Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M)
ContactUniversity Carlos III - UC3MEscuela Politécnica Superior Av. Universidad 30 28911 Leganés (Madrid) - Spain phone: (+34) 916249404 fax: (+34) 916249430 e-mail: jusaola@ing.uc3m.es web: www.uc3m.es |
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Carlos III University of Madrid (UC3M) was founded in 1989 with the objective of offering an efficient, high quality public service. A model of educational integration within the global, unifying concept of Science and Culture. The University has a great research activity in many fields and has experience in participating and managing big research projects, including EU projects. The University has three campus in the southwest of Madrid, and its activities are centered on Technology and Engineering, Social Sciences and Law, and Humanities.
The research activities concerning wind energy are centered on the Departments of Electrical Engineering and Statistics. The activities are linked to grid and market integration of wind energy, and windmill and farm control. The research group is formed by more than 15 people that work together in education and wind research programs and projects, and in close cooperation with industry, and national and international institutions.
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Research groups involved
The research on wind energy in the University Carlos III has been carried out for more than 10 years, and it has been one of the main interests of the Electrical Engineering Department, working in close cooperation with other national and international research groups.
The main research line is focused on grid integration of wind energy. This research line includes the modelling of wind turbines and farms for national wide integration studies ; control strategies of wind farms and turbines for complying with grid codes, and integration of wind energy into electricity markets, alone or in combination with other renewable resources.
These develpments have been made for, or in close cooperation with, the industry, as the prediction program SIPREOLICO, used by Red Electrica de España, the Spanish grid operator. Fruitful cooperation contracts have been held with CENER, Union Fenosa or ENERTRON-GAMESA.
Results obtained in previous research projects has allowed to get expertise in the use and control of FACTS devices for voltage control and power reactive injection in wind farms. It has been proved how STATCOM or DVR electronic equipment connected in wind farms terminals can be used as an effective way for voltage dip mitigation and reactive power injection according to the grid codes.
Facilities & Advanced Research Tools
| HV Laboratory |
High Voltage Laboratory (LINEALT)
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| Power control | Simulation software, such Matlab, PSCAD, PSIM, for simulating power control algorithms for wind turbines, FACTS and wind farms. Real time development system, such DSPACE, for validating the proposed algorithms in test bench. Test bench includes electrical machines (up to 65 kW), power electronic converters and advanced instrumentation for data acquisition. |
| Hardware |
The group has a DFIG prototype for testing control strategies and the fault-ride capability of variable wind turbines. The group has special instrumentation for power quality analysis of wind turbines according to IEC 61400-21. |
| Software | The group uses a wide range of grid analysis software, such as PSS/E, PSCAD, MATLAB, optimization programs such as GAMS and home made software. |
R&D Strategy
| TERM | |||
| short | medium | long | |
| Participation of wind-hydro-pumping resouces in the electricity markets |  | | |
| Wind energy in combination with energy storage | | |
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| Effects of large penetration of wind energy on power exchanges within the European electrical systems and markets | | | |
| Short term wind power prediction | | | |
| Power control of wind turbines and wind farms | | | |
| Voltage control and reactive power compensation of wind turbines and wind farms | | | |
| HVDC transmission for offshore wind farms | | |
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| Low voltage ride through capability of wind turbine and wind farms | | | |
| Fault ride through capability of wind turbines | | | |
| Coordinated control in wind farms | | | |
Education and training activities
The department of Electrical Engineering participates in several degrees at University Carlos III, such as Power System Engineering, Industrial Engineering and Telecommunication Engineering. It also participates in the Master in Electrical Engineering where courses of wind energy are included. The PhD program has one of its main field of activities centered on wind energy, and it is a link between research and education.
