Rule Change Proposal for Reactive Current Injection
GridWise assisted leading wind turbine manufacturers – GE Renewable Energy, Vestas, Siemens Gamesa and Goldwind in proposing a rule change to the reactive current injection requirements in clause S5.2.5.5 of the NER.
GridWise facilitated technical discussions through ongoing workshops over a period of four months and lead the drafting of the rule change proposal, which represented the consensus view of the working group.
The proposal if accepted by the AEMC will:
- resolve the risks to the commercial viability of new generation and investment duplication by lowering the minimum level of reactive current capability required from generators;
- resolve challenges with coordinating a generator’s reactive current response by shifting the point of compliance assessment from the connection point to the generator unit terminals; and
- resolve other issues such as undefined terminology that are creating uncertainties for grid approvals.
The rule change proposal has been positively received by the wider industry and a number of supporting submissions were made by leading organisations as part of the AEMC consultation process. AEMC is expected to issue a draft rule by end of 2022 and a final rule in early 2023.
The AEMC’s consultation paper and industry submissions are available here: Efficient reactive current access standards for inverter-based resources | AEMC.
