Kinetic

energy and frequency response comparisons

for renewable

generation systems

Alan Mullane*, Garth Bryanst, Mark O'Malley+

UCD School of Electrical, Electronic & Mechanical Engineering
University College Dublin
Belfield
Dublin 4, Ireland
*Email: alan.mullanedee.ucd.ie
tEmail:garth.bryansgee.qub.ac.uk
tEmail:mark.omalleygucd.ie
Abstract-Power systems are usually operated within strict
frequency ranges. When there is a change in the power system
load the power system frequency will change at a rate initially
determined by the inertia of the power system. Power system
inertia is therefore an important component of a power system
as it determines the sensitivity of the system frequency to supply
demand imbalances. As renewable energy generation systems
are added to power systems, it is important to assess their
impact on overall system inertia. This is especially important
for small island systems with little interconnection. There are
two important considerations in this regard namely the stored
kinetic energy of the generation system and the ability of the
generation system to provide or absorb the energy imbalance that
will occur when a change in load occurs. The factors that affect
this are both the physical make up of the generation system and
the type of electrical generator employed. This paper examines
these factors both for wind turbines and tidal energy devices.
I. INTRODUCTION

In an electrical power system the total electrical energy

consumed by the load and system losses is always equal
to the combined electrical energy output of the generation
plant connected to the system. As the load is constantly
changing, generating plant through governor action constantly
adjust the mechanical power being supplied to their electrical
generators in order to closely track the energy demands of the
load. However this process cannot happen instantaneously and
therefore an additional vital component namely the system's
rotational kinetic energy is used to supply or consume the additional power component comprising the difference between the
power being consumed by the system and that being supplied
by prime movers. This additional component is often referred
to as the inertial response and is often observed as an increase
in the power output of a generator in response to falling system
frequency.
Modem power systems are operated within a strict frequency range, all synchronous generators connected to the
This work was supported by Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI) through the
National Development Plan and has been conducted in the Electricity Research
Center, University College Dublin, Ireland which is supported by Electricity
Supply Board (ESB), ESB National Grid, Commission for Energy Regulation,
Cylon Controls and Enterprise Ireland.

system spin in synchronism and as the load changes the

rotational speeds of all generators will change in order that
the energy balance is constantly met. If a system has a large
amount of kinetic energy then only a minor adjustment in
speed is necessary to account for the power difference, whilst
for a system with lower kinetic energy a greater speed variation
is required to account for the same difference in power. As
renewable generating plant is added to power systems it is
important to assess the kinetic energy it stores during normal
operation. It is also important to assess the mechanisms which
allow this kinetic energy to be supplied to the power system.
This mechanism is well understood for conventional synchronous generators who's rotational speed is tightly coupled to
the power system frequency. When a change in load occurs
the kinetic energy exchange will immediately be reflected by
a change in the rotational speed of the synchronous generators
and thus the system frequency. As modem renewable energy
sources typically do not use synchronous generators the impact
of using differing generator types must be assessed. In addition
the relative amounts of kinetic energy stored by renewable
generation technologies should be compared with conventional
generators in order to determine if the continued addition
of renewable generation to power systems will result in a
degradation of the frequency regulation capability.
This paper will compare the kinetic energy stored by
conventional, wind energy and tidal energy generators and will
also examine the frequency regulation implications of utilising
electrical generators which are not synchronous in nature.
II. TURBINE GENERATOR KINETIC ENERGY

The inertia constant H, is often used to quantify the stored

kinetic energy of a turbine and generator system and is defined
as

(1)

SN
Where J is the polar moment of inertia (kgm2), w0 the rated
speed (rads-1) and SN is the rated apparent power (MVA).
The inertia constant has a unit of seconds and describes the
number of seconds that the generator could supply rated power
solely from its stored kinetic energy. It can be seen from (1)

that both the polar moment of inertia and the speed of rotation
determine amount of kinetic energy stored in any particular
turbine generator. Typical inertial constants for conventional
generation systems are given in Table I.
TABLE I
NORMAL RANGE OF INERTIA CONSTANT VALUES FOR THERMAL AND
HYDRAULIC GENERATING UNITS [1]
Type of generating unit

Thermal unit
(a) 3600 r/min (2-pole)
(b) 1800 r/min (4-pole)
Hydraulic unit

2.5 to 6
4 to 10
2.0 to 4.0

Inertia constants for a wind-turbine generators have also

been reported in the literature. This paper will use values of
HT = 2.5 s and HG = 0.5 s from [2], [3]. Where HT is the
inertia constant of the wind turbine blade system and HG the
inertia constant of the electrical generator of the wind turbine.
Tidal generation is seen as a predictable but variable source
of generation which offers diversity to the renewable generation portfolio. Tidal energy generators are a rapidly evolving technology, the development of many designs has been
considered and it is widely believed that the Marine Current
Turbine's (MCT) design will be the first to enter the market in
a competitive manner [4]. This design is based on a horizontal
axis turbine of similar design to many commercially available
wind-turbines, the turbine is mounted on a tower off the seabed
and can be jacked out of the water for maintenance. Inertia
constants for tidal energy generators have not appeared in
the literature however they may be calculated using available
structural data relating to the design of the turbine blade and
hub. Fig. 1 shows a photograph of a tidal energy device (TED)
blade from MCT's Seaflow project which is a 300 kW, 11 m
diameter experimental turbine installed 3 km offshore from
Lynmouth, Devon, UK having a rated rotational speed of
17 rpm. The estimated combined weight of the turbine and
hub is 16 tonnes. It has been estimated that out of this the
hub would weight approximately 4.8 tonnes and the blades
1 1.2 tonnes.
In order to calculate the inertia of the turbine blades the
blade was divided into elements and the inertia of each element
was calculated by representing each element as a point mass.
The blade profile given in Fig. 2 was measured to provide
the depth and width along the blade. The shape of the crosssectional area was assumed to remain constant along the blade
as suggested by Fig. 1. The mass of each blade element could
then be estimated according to
(2)
Mwjlj

E wjlj

j=1

where M is the total blade mass, n is the number of blade

elements, wi is the average width of each element and 1i is

Fig. 1. TED Blade and Hub [5]

mli

* I

m3

1,

13

'1

S~~1

Fig

2.

Fig. 2.

TE

ld, adpe ifo 6

TED Blade, adapted from [6]

the length of each element. The inertia of the TED blades may
be calculated by summing the inertias of the individual point
masses according to
n

mr: i

Jblade =S

(3)

i=l

where Jblade (kgmn2) is total polar moment of inertia of the

blade, ri is the distance of the point mass from the axis of
rotation and mi is the mass of the blade element. The blade
inertia was calculated using equations (2)-(3), 1000 elements
were used in the calculation.
The inertia of the hub was found in a similar way again by
assuming the hub to have a constant density and dividing it
into 1000 rings and calculating the relative volume and thus
mass of each segment. The inertia could then be found using

the distance to each segment and the mass of the segment (4).
Jhub

(2M (27rdr

27rr2) )

The total inertia on the low speed end of the shaft is therefore

given by summing Jrotor = Jhub + Jblade. Using the available

data the polar moment of inertia of the tidal energy turbine

was calculated as Jrotor = 7.7 x 104 kgm2.
Now using (1), with a rotational speed of w0 = 1.78 rads-1
and a rated apparent power of SN = 300 kVA the inertia
constant for the turbine of the tidal energy generator may be
calculated as HT = 0.40 s. Using a similar inertial constant
value for the electrical generator in a wind turbine gives a
total inertial constant in the region of H = 0.9 s for a tidal
energy turbine based on the technology presented here.
Table II lists the inertial constant values for conventional
and renewable generation based units. It must be noted that
TABLE II
INERTIA CONSTANT VALUES FOR CONVENTIONAL AND RENEWABLE
GENERATION UNITS

Type of generating unit |

Thermal unit
(a) 3600 r/min (2-pole)
(b) 1800 r/min (4-pole)
Hydraulic unit
Wind unit
Tidal energy unit

H(s)
2.5 to 6
4 to 10
2.0 to 4.0
3
0.9

the inertial constant value for the TED generator calculated

here is based on limited publicly available parameters and
other estimated parameters for those which were not publicly available. Nonetheless, Table II shows that the inertial
constants and hence the stored kinetic energies are lower
for renewable energy generating units than for conventional
units. The differing kinetic energies are due to the differing
mechanical construction and slower rotational speeds of the
renewable generation units compared to conventional units.
For the remainder of this paper inertial constant values of H=5,
H=3 and H=0.9 will be used for conventional, wind and tidal
energy units respectively.
III.

INERTIAL RESPONSE COMPARISONS

The H values presented in section II represent the stored

kinetic energy of a particular turbine generator design as a
proportion of the generator rating. Both the physical construction of the turbine and generator, the speed of rotation and the
rating of the generator determine the H value. A larger H value
is more preferable as it signifies a greater amount of stored
energy. The frequency of power systems with large amounts
of stored energy tends to be less sensitive to power imbalances
than the frequency of systems having lower amounts of stored
energy.

When a power system experiences a loss of generation the

system frequency will begin to fall, as the system frequency
falls the remaining generators connected to the system will
decelerate and thus release some of their stored kinetic energy.
This is known as inertial response. The manner in which this
happens will be determined by the type of electrical generator
in use. For a synchronous generator its speed of rotation
is tightly coupled to the system frequency. As the system
frequency falls, the speed of rotation of the synchronous
machines connected to the system tracks the falling frequency
closely and thus releases the stored energy quickly acting as
an initial arresting mechanism to the falling system frequency.
It must be stated of course that regardless of this inertial
response, the output of the prime movers on the system must
be increased in order to return the frequency to its nominal
value.
Due to the fluctuating nature of both wind and tidal
energy based generation systems synchronous machines are
not typically employed in renewable energy systems. Due
to their limited slip, induction machines are the machine
of choice in renewable energy generation systems. These
machines allow for a limited speed variation and thus allow
for a limited amount of filtering of the fluctuating power which
drives the generator. This results in reduced drive train stress
and increased reliability of the overall system than a case
where synchronous machine is used. Doubly-fed induction
generators (DFIGs) are also widely used in modern renewable
energy generation systems. These machines allow for a greater
speed variation than a conventional induction machine thus
allowing for greater power smoothing. The capability of a
wider variable speed range also allows a wind or TED turbine
employing a DFIG to operate at rotational speeds which result
in improved energy capture when compared with a standard
induction machine.
Due to the variable speed capability of induction machine
based renewable energy systems, the coupling of their rotational speed to the power systems frequency differs from that
of a synchronous machine. This differing characteristic results
in differing deceleration characteristics and thus a differing
inertial response than a synchronous machine. As the inertial
response of a generating unit acts as the initial arrestor to a
falling system frequency it thus influences the shape of the
frequency response of the power system in response to a loss
of generation.
It is important to examine the effects of the addition of
renewable generation systems to the power systems both because of their differing stored kinetic energy and their differing
inertial response characteristics. This is especially important
for small island systems where system inertia is lower than
for large interconnected systems. In these systems frequency
control is a primary concern for system operators and any
change to the system frequency response characteristics must
be carefully considered in light of increasing penetrations of
both wind and TED generation systems.
Fig. 3 shows a sample system frequency trace following
the loss of generation on an island system such as that of

the Republic of Ireland. Using this frequency trace the inertial

50
N

49.9
49.8

1.004

49.7

1.002
1

49.6

49.5

49.4

10

15
Time (s)

20

25

30

0.99

Sample system frequency trace

10

15
Time (s)

0.988

20

25

10

15
Time (s)

20

25

30

Fig. 5. Per unit speed responses of generators to frequency trace (Independent

of H value)

from the figure that the DFIG speed remains unchanged for
the duration of the frequency event. As the rotational speed
remains unchanged, no inertial response is observed. In order
to understand why this is the case it is necessary to examine
the general structure of the controller for the DFIG. The
general structure of a field-oriented controlled (FOC) DFIG
is shown in Fig. 6. Field oriented control is a method of high
accuracy torque control which is widely utilised for the control
of power converter connected machines. It is very likely that
this method of torque control would be employed in a wind
or tidal energy generator which employs a DFIG. It can be

30

Fig. 4. Per unit inertial responses for conventional wind and tidal units
(Renewable generators employing induction machines)

be seen from the figure that the greatest inertial response is observed when a synchronous generator is employed.
This is due to both the increased stored kinetic energy of
this type of generator and the tight coupling of synchronous
generator speed of the system speed. For both the wind and
the tidal energy generators the inertial response is reduced
and is slower. This is as a result of both the reduced stored
kinetic energies of these generators and the reduced coupling
of the speed of rotation of the induction machine to the system
frequency when compared to the synchronous machine. If a
can

0.994
0.992

response of a conventional, wind and tidal energy unit may

be compared using computer models of conventional and
renewable energy generation technologies. Fig 4 shows the
inertial responses of a conventional unit employing a synchronous machine and both a wind and tidal energy generator
employing an induction machine of the same rating. A fifth
order induction machine model was used in the simulation of
the inertial response of both the tidal and wind generators.

-0.01

0.998

a 0.996

Fig. 3.

It

doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG) is used for either the

wind or the tidal energy generator then no inertial response
will be observed if the DFIG is controlled in its standard
configuration. Fig. 5 shows the speed responses of 3 generator
types to the system frequency trace in Fig. 3. It can be seen

Fig. 6. Generalised FOC DFIG control block diagram

seen from the figure that the stator voltage, supplied by the
power system is measured by the field oriented controller.
Therefore when system frequency falls, the field oriented
controller maintains the electromagnetic torque at its set-point
value. Therefore assuming that the accelerating torque remains
constant, the speed of the generator will not change when the
system frequency falls. Details of the FOC DFIG design can
be found in [7]. In Fig. 6, C(p) denotes the speed controller of
the generator turbine system, for both wind and tidal energy
generators this controller would be configured to control the
rotational speed with a bandwidth such that the speed is

allowed to vary slightly about its set-point value. The speed

controller is configured in this manner in order that fluctuating
power captured from the wind or the tide is smoothed by the
turbine generator system.
The lack of inertial response from wind and tidal energy
generators employing DFIGs can however be overcome by
examining the speed controller in the block diagram in Fig.
6. The speed controller in the diagram would be typically
configured such that the steady state speed error is zero.
Therefore the rotational speed of the generator should achieve
its set-point value at a rate determined by the closed loop
bandwidth of the system. Utilising this fact, the controller
structure could be modified to include the additional T7I,p input
shown in Fig. 7.
Tsup

C(p)
.

Tef
+

VEStator
FOC

DFIG
based
generator

w
---

Fig. 7. Generalised FOC DFIG control block diagram with supplementary

torque input

Using this configuration an additional torque signal could

be added to the speed controller output. This signal would
effectively act as a disturbance to the speed controller and
could be used to accelerate or decelerate the turbine generator
system. The speed controller C(p) would then act to reject the
disturbance and return the rotational speed to the desired setpoint. Utilising the design illustrated in Fig. 7, a DFIG based
wind or tidal energy generator could be made to decelerate
or accelerate in response to changing system frequencies. An
inertial response could then be achieved which could in theory
exceed that of a conventional synchronous machine based
generator. This can be achieved by virtue of the fact that
following the loss of generation and the subsequent fall in
system frequency, synchronous machines will decelerate at a
maximum rate determined by the falling system frequency.
Using the proposed control scheme however, a DFIG can
be made to decelerate at a rate independent of the system
frequency. A DFIG can therefore be made to decelerate faster
than its synchronous machine based counterpart, possibly
providing an increased inertial response than the synchronous
machine.
Fig. 8 shows the inertial response of a tidal and wind energy
generator using a squirrel cage induction machine together
with the inertial response observed using DFIGs employing
the proposed supplementary control scheme. It can be seen
from the figure that an inertial response of greater magnitude
than that of a convention generator is possible when utilising
the proposed control scheme. This is due to the fact that
upon detection of a falling system frequency, the DFIGs are
decelerated by injecting an additional torque signal into the
controller.
Fig. 9 shows the corresponding speed responses of the
generators. It can be seen that the DFIG based tidal energy

0.05
0.04
0.03
0.02

0.01

0
-0.01

10

15
Time (s)

20

25

30

Fig. 8. Per unit inertial responses for conventional wind and tidal units (IM
denotes induction machine generator, DFIGS denotes DFIG generator with
supplementary control)

generator decelerates more that the DFIG based wind turbine

for that same injected torque signal. This is due to the fact
that the tidal generator has a lower H factor and lower stored
kinetic energy than an equivalent wind turbine. As a result for
similar inertial responses, the tidal generator will decelerate
more.

1.01
1.005
1

0.995
0.99
0

10

15
Time (s)

20

25

30

Fig. 9. Per unit speed responses for conventional wind and tidal units (IM
denotes induction machine generator, DFIGS denotes DFIG generator with
supplementary control)

The injection of an additional torque signal which forces

the DFIG based turbine to decelerate will result in increased
current flows in the power converter which connects to the
rotor circuit of the DFIG. Increased stator currents would
also be expected. Fig. 10 shows the per unit stator and rotor
currents for the DFIG employing the supplementary control
scheme illustrated here. It can be seen that the inertial response
observed in Fig. 8 results in a momentary increase in currents
of not more than 50. This would be expected to be within the
capability of the DFIG and the power converter.

and converter currents were found not to be excessive.

REFERENCES

Q-

sH.

V4-

10

15
Time (s)

20

25

30

Fig. 10. DFIG per unit rotor and stator current magnitudes for wind and
tidal generators when supplementary control is employed

IV. CONCLUSION

The continued addition of renewable energy generation

systems to power systems requires careful assessment. An
important consideration is the inertial response of such units
as it will differ from that of a conventional synchronous
machine based generator. Inertial response provides the power
difference between that being supplied by the prime movers
in a power system and that being consumed by system losses
and the load. It is a vital component that allows power systems
to operate the way they do today. The two important factors
which affect the inertial response of renewable energy generators are the stored kinetic energy of the turbine generator
system and the type of electrical generator employed.
As renewable generators often rotate at slower speeds and
have lower polar moments of inertia, the amount of kinetic
energy stored in their rotating masses is less than that of
a conventional synchronous machine based generator. This
paper calculates the stored kinetic energy of a tidal energy
device and compares it with that of wind and conventional
generators using the inertial constant concept. Due to differing
mechanical construction and lower rotational speeds, the tidal
energy turbine was found to have lower stored kinetic energy
than wind and conventional generators.
Inertial response is dependent on the deceleration of generators when the system frequency falls. Using the calculated
inertial constants it has been shown that due to the reduced
coupling of a renewable generators speed to the system frequency, these generators will have lower and slower inertial
responses than that of a synchronous generator. In addition if
a doubly-fed induction generator in its standard configuration
is used, no inertial response will be observed as its controller
decouples rotational speed from the power system frequency.
Finally, a modified controller for the DFIG was proposed
which resulted in an inertial response which could be configured to exceed that of a synchronous machine. For the inertial
response shown in this paper the resultant increases in machine

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