on the system security and propose a novel, data-driven method for sizing the Fast Frequency Reserves (FFR) necessary to improve the post-fault Nadir.